How to zig zag cals properly/caloric cycling properly

finncmh

Definitely interesting! Thanks for sharing

Jessicapages

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/64/zig-zag-calculator-for-fat-loss-andor-muscle-gain

http://www.mylifestylediet.com/calorie-calculator.php

i found this site that has a calculator, I prefer to keep it simple and use more even numbers though.

Thank you SOO much I was not sure how to do this and this site did it for me!!! WOW Thank you!!

mymelody_78

BUMP! Thanks for sharing!

aclark6818

bump

marathonmom72

Bump

nomex

bump to read later

angisnee

Thank you for posting this! I set everything up yesterday, and I love that I have a new plan and goals. Makes this seem a little less monotonous! I already feel a renewed sense of hope. Two months with no loss was really starting to get to me. After just two days (one high and one low), the scale is already at the lowest I've been in 11 years.

I left my MFP goal at 0.7 lbs/week, but then I manually note on my daily log how many calories I should net for the day. That seemed easier than changing my goals everyday. I took the weekly deficit MFP gave me and divided it up based on which days I'm likely to eat more (weekends) and days I don't struggle so much because I stay busy with work and kids' activities.


Thanks again!!! :flowerforyou:

bellinachuchina

From this zig-zag calculator (http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm)

Based on my age (23), height (5'2"), weight (135), & activity level (desk job), this would be my zig-zag schedule:


Extra Fat Loss: M-1080, T-1080, W-1296, TH-1080, F-1080, S-1188, SU-1080

Fat Loss: M-1270, T-1280, W-1523, TH-1270, F-1143, S-1396, SU-1270

Maintain: M-1587, T-1270, W-1904, TH-1587, F-1428, S-1745, SU-1587


Due to my stats, it would be necessary to go below the *sacred* 1200 :flowerforyou:

DawnMarie1970

Bump

sarah307

bump

Newfiedan

From this zig-zag calculator (http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm)

Based on my age (23), height (5'2"), weight (135), & activity level (desk job), this would be my zig-zag schedule:


Extra Fat Loss: M-1080, T-1080, W-1296, TH-1080, F-1080, S-1188, SU-1080

Fat Loss: M-1270, T-1280, W-1523, TH-1270, F-1143, S-1396, SU-1270

Maintain: M-1587, T-1270, W-1904, TH-1587, F-1428, S-1745, SU-1587


Due to my stats, it would be necessary to go below the *sacred* 1200 :flowerforyou:

At your height and weight you really do not need to go on an extreme fat loss routine, they are intended more for obese ppl, you would be in the fat loss range at best.It takes some common sense for proper application of this method, if you are in a lower weight range you do not go for extreme fat loss.

marathonmom72

Question - on the maintenance days, do you all your exercise calories into your meal plan as well? For my max days, I have re-set my goals to 1lb. loss per week. Then, after I enter my exercise for the day, I am subtracting 800 calories using quick tools, to figure my calories for the day.

jrobertson37

Yes please explain how your exercise cals fit into this because i try to burn atleast 500 per day. I only have 8lbs im trying to get rid of but i know you have to go commando on your body in order to do this.

Maintenance=1925 and Im doing fat loss only not extreme so my weekly zig zag looks like this:

m-1541/1926 t=1264/15414 w-1849/2311 th-1541/1926 f-1387/1733 sa-1695/2118 su-1541/1926

On this plan, should i continue to burn 500 per day?

heniko

Question using that freedieting tool I calculated a higher calories then here on MFP, first why the difference? And which would you suggest using Newfiedan. Then secondly would doing this be healthy and fine to do ... one day do 1490cal (what I'm working with on MFP) then minus 20% from that the next day getting 1220cal, day threee going back to 1490 and etc ... or do we need to do one do the higher calorie days too? I'm only asking since I have gone over my calories this week ... 4 days in a row 200-300cal over and I want to get them back ... thank you

Jackee357

Bump

bellinachuchina

From this zig-zag calculator (http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm)

Based on my age (23), height (5'2"), weight (135), & activity level (desk job), this would be my zig-zag schedule:


Extra Fat Loss: M-1080, T-1080, W-1296, TH-1080, F-1080, S-1188, SU-1080

Fat Loss: M-1270, T-1280, W-1523, TH-1270, F-1143, S-1396, SU-1270

Maintain: M-1587, T-1270, W-1904, TH-1587, F-1428, S-1745, SU-1587


Due to my stats, it would be necessary to go below the *sacred* 1200 :flowerforyou:

At your height and weight you really do not need to go on an extreme fat loss routine, they are intended more for obese ppl, you would be in the fat loss range at best.It takes some common sense for proper application of this method, if you are in a lower weight range you do not go for extreme fat loss.

