IIFYM.com

03/09/2022

Let’s talk about what IIFYM does….what can IIFYM do for you?

Well we have tailored, personalized meal plans…made around your preferences, for your macros. How? Head to iifym.com and fill out the calculator..sign up for just $7 a week and we’ll do the rest!
Choose from vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, low carb, dairy free and more! Then tell us the foods you love and the ones you don’t!

We’ll deliver your plan to your smart phone with a grocery list, recipe card and so much more!

Now following a meal plan without accountability anz the discipline can be tough…we know that. So if you need a little more to get you on track and kick start your journey DM is the word ‘coaching’ and the team will reach out to tell you more about our macro coaching options 👌❤️

Something to make IIFYM work for EVERYONE 🙌🏼

10/08/2022

WHAT IS A RE-FEED DAY? - By Josef Rakich
A Re-Feed day is a day where you increase your carbohydrate intake by 100% or more, increasing your calories up to maintenance level or slightly above.
(everyones maintenance calorie level is different depending upon many factors such as: height, weight, age, gender, daily activity levels etc..)

WHO NEEDS A RE-FEED DAY?
A re-feed day should be included in your diet if you are cutting and in a calorie deficit, which means consuming less calories than your TDEE (Total Daily
Energy Expenditure). In other words, less calories than what your body needs/burns on a daily basis which is required in order to burn more body fat.
If you want to know how to burn more body fat and are in a calorie deficit (especially if you have been in a calorie deficit for a long time) then
including a re-feed into your diet will benefit you in your fat loss goals.

The importance of including re-feeds in your diet is a factor of a few things such as:

– Leanness (the leaner you are, the more important)

– Calorie deficit (the greater deficit you are in, the more important)

– Length or dieting (the longer you have been dieting the more important)

– Carbohydrate intake (the lower, the more important)

– Exercise (type/amount/etc.. The more aerobic in nature, the more important)

– Genetics

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A RE-FEED DAY?
The purpose of a re-feed day is to help boost your metabolism, burn body fat fast, and help restore your T3 and Leptin hormone levels. (Leptin is the king
of all fat burning hormones!) When dieting and on a low calorie diet, your metabolism will drop (meaning you will be burning less calories) plus your
T3 and leptin hormone levels will drop in attempt by the body to spare body fat (safety mechanism for the human body).

The body does not want to lose fat, the body just wants to survive, and when you change your calorie intake to less calories than your TDEE your body is
going to adjust, your metabolic rate and metabolism will slow down and soon your TDEE will be a lot lower than what it originally was when you first
started dieting, resulting in you needing a lower calorie intake to continue to burn body fat.

With a slow metabolism and low T3 and leptin levels it becomes much harder to burn body fat. So including a re-feed day into your cutting diet will be
really beneficial as it will boost your metabolism and these specific hormones and allow you to continue to burn body fat at an optimal rate. A re-feed
is basically taking 1 step back, but 3 steps forward.

HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO HAVE A RE-FEED DAY?
Everyone is different and will require different amounts of re-feeding.

If you want to know how to burn more body fat then here are my guidelines for you to follow and when to include a re-feed day into your diet.

– If you are above 20% body fat: Re-feed one every month.

– If you are between 15% and 20% body fat: Re-feed once every 2 weeks.

– If you are between 8% and %15 body fat: Re-feed once every week.

– If you are below 8% body fat – Re-feed twice per week.

The leaner you are the lower your T3 and leptin levels will be so the more frequent you should include re-feed days into your diet.

