Functional Medicine and IIFYM
/Functional Medicine and IIFYM
So, you may be wondering how two women that have a passion for nutrition, but with totally different backgrounds, might join together to create a program like get N.E.W. Well, I’m glad you were wondering! :)
A little background about myself. Growing up I was a mother’s worst nightmare when it came to food. I’m pretty sure I lived on chicken nuggets (totally frozen/processed food), Raman Noodle (but not the kind with those green or orange things!), taquitos, pizza bites, sugary oatmeals… you name it! Thankfully, I had a good metabolism to get me through my college years where I would regularly order the double-sized Wendy’s Homestyle Chicken sandwich with an extra large Dr. Pepper. Oh, and did I mention I didn’t exercise or play sports?
As one might expect, that metabolism didn’t keep up with these awful eating habits indefinitely. Over time I made small changes like cutting out Dr. Pepper and other soda, but a year after getting married I realized that I did not like what I was seeing in the mirror. Over the course of the next couple of years I would learn about nutrition and what fueling your body truly meant. Before this, if you had asked me what a protein, carbohydrate or fat was and what it looked like I couldn’t honestly tell you! But without me really knowing it, my fitness coach was slowing introducing me to what we now know as Flexible Dieting or IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros).
What is Flexible Dieting?
Flexible Dieting or IIFYM is a tool used for counting the macronutrients found in food to achieve a certain health and fitness goal. It’s all based on following precise macronutrients/macros (protein, fat, carb). You are given target gram numbers in each category that you hit/eat on a daily basis. The foods that you choose to use to hit those macronutrients can be of your choosing, but you’ll soon learn that eating donuts, cake, Pop Tarts, and Bon Bon’s won’t help you reach your daily macro targets. Another very important aspect of Flexible Dieting is hitting MICROnutrient targets. Fiber and sugar targets are also crucial in your daily diet and for allowing the flexible diet to work properly. With my clients I not only give them their macronutrient targets, but also their micronutrient goals as well.
So, as Andrea will explain below, we’re actually not all that different. She digs a lot deeper in the health benefits of certain foods while I help you fit those foods into your daily macronutrient targets to help you achieve the physique and health you desire.
Andrea: Like Ashley, I have found profound implications in what you eat and why. I am keenly aware of macronutrients, however, I am most interested in micronutrient qualities of different foods. In my practice, I use food as medicine and describe myself as a ‘food first practitioner’. I have successfully dealt with all manner of complex and chronic illness using nutrition and, when I have to, targeted supplementation.
I feel like Ashley and I have great symmetry when it comes to respecting the role of nutrition in a healthy and vibrant lifestyle. But we are also quite complementary when it comes to dealing with issues that clients would bring to either her or myself.
For example, when people come to see me, it is generally because they are either already sick (autoimmunity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic allergies, high blood pressure, etc) or because they are beginning to develop illness or have a genetic predisposition toward illness that they are concerned about. I use food, nutrients and lifestyle to deal with the root causes of these diseases and restore health. Or, for those that have not yet developed frank disease, food and nutrition is used to make the body ultimately ‘inhospitable’ to these conditions so that they never develop. To that end, I use both the macronutrient components and micronutrient components of food to get a desired response.
So how does this mesh with IIFYM?
Scenario - Suppose a get N.E.W. client gets a set of macronutrient numbers from Ashley. And let’s suppose that this person also deals with severe headaches and seasonal allergies or even autoimmunity. The macronutrient concentrations matter for her body composition, strength and muscle building. However, within those macronutrient parameters, I help her to make decisions about the best foods to eat or avoid that will give us desired clinical outcomes like getting rid of headaches and the hyper-immune response that accompanies seasonal allergies.
In short: Ashley builds the house and I you help pick out the right dishes and furniture ;).
The beauty of the get N.E.W. class that is being held at Active Lab in Broomfield, CO is the cost savings that you will benefit from joining the 12 week course. Not only will you get a health screening and guidance from Andrea, you will also learn step-by-step exercise technique and macronutrient goals from Ashley.
A brand new round will begin May 16th at 6:00am and our evening class will begin its next round in July. Be looking for more details on our Facebook and Instagram (@revoltfitnessco and @inallyourways).
