IIFYM or calorie counting ?

[Toastyyt]

Would you still be able to gain lean muscle or lose fat just by focusing on how many calories you eat?( with respectable macros) Or would it be best to see your macros as important as well as calories?

[jooking]

pretty much protein is the most important macro, make sure to get enough of it, then indulge in what ever you like, and you can judge yourself by how you look after a week of following a certain diet, are you getting more defined all around (meaning you're at a calorie defect), are you getting less defined all around (meaning you're at a calorie surplus), or are you look pretty much the same (meaning you hit the goldilock zone) thats what I do at least.

[AdamWW]

Of course you could....

What is 'best' in regards to nutrition, whether you choose to track calories, macros, or nothing at all, depends on how effectively you're able to consistently hit your needs for calories, fats, and protein.

Hypothetically you could never track a single thing your entire life and be just as successful in outcomes as someone who tracks every single gram for their entire life.

It boils down to reducing errors: people who track more specifically are statistically more likely to succeed because they reduce the likelihood of errors.

The 'better' you are at eye-balling, estimating, etc, the more successful you can be without tracking numbers... if you suck at it, you'll likely reduce progress as a result.

[SuffolkPunch]

Calories determine if you gain or lose weight. To do this with any degree of accuracy, you should count calories. You should still get results within a range from small deficit to small surplus. So if you are close to your goal weight, you could argue calories are not the most important thing

Protein is probably the most important factor and you should ensure you are getting enough - and make some effort to spread it amongst 3-4 widely spaced meals. I do this without counting - because I have 2 shakes per day and my other choices (I like eating meat) generally ensure I get enough.

Fat vs. carb is not really a performance issue as long as you can be sure you meet minimum fats (easy for most people unless they are addicted to low fat foods somehow). In practice you will always get a mixture of both carb and fat - it's hard to avoid one or the other.

Beyond that, making sensible choices so that you get enough vitamins and minerals (say - 5 a day fruit and veg) is about all you need.

[Ghawk21]

pretty much protein is the most important macro, make sure to get enough of it, then indulge in what ever you like, and you can judge yourself by how you look after a week of following a certain diet, are you getting more defined all around (meaning you're at a calorie defect), are you getting less defined all around (meaning you're at a calorie surplus), or are you look pretty much the same (meaning you hit the goldilock zone) thats what I do at least.

Fats are just as important..fiber is important too...why is the goldilock zone looking the same? Who wants to train to look the same? You shouldn't just eat protein and just indulge in whatever you want after. Micro nutrients matter too.

[jooking]

Fats are just as important..fiber is important too...why is the goldilock zone looking the same? Who wants to train to look the same? You shouldn't just eat protein and just indulge in whatever you want after. Micro nutrients matter too.

Sorry I was just speaking from my own experience, I was logging everything I eat in an app and counting everything for two months so after that I had a pretty good sense of what I should be eating everyday without using any app or counting anything.

No one counts their calories forever that's just excessive I would say, just make some logical choices like make sure to eat wholemeal all the time, that way you'll get your carbs and fiber covered. The goldielock is to look the same during the bulk while gaining weight, that way you aren't in a calorie defect which means slowing down your gains (everyone know building muscle in a calorie defect is possible but not optimal) and you're not in too much of a calorie surplus and gaining muscle but also getting fat, that's not optimal either but for personal reasons because I'm doing this whole bodybuilding thing to look good and I'd rather kms than look fat.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Balanced and varied diet + weight training.