HOW MUCH CARBS DO I NEED TO CONSUME ON A RE-FEED DAY?
Again this is different for everyone, but here we will use “Bob” as an example:

Bob’s TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) = 2500 calories

Bobs current calorie intake (cutting) = 1995 calories (500 calorie deficit)

Bobs current macronutrient split = 170g protein, 160g carbohydrates and 75g fat which = 1995 calories

Now this is what Bob’s re-feed day would look like:

Protein = 170g

Carbohydrates = 365g

Fat = 75g

Total calories = 2815 (which is 315 calories over Bob’s TDEE, putting him into a slight calorie surplus for this day)

Now I usually recommend that you leave protein and fat intake the same as what they are throughout the diet, but you can drop protein and also drop fat
down somewhat to consume more calories from carbohydrates if you wish. However, this is not needed and I don’t usually do this myself unless I am doing
an “aggressive re-feed” which comes in much later on down the track.

Another point I would also like to mention is the leaner you are, the more “aggressive” your re-feed day should be. A 300 calories surplus is what I advise
in most cases for most people, but when super lean (close to stepping on stage) fat loss becomes harder and harder and your T3 and leptin levels may
end up very low. In this case you may have to increase your carbs a lot more than 100%, sometimes putting you into a 600-800 calorie surplus for that
day.

WHAT RE-FEED DAY FOODS SHOULD I CONSUME ON MY RE-FEED DAY?
Any carbs of your choice are fine. Both low G.I complex or high G.I simple carbohydrates are absolutely acceptable in your diet. Some suggest to try and
avoid fructose as it has less of an impact on leptin (which is somewhat true), but fructose is still fine to consume in all honesty, just don’t overdo
the fructose. Some of the carb choices for me which I personally like to include in my re-feed days are:

– Rice

– Oats

– Sorbet ice-cream

– Weetbix bites

– Cereals

– Pancakes

– Bananas

– Pasta

– Popcorn

OR ANYTHING THAT IS HIGH IN CARBOHYDRATES!

Need help reaching your fitness goals?

Head over to https://www.iifym.com/partner-trainers/ and chat to the team about working with Josef and JRF

29/07/2022

Running low on your go to protein? Check out the Macro Hack sheet for some ideas and variations!

26/07/2022

HOW TO REDUCE BLOATING once it has occurred - By Ben Smith (live.)

I'll keep it short and sweet! I'm sure there are hundreds of methods out there, but these are the core ones that I've found to really work:
Hydrate with water
Relax and unwind - you may opt. for a hot bath/shower or a hot water bottle to relax your digestive system
Low impact/intensity movement like walking, yoga or stretching
Tea containing fennel, mint, or ginger (the best in my experience)
Digestive enzyme supplements or peppermint oil/capsules
Food sources: cucumber, ginger, and yogurt (natural, no added sugar or artificial sweeteners)
Integrate spices like turmeric or cayenne pepper into your following meals - fennel seeds are also great to cook with.
Apple c***r vinegar - consume two tablespoons diluted in water (optionally add some lemon juice) and sip over the course of 10 minutes or so
Ride the wave - sometimes accepting the situation and being patient is the final remaining remedy.

Ben Smith

25/07/2022

Leaky gut.

Leaky gut is otherwise known as increased intestinal permeability.

Picture your gut lining as having small holes, allowing it to absorb nutrients that allow your body to function.

Permeability can be seen as "how much" is able to move through these holes to be absorbed.

When your gut becomes damaged, these holes increase in size, thus increasing the permeability (how much is absorbed).

When holes and cracks form in the lining of your gut, this allows things to seep through – such as bacterial endotoxin – which shouldn't otherwise do so.

This can result in a host of symptoms, including inflammation and an immune response - but is not commonly spoken about, so can fly under the radar.

The most common cause of leaky gut is an imbalance between "good" and "bad" bacteria, but it can also result from the overconsumption of coffee or other sources of caffeine, alcohol, or even drugs.

This is why if you're on a gut healing journey alcohol is the first thing I recommend eliminating, and you should consider limiting your coffee consumption - especially on an empty stomach.

In order to overcome the issues, you need to take a holistic approach to rebalance the good and bad bacteria in your gut, which is what my coaching plan The Gut Reset tackles.

The Gut Reset also provides a detailed supplementation guide, and some of those listed as specifically aiding leaky gut are vitamin A, zinc, fish oil, and l-glutamine.

