It’s a new year, which means New Year’s Resolutions, a lot of which are likely to focus on weight loss. I’ve been an advocate of the IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros, also known as Flexible Dieting or just Macros) lifestyle for three years now. It helped me reach my target weight after years of trying other plans, and has been sustainable for me. Now I’m using macros to guide me through a healthy pregnancy for me and Baby H.
You can set your own macros or buy a prebuilt plan for cheap online, but the best way, in my experience, to get results is to hire a coach. And there are so many people advertising macros coaching or plans! So how do you pick the one that’s right for you?
With my coach and fellow Grit Girls in Boise
Be wary of the Instagram star
Search #IIFYM or #MacrosCoach on Instagram and you’ll get thousands of results. Some of those coaches are legitimate, with strong backgrounds in nutrition and fitness and an individualized approach to the clients they work with. To some, however, it is treated as just a business – and the easiest way to make money in that business is to provide a pre-developed PDF with macros that they may make some minor adjustments to. What may be missing is the time invested to understand you, your challenges, the way you train, and what you need. There are so many factors that impact a person’s weight loss. A good coach is considering them all and investing time in knowing you at a personal level.
Instead of looking for the coach with the largest number of followers, seek out referrals and recommendations from friends and other “real people” who love their progress. Ask them what they like and what they would change about their coach. Some of the best coaches don’t advertise (and certainly aren’t posting the skin-bearing shots that drive follower counts!) because they don’t need to – their reputation speaks for itself!
Consider why you eat, as much as what you eat
It terrifies me how many girls put their physical and mental health in the hands of an untrained professional – or even a professional with a lot of experience in another area. Jennifer, the blogger behind Mama Lion Strong, wrote an amazing piece about ‘scopes of practice’ that limit a professional’s ability to help a client. A personal trainer, for example, might be great at providing a healthy person with some advice on ways to improve their eating habits, but they’re ill-equipped to deal with someone who has an unhealthy relationship with food and/or underlying disorder. Yet, some go as far as to advertise that they can help people with eating disorders.
As Jennifer concludes, and I agree entirely, the best coach will be willing to refer you elsewhere when the “why” behind your current state requires support they can’t offer. I chose a nurse practitioner to manage my macros because I trust that she can see beyond the “diet” and give me useful advice on how things like illness and injury impact my nutritional needs. She’s also one of the few people I trust, beyond my OB, to advise me on what my body needs during my pregnancy. You may have different needs that need to be factored in to your choice of coach – or multiple specialists who can each provide you the best advice where you need it.
Factor in any potential life changes
Pregnancy has changed so many aspects of my life. I didn’t know my now-husband when I started working with my coach, but at 29, I hoped that in the coming years pregnancy would be an adventure I was embarking on. The coach I work with had worked, successfully, with a lot of pregnant and postpartum girls. That was high on my list.
For you, the need may be different. Maybe you want to compete and need someone with prep experience, maybe you travel a lot and need advice for hitting your macros in restaurants, maybe you have a medical condition like diabetes that can impact your eating habits and/or weight gain. All of these circumstances change the experience level you’re looking for in a coach.
I’d say what I needed in a macros coach changed a bit between 2015 and now
Look for long-term successes, not short-term
You want to look and feel amazing in a bikini at the pool this summer… and next summer… and the summer after that. There is so much pressure to get what we want here and now that girls hop to the coach offering the fastest results, and while they may get them, the second they come off that diet, the weight comes back – fast. Personally, my money is on the coach that may take a little more time getting you to those results, but does so in a way that people are still leveraging what they’ve learned to build and maintain those results.
I’ve been working with the same coach for more than three years. My body composition changed over that time, adding on 7-10 more lbs on muscle on my 5’3″ frame which led me to feel better (show lean makes me sleepy!) and hit new PRs in the gym. For about 6 months last year, I stopped tracking closely, relying on “guesstimates” instead of measuring my food. And guess what? The weight didn’t come back. I went up maybe 5 lbs total. That’s less than a 5% fluctuation!
Check-in photos over three years of working with my coach (2014 – 2017; 3 months pregnant in the last photo)
Make the investment
Coaches cost, and the best coaches require a weekly or monthly investment because they’re investing their time to customize a plan to exactly what you need, at that time. When you pay for a plan you can download, you’re likely getting a one-size-fits-all plan that may work. However, you’re also running the risk that the plan will have you consuming too little food – and food is good, y’all! Custom is the best way to ensure your body gets the fuel it needs while still hitting your goals.
I originally made the commitment to start cooking more at home to offset the cost of my coach. Not drinking more than one glass of wine when I went out with friends, skipping dessert at restaurants, eating my prepped food before I go play trivia on Monday’s – the savings from this lifestyle really add up! Three years later, I’ve never questioned or regretted the money I’ve spent on her.
Once you’ve picked a coach that you think meets your needs, ask questions – lots of them! You’re trusting someone with a big aspect of your life and your personal health. No question is too small.
I’m happy to answer any questions you have about how I made my decision, although the reasons for my decision may not be the same needs you have. Leave me questions in the comments below or reach out to me directly at fitgirlinflight (at) gmail.com.
