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Zigzagging?

lmburi
lmburi Posts: 22
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, all!

I've been experimenting with the whole calorie zigzagging thing and have a couple of questions for people who have used it successfully. First, do you shoot for net calories at your recommended MFP weigh-loss calories for the week? In other words, if MFP has me at 1200 cal/day, should I end up for the week at 1200 cal/day average, or should I always be eating a minimum of 1200 cal/day and then eating over 1200 cal/day on other days? Second, how quickly should I know if it's working? Should I expect to see results at the end of my first week of zigzagging, or should I expect a delay of a week or more after that? Thanks for your input!

Replies

  • mommabear2002
    mommabear2002 Posts: 33
    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
    Use this :)
  • exxxtasi
    exxxtasi Posts: 39
    ive been doing it for 2 weeks, and i noticed right away!pretty much the next day or two! you should always eat at least 1200 cals a day because thats what your body needs just to funtion properly, and if you ecersize you should eat those calories aswell....on your "splurge days " as i call them, sould est about 300 extra the first day and 200 on the next...two days max...i do wednesday and saturday.

    i hope this helps!
  • mommabear2002
    mommabear2002 Posts: 33
    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
    Use this :)

    BTW on this site you put in how much you excerise so I wouldnt think you would eat back your excerise calories.
  • TiniTurtle
    TiniTurtle Posts: 595 Member
    i zigzag, there is a website (i wish i remembered what it was, try googling it) that tells you the highest & lowest you should have in a week. mine is between 900-1500ish at 5'3 with a pretty sedentary lifestyle to lose weight. it tells you to eat back some of your exercise calories if you've netted less than the minimum number in a day. the website also gives you a schedule if you want to use it for higher/lower intake days. i found that for the most part, i naturally have those up/down days because of my lifestyle & it's been successful & realistic for me so far. the iphone MFP app has a section to see your weekly totals, so i can see if i'm still around where MFP suggests i am for my week's net & it's pretty on target, just zigzagging confuses your metabolism so you're less likely to plateau or go into starvation mode. good luck!
  • darkheart
    darkheart Posts: 104 Member
    I am a huge fan of zigzagging!

    That's why I am either under my calorie goal or over. Sometimes you'll notice the next day, other times it will take a week to notice. It is definitely an effective method for weight loss.

    If you're trying to increase fat loss, here's a tip: keep your protein intake THE SAME each day while calorie shifting. This ensure you're losing fat and not muscle!

    Good luck!
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