Providing sufficient gut rest through either fasting or not snacking too frequently between meals has also been shown to aid in healing the lining of the gut - something I discuss at length in my book.

A bonus tip, consuming bone broth which contains a host of vitamins, minerals, and collagen has been shown to support healing the gut lining – something I discuss in my book The Fasted Lifestyle!

In summary, you want to both provide the overall environment to allow your gut to heal, and also tackle the root cause of the issue itself.
Ben Smith

https://www.iifym.com/partner-trainers/

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If you're interested in getting started with 1-on-1 coaching, check out some of our partner trainers below to see if one may be a good fit for you!

22/07/2022

Bloating.

Is bloating normal? By Ben Smith

The two primary causes of bloating are swallowing air whilst you eat - which escapes back in the form of burping - and the breakdown of undigested foods in your intestines.

In the latter case, bacteria in your gut feed on the fermented foods and produce gas.

Certain foods + the wrong bacteria + the wrong place = bloating

Antibiotics can be a common cause for this imbalance of bacteria.

So, what can you do to limit it? To give you an overview that's not too overwhelming...

Firstly, you want to rebalance the good and bad bacteria in your gut, as the more bacteria, the more feeding, the more gas, the more bloat.

In addition, you can remove the foods that feed this bacteria for a period of time - whilst you combat the balance of bacteria - and then re-introduce them as your gut improves.

This is why if you suffer from a gut issue, as you improve you can re-introduce more and more foods with fewer issues.

In addition, the motility of your gut (the transit/movement of foods through it) can cause this "wrong place" part of the equation above.

Another angle you can consider is how well you digest these foods prior to the bacteria getting stuck in!

For example, if chew properly, take your time eating, and have the correct digestive enzymes to support digestion, you will reduce bloating as the foods will arrive properly digested, meaning less feeding (and less gas).

For example, the enzyme "lactase" helps you to break down lactose (from dairy) - I know you may not eat dairy, this is just an example for your knowledge.

So this is why there is a "spectrum" of tolerability to dairy products because both the state of your gut and the presence of enzymes to break it down, and also the quantity of lactose in the food.

That's why on The Gut Reset we re-introduce dairy products in order of their lactose quantity for those looking to re-introduce it, an approach I took when I had IBS to "re-learn" how to digest dairy - as I couldn't tolerate it at all.

So that's a broad outline of what might be causing your bloating! And remember you don't just want to mask the symptoms (the bloat) when it arrives, you want to get down to the root cause.

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20/07/2022

Food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities.

There is a spectrum of reactions that your body has to foods, these falling somewhere between allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities.

If you have an allergy, your body perceives (usually) proteins in a food source as a threat and produces anti-bodies/an immune response as a result.

An allergic reaction can be immediate and life-threatening, and the most common allergic antibody is Immunoglobulin E (IgE), but there are non-IgE responses.

The eight common allergens that makeup 90% of allergic reactions are: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, and soybeans.

An intolerance is a non-immune response and results from foods being poorly digested or absorbed. The symptoms can start within a few hours and last a few days, and are digestive-related (bloating, nausea, cramps, diarrhea, constipation, etc.).

Symptoms of food sensitivities can vary and can often appear unrelated to the food you eat - flying under the radar - and in cases showing no symptoms for days. Brain fog, depression, anxiety, weight gain, sleep, acne, mood, hormonal issues... to name a few.

The common reaction antibodies to food sensitivities are Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin A (IgA), which are termed "delayed response reactions".

IgG is the most common antibody found in your blood which "remembers" infections you've previously fought and are deployed when they arise again (in layman's terms), and IgA is found in our mucus membranes and helps to fight bacteria and viruses.

With enough exposure to certain foods, the protein contained in them can also become "invaders", and thus a sensitivity can be developed - which is why variation and rotation of food sources are so important.

