Clean Eating And IIFYM/CICO Are Actually The Same Thing
Clean Eating is a type of diet where you can eat as much as you want as long as the foods are “clean.” If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) is a diet where the specific foods don’t matter as long as you’re meeting certain calorie and macronutrient numbers. Both of these approaches are incomplete or unsustainable over the long term. Clean eating needs to be more flexible in the types of food that people eat either because for ease or enjoyment, and IIFYM has to include a wide variety of foods to ensure proper fiber and micronutrients.
Strategies For Incorporating More Protein Into Your Diet
Most people aren’t eating enough protein, which can stall or compromise the gains they’re working toward. Optimal protein sources will have at least 1/3 of their calories coming from protein, but ideally it should be much higher than the amount of other fats and carbs in the food. Keeping a variety of protein rich foods that don’t require prep (like protein powders, meat jerkies, or high protein yogurt) or minimal prep (like frozen fish, ground meat, or tofu) also helps from getting bored or not having enough time to eat enough protein.
What's The Deal With Artificial Sweeteners?
Artificial sweeteners are a large and varied category. It’s difficult to conduct long term research on any one product, and it is unfair to assign the results of any one sweetener to the category as a whole. The long term effects of artificial sweeteners are still unknown in humans. The fears people do have come from studies on rats that don’t align with human behavior and also don’t include all of the different versions of sweetener. Artificial sweeteners can be useful for strict calorie management, but as with all things, should be used intentionally and in moderation.