Zig zag

shellyMcTerry

Hi all. I've been up and down with my weight loss journey - but at the moment I am back in the groove!

I find that when calorie counting I achieve a weekly deficits by zig zagging calories (1200 mon, 1800 tues, 1400 wed etc)
I feel like because of the higher days I'll keep my body guessing and never fall into starvation mode!

Does anyone else do this? Find it helpful? Know any science behind it?

What are your thoughts? X

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Starvation mode in this context doesn't exist.

I bank calories, where I eat less some days to use others.

livingleanlivingclean

Your body doesn't guess, or get a shock, or go in to starvation mode.

I like calorie/carb cycling to give me more calories on training days vs non training days, and it enables me to have a "high" day where I can enjoy more "fun" food and stay on track.

shellyMcTerry

"Starvation mode in this context doesn't exist. "

Why is this please? I feel slightly misinformed!

Thanks for your replies- I really appreciate them.
I'm concerned about lowering my metabolic rate so any help in the subject is always helpful!!! X

livingleanlivingclean

shellyMcTerry wrote: »

"Starvation mode in this context doesn't exist. "

Why is this please? I feel slightly misinformed!

Thanks for your replies- I really appreciate them.
I'm concerned about lowering my metabolic rate so any help in the subject is always helpful!!! X

Your bmr is going to drop as you lose weight as you have less body to sustain. It may also lower if you're on restricted calories long term - you're not going to start gaining weight if you're in a deficit or at maintenance though, which is typically what people think when they mention starvation mode.

Your maintenance calories post-weight loss are always going to be less than your pre-weight loss maintenance calories.

Retaining as much muscle as possible is probably your best bet when it comes to keeping your bmr as high as possible

work_on_it

shellyMcTerry wrote: »

What are your thoughts? X

I don't know what it's called... but i do the same thing. Some days i can come in 400-600 calories under and not blink... other days... i'm eating 1 green bean to be at zero. I think it works.

Good luck!

TeaBea

shellyMcTerry wrote: »

Hi all. I've been up and down with my weight loss journey - but at the moment I am back in the groove!

I find that when calorie counting I achieve a weekly deficits by zig zagging calories (1200 mon, 1800 tues, 1400 wed etc)
I feel like because of the higher days I'll keep my body guessing and never fall into starvation mode!

Does anyone else do this? Find it helpful? Know any science behind it?

What are your thoughts? X

I eat at maintenance on weekends because it helps me be more consistent. Zig-zagging can have benefits, but keeping your body "confused" isn't one of them.

CynthiasChoice

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

shellyMcTerry wrote: »

"Starvation mode in this context doesn't exist. "

Why is this please? I feel slightly misinformed!

Thanks for your replies- I really appreciate them.
I'm concerned about lowering my metabolic rate so any help in the subject is always helpful!!! X

Your bmr is going to drop as you lose weight as you have less body to sustain. It may also lower if you're on restricted calories long term


I think that's what shelly wants to focus on, and I'd like to investigate it too. If you occasionally eat at maintenance levels, perhaps the body doesn't recognize that you're "restricting calories long term."