{
  "slug": "tracking-macros",
  "name": "Tracking macros / IIFYM",
  "aliases": [
    "iifym",
    "if it fits your macros",
    "macro tracking",
    "myfitnesspal macros",
    "flexible dieting"
  ],
  "family": "size",
  "heat": "high",
  "talk": "Lots of talk",
  "mostDiscussed": false,
  "firstLine": "Tracking macros / IIFYM means logging protein, carbohydrate and fat toward a daily range.",
  "whyLine": "People compare food databases, raw versus cooked weights, shared recipes and how much logging they can sustain in an ordinary day.",
  "feelWords": [
    "iifym",
    "macros",
    "flexible dieting"
  ],
  "commonPicture": [
    {
      "lead": "Protein is often the first target discussed",
      "why": "Carbohydrate, fat and total energy still interact in the chosen plan. [community]"
    },
    {
      "lead": "Tracking can accompany maintenance, gaining or losing",
      "why": "Logging alone does not choose the energy direction. [community]"
    }
  ],
  "watchFor": "Eating-disorder history. This is not a promised body. Food-scale is the Self neighbor.",
  "whatPeopleSay": [
    "**The job:** record macronutrients—protein, carbohydrate and fat—alongside the daily calorie total. [community]",
    "**r/flexibleDieting and r/fitness** still fight weighing rice. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleRunIt": [
    "**They log for a stretch, then some stop weighing everything.** [community]"
  ],
  "amountsPeopleUse": [
    "**Daily protein + calorie range** is the object. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleKeepIt": [
    "**An app they actually open.** [community]"
  ],
  "howItFeels": [
    "**Tedious, then automatic — or they quit.** [community]"
  ],
  "howLongPeopleRunIt": [
    "**A cut or bulk block.** [community]"
  ],
  "deepDive": [
    "**A cut / lean bulk** set the calories. This is the logging method. [community]"
  ],
  "watchForLong": [
    "**Orthorexia-shaped logging.** A clinician, not a tighter spreadsheet. [community]"
  ],
  "related": [
    "a-cut",
    "lean-vs-dirty-bulk",
    "body-recomp",
    "mini-cut"
  ],
  "researchPointer": [],
  "housePointers": [],
  "playPointer": null,
  "sources": [
    "r/flexibleDieting threads",
    "IIFYM vs meal-plan 2026 talk"
  ],
  "disclaimer": "Community talk. May contain inaccuracies. Not medical, training, or diet advice. Sharp pain, fainting, or disordered-eating concerns need a clinician.",
  "quickAnswerHistory": [
    {
      "field": "communityPicture",
      "rows": [
        "Flexible-dieting talk weighs food, hits protein first and still eats chosen foods. A cut or bulk sets the calories; this is the log."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "firstLine",
      "rows": [
        "IIFYM is logging protein, carbs, and fat — a flexible diet log, not a meal plan and not a cut by itself."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "whyLine",
      "rows": [
        "IIFYM is logging protein, carbs, and fat — a flexible diet log, not a meal plan and not a cut by itself."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "commonPicture",
      "rows": [
        {
          "lead": "A log, not a meal plan",
          "why": "Numbers on foods they chose. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Protein first in most talk",
          "why": "Then the rest of the calories. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Not a cut or a bulk by itself",
          "why": "Those cards set the direction. [community]"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "whatPeopleSay",
      "rows": [
        "**The job:** hit macros without a grocery identity. [community]"
      ]
    }
  ]
}