And what is your reasoning/research behind this? B/c of my height & weight, common sense would say: eat less in order to see timely results like that of taller people... hence why my maintenance calories are taller people's weight loss calories.

Newfiedan

well lets look at common sense here shall we?

1) You are not exceptionally short, yes you are a little on the short side, so you would need to stick above the min of 1200 cals a day unless you metabolic rate was exceptionally low which can be easily remedied with eating more and exercising more.
2) You are at a healthy weight for your height already, 5ft2 and 135 is a healthy range already.
3) You do not have a lot of fat to shed, you are most likely around that 20% range right now. This link gives a closer idea as to what the ideal weights are for women given their height: http://www.annecollins.com/weight-loss/ideal-weight-women.htm 4
4) At your height you should be focused on body composition more than what the scale says so that would mean getting bodyfat measurements, not scale weights. You can be a much healthier leaner, happier you at a heavier scale measurement than what you think is a good number. So without bodyfat % factoring into the equation here there is no way to accurately tell what your ideal weight should be.

This is not intended to be harsh or mean to you but if you feel that you need to be lighter on the scale than you already are then you need to reexamine what a healthy weight means to you. I find that ppl tend to be to worried about the bloody scale number and less about true health. For instance here are my current stats: 5ft8" 166.2 lbs, I am 15% bodyfat, my ideal weight in theory is around 165, but in truth once I am done with my body transformation I will most likely be 175 and 10% bodyfat. My first goal is to shed bodyfat, not get to a set weight. The second is to add muscle to get to where I am totally happy with how I look. I like how I look now but I want to truly love how I look and I am always altering goals around that.

anotheryearolder

bump

flyingspatulas

I want to try this, but I'm totally confused. MFP tells me to eat 1400 calories a day, plus whatever exercise calories I earn, but the three zig-zag calculators I tried are telling me to zig-zag between 1800 and 2100 calories... and I have to eat exercise calories on TOP of that? That can't be right... Any advice would be welcome! (I'm 5'4" 235lbs)

Newfiedan

first off did you go with what mfp suggested as your daily caloric goal and are you set up for a 1 or 2 lb a week loss, from the number you posted I would assume 2 lbs/wk is your setup.

bellinachuchina

well lets look at common sense here shall we?

1) You are not exceptionally short, yes you are a little on the short side, so you would need to stick above the min of 1200 cals a day unless you metabolic rate was exceptionally low which can be easily remedied with eating more and exercising more.
2) You are at a healthy weight for your height already, 5ft2 and 135 is a healthy range already.
3) You do not have a lot of fat to shed, you are most likely around that 20% range right now. This link gives a closer idea as to what the ideal weights are for women given their height: http://www.annecollins.com/weight-loss/ideal-weight-women.htm 4
4) At your height you should be focused on body composition more than what the scale says so that would mean getting bodyfat measurements, not scale weights. You can be a much healthier leaner, happier you at a heavier scale measurement than what you think is a good number. So without bodyfat % factoring into the equation here there is no way to accurately tell what your ideal weight should be.

This is not intended to be harsh or mean to you but if you feel that you need to be lighter on the scale than you already are then you need to reexamine what a healthy weight means to you. I find that ppl tend to be to worried about the bloody scale number and less about true health. For instance here are my current stats: 5ft8" 166.2 lbs, I am 15% bodyfat, my ideal weight in theory is around 165, but in truth once I am done with my body transformation I will most likely be 175 and 10% bodyfat. My first goal is to shed bodyfat, not get to a set weight. The second is to add muscle to get to where I am totally happy with how I look. I like how I look now but I want to truly love how I look and I am always altering goals around that.

Yes, my current focus is my scale weight, since I'm at the upper end of healthy range for BMI. Working on getting my body fat down is definitely a goal of mine, though. I go back and forth between whether or not I want to lose another 10-15lbs. My body seems to be stubborn about getting rid of it, that's for sure!