For example, gluten. If you expose yourself to gluten for long enough in enough quantities, it will eventually lead to sensitivities – and can also result in issues such as leaky gut (increased intestinal permeability). This is because gluten triggers a protein called zonulin, which allows more to pass through your gut lining (hence, increased permeability).

Allergens can be tested for, but tests for intolerances and sensitivities are less accurate so elimination diets are often used.

Ben Smith

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18/07/2022

The gut and hormones.

Hormones are typically produced by the endocrine system, which includes the following group of glands and the pancreas: pituitary, pineal, thymus, thyroid, and adrenal.

Your gut microbiome also produces hormones, and in addition, sends signals to the glands in your body that dictate how much of each specific hormone we release.

These include your thyroid hormones (more below), estrogen, serotonin, and more.

Gut dysbiosis (an imbalance of good and bad bacteria) can lower the levels of thyroid hormones T3 and T4, which can lead to what's called hypothyroidism (where your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough hormones). Symptoms include "tiredness, weight gain, dry skin, cold intolerance, constipation, muscle weakness, puffiness around the eyes, hoarse voice, and poor memory.". (study)

So much like our immune system, that ecosystem of microbes in your gut are affecting our hormones. Who'd have thought what many see as just our "stomach" had such a widespread influence...

The gut and the immune system.

A whopping 70-80% of your immune system resides in the gut, and the gut microbiome and the immune system work in harmony with one another.

The gut microbes help to regulate your immune system, and your immune system helps your body form a healthy balance of microbes. “What’s present in the gut determines what education immune cells get." - David Herber, MD, PhD, professor at UCLA Health.

So to summarise, your gut health plays an important role in your immune system.

Another angle to consider is the immune response caused by damage to the lining of your gut. This "breaking of the gut wall" is otherwise called leaky gut, or increased intestinal permeability – which is where holes and cracks form in the gut lining and things seep through that shouldn’t.

What breaks through is called bacterial endotoxin, and this activates the immune system and results in inflammation.

I hope this gives you context on how important maintaining your gut health is to not just the way your stomach feels and how you digest foods, but all corners of your health and wellbeing - including your immune system.

A gut-healthy holiday season.

The holiday season can be the hardest time of year to manage your gut health, I've been there myself with IBS...

But it doesn't have to be!

Here are my top 10 tips for keeping your gut healthy this holiday season:

1. Make gut-friendly swaps. Many of the foods found in a classic Christmas meal are perfectly good for your gut, including carrots, brussels sprouts, potatoes, and more. Refined foods and desserts are where the opportunities for swaps can be found! Instead of indulging in regular chocolate, try switching it for dark!

If you're looking to get into the kitchen and bake, search for some refined/sugar-free recipes - trust me, there are plenty out there! As always, trust your intuition, find the next best, and don't let the situation over-ride you with stress.

2. If you're suffering from a gut issue, as you'll have heard from me by now, cutting out alcohol is my first recommendation. If you are looking to drink alcohol, however, these are my recommendations: red w**e, dry white w**e, c***r, and spirits in their purest form (vodka, gin, wh**ky, tequila, etc.). B**r, flavoured spirits, and liqueurs fall on the "no-go" side for me.

3. Stay hydrated. What it says on the tin... don't forget to get some water down you in the midst of all the chaos!

4. Improve digestion and avoid flare-ups. Supplements like digestive enzymes (which can come in natural forms), apple c***r vinegar, ginger, turmeric, and similar blends can be taken before meals. If you suffer from a flare-up, my go-to's are mint and fennel tea, lemon and ginger tea, peppermint oil, cayenne pepper and turmeric (cooked into meals), cucumber, and yogurt.

5. Stay active! Although much of the festive period is spent static, try to get active whether that be yourself or with your friends and family. Go for a walk, continue exercising on the surrounding days, and start the day with a good stretch and some movement.

6. Relax. Do not, I repeat... do not let the stress of managing your gut over-ride the festive period. Sometimes you'll have to accept the "next best", and others you might deviate from what you otherwise know to be "good for your gut".

