How to zig zag cals properly/caloric cycling properly

Newfiedan

So I have had some requests to post this and I hope that it will benefit you all. To get started out right you need to be set at a 1lb/week fat loss for this to work right. Why 1lb/wk loss? Simple wiggle room, you are going to shed more so do not stress about it, its not the end of the world as you know it. (for those whom have lots to shed 60+ pounds of more we can push it a little further same practice but slightly different application) So here are the basics using me as an example: I am set at a 1lb/week loss and for me that is 1940 cals/day, this gives me a 500 cal deficit to start with before workouts. So remember that mfp set me up with that deficit to start with for the beginners whom do not quite have a handle on that.

Here is the cal breakdown for maintenance/loss/max:

2440 maintenance/1940 loss/max deficit of 800 is 1640 cals.

So on days 1 and 2 I go max deficit of 1640 cals I do this through food and exercise as I like to eat I usually do it by not eating back 300 of my workout cals (for those with a lot to shed you can do that for 500 cals)

On day 3 I go to maintenance level of 2440 cals. I do this to prevent starvation mode from taking effect and it keeps my metabolic rate at its peak and the exercise helps me to do that as well as crank it up a few notches.

And repeat, of course the closer I get the lower the amount I can push it so once I am say 5 pounds away I will more than likely have to go to 0.5 lb/week loss for my wiggle room. You will have to play with the deficit to get it set right for you, we all respond somewhat differently but as a general rule a long lasting deficit will drop metabolic rate on you which is why I used to encourage a cheat day or cheat meal every few weeks. I am doing this method to speed up my fat loss somewhat. By zig zagging my cals my body can not lower my metabolic rate on me. Now also keep in mind that as you shed fat the numbers will change so reset it every 2nd week or when results start to slow down. I dropped 27 pounds so far and I train/eat with purpose so should you, train for fat loss using the most time effective workouts like High intensity interval training and metabolic resistance training, we do not need to spend 6 days a week in the gym to shed fat quickly and easily.

GA_Gyrl

WOW!!!

Tzavush

bump -

bmontgomery87

First time I've heard of this.
I always heard to taper down or up slowly when changing your diet around so this is new to me.

Newfiedan

it has sped up my fat loss before and I am currently doing it again to help me keep that moving along.

KristaPFT

Great post! I do this often for the same reason. You never want your body to adapt and this is a great way to do it! :happy:

Newmammaluv

Without any of these concrete ideas this is what I have been doing naturally I think. I should put some more thought into it and make it official and see what kind of difference it makes.

Thanks for the post!

DJmom44

bump

bmontgomery87

nice to know. thanks

donicagalek

Obviously this is healthy, but it's not the first time I've heard of this concept. In my early 20's I would go to Ana/Mia boards for dieting tips (I was morbidly obese and nothing was working - I was going hardcore) and a lot of them went by the 2-4-6-8 Diet. X-(

Day One - 200 calories
Day Two - 400 calories
Day Three - 600 calories
Day Four - 800 calories
And repeat...

After I saw 95 pound girls actually DO this I felt so bad for using that board to drop weight. :-/ Good to know that there's a healthy way out there to do this.

cahira

Bumpin' for later!

forty3fab

Never though of it like that! I am going to that!

scagneti

Might try this! Is there a way to easily get the food diary to change, or is it a manual change every day type thing?

Newfiedan

manually done, 2 days under 1 day at maintenance.

chantel111184

So you do 2 days under and 1 day maintenance do you do the other days as your normal intake. On the day you do maintenance do you eat all or some of your exercise calories. Really wanted to try this just need to understand.

Days 1,2 under
Day 3 maintenance
Days 4,5 under
Day 6 maintenance
Day 7 under

2000 maintenance/1500 loss/max deficit of 800 is 1200 cals.

Newfiedan

yup u got it.

chantel111184

thanks. read so many posts never really understood thanks

Newfiedan

bump

GTI_Girl

bump. gonna have to try this out...i have these last pesky 15 lbs to lose!

Trafty024

Saving for later

rachel871

there's a diet similar to this, called 'the up day down day diet'... I've never tried it myself, but on the website there's a calorie calculator which calculates your 'up' (maintenance) calories and your 'down' (fasting) days calories....

Personally I think they're a bit extreme, but it might be useful for some of you if you're thinking about doing this kind of thing!!

peachyxoxoxo

Thanks for the info! I'm really interested in trying this but never knew how to go about it.

Cbandelier

Is the max deficit of 800 a straight figure or a percentage?

My current maintenance is 1550; I think I would have a really hard time eating just 750 and not sure how safe that would be. I do exercise 3-4 days/week and that would add another 300-400, but there are some days where a work-out is just not very feasible. Any suggestions?

MyNameIsNotBob

Might try this! Is there a way to easily get the food diary to change, or is it a manual change every day type thing?

I just started doing this yesterday, and I'm having to change my calorie goals daily. It only takes a second, but it's annoying when you go to look at other days and it says you're under or over or whatever based upon your current day's goals, even though you met your goal that particular day. I'm keeping notes in the food log about what that day's goal was so that I can go back and look.

Newfiedan

Is the max deficit of 800 a straight figure or a percentage?

My current maintenance is 1550; I think I would have a really hard time eating just 750 and not sure how safe that would be. I do exercise 3-4 days/week and that would add another 300-400, but there are some days where a work-out is just not very feasible. Any suggestions?

If your maintenance is 1550 the lowest you should go is 1200, for women whom are shorter than 5ft tall you can push it to 1100 but anything less and you are really pushing it. It works off a percentage and that gets lower as you approach your goal weight. For women no less than 1200 as a general rule and for men no less than 1500 as a general rule. My maintenance is 2440 right now so I have more cals to play with. 800 works for me as I am 11.6 pounds shy of my goal. But I am also active so I have more to play with. The more weight the greater the wiggle room, the lighter the less wiggle room.

kwoj09

bump for later

liezelcha

Bump

Newfiedan

bump

lkm111

I'm curious to know the kinds of food you eat on your 2250 caorie days. I have always had trouble eating all my calories. I started losing weight after I realized I wasn't eating enough (thanks MFP!), so to eat a lot in one day can be hard for me. Would you mind posting a sample day? Thank you in advance!

Newfiedan

my diary is open to the public so feel free to check it out, today will be a 2440 calorie day or go back 3 days and you will see what I did on that day, for me eating is not an issue lol. I can easily eat healthy and get that kind of intake. My go to foods for making up cals are almonds, bananas and olive oil or other foods that are calorically dense but good for you.

IsMollyReallyHungry

bump!