Newfiedan

You sound like a sensible person, allow me to alleviate some of your bmi concerns, the bmi scale is worthless, literally as it takes nothing into account for lean muscle mass or bodyfat, a bodybuilder will register as obese on the BMI scale, hell I show as overweight on the BMI scale and I am far from that. You need to shift focus from BMI to body fat % the reason being that it is a better means of determining health. It is not perfect but it is a far cry better than BMI. To determine what you would be happiest at is to look at how far you have come, you have dropped 110 pounds which is a fantastic achievement. The question you need to ask is do you think that losing more is maintainable given your current lifestyle. Do you want to live like a hermit to maintain a super low bodyfat? I can assure you that getting super lean is not easy by any means, we all need to live and its a matter of how far you want to take it vs the lifestyle to maintain that weight. At some point you need to strike a balance and learn to live with that choice, for 85% of the population they will be happy at the sensible easily maintainable bodyfat% 25% or so for women and 20% or so for men. I am pushing it further simply to prove to myself that it can be done, whether or not I choose to keep it long term will be a function of how busy my life gets. I want to be healthy and if that means being a higher body fat than my current goal then I am ok with that choice.

bellinachuchina

You sound like a sensible person, allow me to alleviate some of your bmi concerns, the bmi scale is worthless, literally as it takes nothing into account for lean muscle mass or bodyfat, a bodybuilder will register as obese on the BMI scale, hell I show as overweight on the BMI scale and I am far from that. You need to shift focus from BMI to body fat % the reason being that it is a better means of determining health. It is not perfect but it is a far cry better than BMI. To determine what you would be happiest at is to look at how far you have come, you have dropped 110 pounds which is a fantastic achievement. The question you need to ask is do you think that losing more is maintainable given your current lifestyle. Do you want to live like a hermit to maintain a super low bodyfat? I can assure you that getting super lean is not easy by any means, we all need to live and its a matter of how far you want to take it vs the lifestyle to maintain that weight. At some point you need to strike a balance and learn to live with that choice, for 85% of the population they will be happy at the sensible easily maintainable bodyfat% 25% or so for women and 20% or so for men. I am pushing it further simply to prove to myself that it can be done, whether or not I choose to keep it long term will be a function of how busy my life gets. I want to be healthy and if that means being a higher body fat than my current goal then I am ok with that choice.

That puts the BMI into perspective for me! I've been maintaining my goal weight of 135 for over a year now, so I know it's something I could live with, but I just feel as if I'm not done, or that I'm not challenging myself as I was while losing! Thats what major weight loss does, it creates this adrenaline rush fueled by achievement and then you reach your goal and it's like, "Now What?"! I've been asking myself this for awhile now, some people say to make exercise goals for myself, but any major exercising I actually enjoy is incorporated into outdoor sports (swimming, hiking, volleyball, etc.) maybe some yoga or pilates, not "X" minutes on the eliptical or running miles. For me, getting leaner is probably going to take some lifestyle changing, as you mentioned.

Newfiedan

indeed it may, its is finding what you enjoy doing and building upon that, I am never going to stop setting new goals. It will either be professional or personal goals for me its always about finding that next challenge, that next level to take things to. I think that in life we need to be constantly challenging ourselves. Why not take part in a triathlon as that incorporates much of what you mentioned.

kell_riley

Bump

NitaCB

Hi, I've worked out what my zig-zag calories should be through that site. My only concern is the exercise variables. I'm marathon training, so if I do a 75 min run one day it burns a lot more than say a 45 min run. And even more so a 2 hr run... So I just want to make sure that I'm still getting adequate calories in. I put in that I exercise every day, which I pretty much to do, bar one day. But my question is, when they say 'exercise' for most people that equates to maybe a 400-700 cal burn, not up to maybe a 1300 cal burn. Do you see what I'm getting at?

I've arranged the high and low days according to when my longer/shorter runs are it's just harder to make sure that I'll be getting enough when I'm not eating according to what I've burnt for the day. (Not that I was eating all of my exercise calories anyway). I also realise that you need to organise your days so that there's enough of a 'zig zag' effect.

I'm going M-1434, T-1792, W-1972, T-1792, F-1613, S-2151, S-1792. I'm 5"3 and 130 lbs. I've read what you said above about what body fat you say is going to be maintainable in the long term. I'm at 23% now, I'd like to be below 20. Which I think should be maintainable for me as I'm very active all the time and I'm about to start training to be a PT. I guess I also feel a bit of pressure to 'look' like a PT.

NitaCB

Also meant to say that yes, I do know that marathon training and weight loss are kind of conflicting goals. But I'm doing my best to eat well and have plenty of good quality foods with enough protein for muscle repair. I've had the reprimand for trying to achieve weight loss while I'm marathon training, it's not why I'm doing it if you're wondering, it's because I love to run and I really want to do a marathon.

peacehawk

So, I should basically eat what I want every third day. Hmmm. I do love trail mix, and cheese. I have been seriously limiting them. Thanks :-)

MericoX

Can someone check my math? Currently set at 2lb/week I get 1540 calories (I don't include exercising in my "goals" as exercising is quite sporadic). Maintenance day would have me eating 2540 calories and deficit day would be 1740. Those both seem EXTREMELY high to me? HELP?

nicole751

definitely going to do this! thanks for the information

BUMP