Vegan IIFYM Guide
If It Fits Your Macros Meal Plan for Beginners

It is just as easy to follow a vegan IIFYM diet as it is a carnivorous one. When you pay this much attention to the foods you are eating you will be surprised by just how many rich alternative sources there are for any vitamin, mineral, or macronutrient vegans need.

While most vegans focus on whole foods and healthy eating, there are bad habits and pitfalls [2]. Just because you are plant-based does not mean you are instantly a health god, and so, we still have to pay attention to meal plans to make sure you are getting a balanced diet.

“Ironically, when viewing things from a sheer macronutrient perspective, the vegan diet plan closely resembles the stats on the Standard American Diet program, (you know, pizza, burgers, nuggets, lattes, etc.), which accounts for far too much carb and fat intake and not nearly enough protein.”

 

– Anthony Collova, IIFYM Founder

The big question on educated and uneducated lips alike will be: can vegans easily hit protein goals on a plant-based IIFYM? And the answer is an emphatic yes, you can hit any nutrient goal you like with meal plans focused on that exact goal. That should be obvious, but as a writer researching this article, I found it was not.

Being a bit of an amateur bodybuilder myself, I know how important it is to be in a caloric deficit, and that sometimes you need to enforce some fairly strict food restrictions. That said I also really enjoy my food and so for the majority of the year, I eat what I like, when I like, with only a loose amount of tracking.

Now I admit that in the past I was a complete nerd when it came to tracking my macros. So much so that it is now at some level ingrained in my snake brain what a caloric deficit and a caloric surplus feel and look like in my food choices.

I view my food as something to be enjoyed. It fuels my muscle growth, evolution, and improvement at the gym. If I need to lose weight I focus on that goal, if I need to build muscle I focus on that goal. Building focused meal plans without restrictions is easier and more enjoyable too.

The science and goalposts are changing as to what is the best diet for performance-based athletes and dieters alike [4]. A macro focused eating plan is the simple basics of healthy eating. It is what I have been doing with great effect for years.

It would be ignorant to say that calories do not matter, they do. It would be ignorant to say that calories do not matter, they do. Focusing on them above all else is kind of like listing a recipe without any specific ingredients. It is overly simplistic and vague. Plus it makes for some disgusting tasting cakes.

By moving the target to be more about achieving specific macronutrients instead of broadly reducing calories, you make an eating plan that is more goal-focused instead of restrictive. Flexible dieting teaches you healthy eating habits and builds a better relationship with food and staying positive is a big part of that.

The brain’s role in healthy eating can not be understated and focusing on macros instead of restricting food sources means it will be better fed [5]. By improving our mood, releasing endorphins for achieving goals every day, and genuinely eating healthier, we can feel like a winner day after day.

If you’re just focused on limiting fat intake, you might consume foods heavy in carbohydrates but no decent vegan protein sources. If you’re worried about carbohydrates you might eat only vegan protein sources but forget about the fats.

Once again louder for the people at the back, “balanced nutrition is key to healthy eating [6].”

As a passionate advocate for the vegan lifestyle and as someone who has been working in the health and fitness sector for many years now, I can honestly say the IIFYM diet is one of the best I have come across.

It does not hide behind the science. It also does not confuse or obfuscate the basic truth behind what healthy eating means. For many, it may seem a little foreboding and intense to track your foods on that level. Once you get going, it is surprisingly easy to do. The effect it has is unbeatable.

Using a free macro calculator like IIFYM or My Fitness Pal to keep an eye on your macronutrients and choose more nutrient-dense foods can change your eating habits for the better. This can boil down to supplements and easy fixes like less wheat gluten and more protein powders.

It can also lead to new whole food additions to your everyday diet, like sprinkling seeds or changing soy for almond milk.

Have you tried an IIFYM meal plan using only vegan protein sources? Are you running on real food and tracking your performance progress? Let us know all about it in the comments below.