That's okay, all is not lost. If you decide to consume something and riddle yourself with guilt, it's a lose-lose. If you're going to consume it, enjoy the moment, let it satisfy you, and soldier on!

7. Plan ahead. Preparation is everything! For all of the tips listed here, a level of planning is required to either stock up or carve out some time to support your gut. Don't wait until you're caught on the back foot. Make a plan so that you can kick back and enjoy yourself.

8. Practice moderation! Something that I want you to consider; going overboard with the festivities isn't going to make your time more enjoyable! This is for two reasons... guilt (mind) and discomfort (body). If you practice moderation and enjoy yourself without setting yourself back.

9. Continue fasting. Fast in the early hours of the day and your gut will thank you for it. Your gut might take a beating from the types of food you're eating or the quantities that you're eating them. Give your body time to digest, process, and tidy up after itself in the morning, ready for the day's festivities.

10. Get back on track the moment that it's all over. No matter what happens, wipe the slate clean and start fresh when the dust settles... hopefully with a smile on your face.

- Ben Smith

18/07/2022

4 TOP TIPS TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR PHYSICAL GOALS - By IIFYM Partner trainer Lenny Lopez

1- Prioritize sleep - According to sleep experts you MUST sleep from 7-9 hours. This will help you maximize your energy levels and recovery. When you're sleeping your body starts repairing itself.

2- Exercise at least 3 x per week - This can be any type of training. You can do weights, bodyweight exercises, gym classes or any modality that involves you having some sort of physical effort. If you couldn’t train all 3 days, no worries try doing 2 days or even 1 day. 1 day is better than not doing anything at all. If you are short on time you can try doing 10-30 minute workouts which is always better than not doing anything at all!

3- Diet or Nutrition- by far one of the hardest things to do. Why? Because we are often tempted by the amount of food that surrounds us. This is why preparation is so important. Prepare in advance and anticipate by having your food prepared. You must eat according to what you want to achieve. This means that you must eat the right amount of calories in order for you to see the results you want.

4 - 80/20 rule - There's a rule I want you to remember which is the 80/20 rule I teach my clients. Eat according to your goal 80% of the week which = 5 days out of the week. Then if you mess up those 2 days nothing will happen (if you are training hard that is) Remember that fat loss is a matter of calories in vs calories out. So don’t be so hard on yourself for slipping and eating a pile of ice cream and a whole box of krispy cream doughnuts. At the end of the day what matters is that you keep training and eating right 80% of the time. In the long run this is way more sustainable than being on a 100% strict diet which will make you feel miserable considering that there is NO flexibility to slip.

To work with IIFYM and LENNY head over to https://www.iifym.com/partner-trainers/

16/07/2022

Elimination diets.

There are many different definitions and approaches of an elimination diet, but I'm going to share mine as an online gut health coach that uses the tool as one approach to help individuals manage their gut health.

An elimination diet involves removing a selection of foods, usually common allergens and sensitivities or foods that you suspect you cannot tolerate, before gradually reintroducing some of these foods to get back to a place of regular eating.

I find them useful for two reasons:

1. During the re-introduction process you can pinpoint how you react to given foods when they are introduced - meaning you can identify how your body reacts and tolerates these foods.

2. During the period whilst these foods are removed, you limit the food sources that the bad bacteria in your gut feed on – and in turn limit symptoms like bloating – whilst you get to the root cause of any digestive issues you may have (like an imbalance of bacteria or leaky gut). As you re-introduce foods, with the correct overall approach and proper supplementation, your body is able to tolerate foods that it couldn't prior because you've now addressed the issue.

This is a key element of the 5-phase nutrition plan on my coaching plan The Gut Reset, which eliminates and moderates common allergens, food sensitivities, refined foods, sugars, FODMAPs, and more - before re-introducing them in a specific order (alongside the other elements of the plan) to get you back to a place of normal eating.

Ben Smith

Head over to IIFYM.com to work with Ben Smith and his team!

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