Zig-zagging question... Need opinions please!

hgellings

I have been thinking about trying to zig-zag my calories in hopes to get the scale to budge again. I went to www.freedieting.com and and after putting in all my information it gave me this...

Extreme Fat Loss:

Monday- 1403
Tuesday- 1216
Wednesday- 1684
Thursday- 1403
Friday- 1263
Saturday- 1543
Sunday- 1403

Fat Loss(these seem kind of high to me):

Monday- 1871
Tuesday- 1497
Wednesday- 2245
Thursday- 1871
Friday- 1684
Saturday- 2058
Sunday- 1871

So I guess my questions are this... 1.) Does this zig-zag schedule sound right? and 2.) Do I eat exactly this amount of calories for that day even after I exercise? I usually burn 300-350 calories a day working out which would bring my net below the 1200 mark for some of these days. I want to do this, but just want to make sure I'm doing right so thanks in advance for any help!

mostlysunny68

The caloric intake seems high to me... What I do when I have not lost weight for a week is eat something off the diet. I don't go wild. For example, once I went to McDonalds and had an ice cream cone. I lost 2 pounds 2 days later, then started dropping again.

moylie

For me, I set up the Freedieting profile based on 3days/week of excercise, even though I do 6 days, because the base calorie value was closest to what I was at on MFP. I followed the normal loss, not the extreme... again, because it was closest to what I was doing. Even on the zig zag day that was 1900 calories for me, I ate back the exercise calories. I always eat back the exercise calories. Your body needs them to rebuild muscle and to recover. I even had a day I went over my zig-zag goal by 300 calories (Memorial Day weekend), and I stil lost three pounds this week! My scale hasn't budged since the beginning of May. Best of luck to you!

LyndseyMcKnight7

I wish I had a good answer for this, but I wonder the same thing. I think on that website you enter how active you are and it takes a certain level of exercise into account. I would maybe try it by doing exactly what they suggest and if that doesn't work after a few weeks, then maybe try to eat back more of your exercise calories. I would definitely not eat below the 1200 though. Good luck! I'm anxious to see if you get results, because i have been thinking about this too!

linemansgirl

I have been doing it and it is working well for me. The first week I didn't lose and I was feeling a bit discouraged. The second week I dropped four pounds!!!!! I didn't do the best over Memorial Day weekend, so now I am working on re-losing a couple pounds. My average is 1734, so I go up and down from there throughout the week. I put in workout 5 times a week, which is pretty close to what I do, sometimes six days depending on how crazy my week is. The calculator is figuring your calories out taking the amount you exercise into consideration, so I have not been eating my exercise calories back.

josephine_x

I'm doing that and following exactly what the freedieting calculator advises, not the extreme fatloss though, anything extreme isn't too healthyI I'm eating much more most days than I did on a rigid diet and losing much more weight! The theory is that your metabilism is burning much higher than it would on a low cal diet. The only exercise I do is walking the dog for half hour daily with about 2 or 3 long hilly walks a week and weight is dropping off! I don't eat back my exercise cals as they are already included on that calculator. Sunday was my high cal day and although I usually eat healthly, I had a BIG slice of pizza and a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings and have lost 2 pound so far this week! Oh, and i'm cutting down on carbs after lunch.

hgellings

Thanks guys! So this is not for net, but just the total calories I consume... correct? For example if Monday calls for 1671 I would eat exactly that amount no matter what I burn in exercise... Right? This is very new for me and kinda scary so just want to make sure I'm doing it right.

tropikanagirl

I have never heard of this. But is this safe to do? I thought not taking in enough calories can lead to the body going into starvation mode and store fat. Im not a doctor , but this is just something I read.

nextrightthing

bump

josephine_x

tropikana girl: you eat more cals than you would on a cal restricted diet, this is the point, you are keeping your metabilism burning high, absolutely NOT going into starvation mode, this is what we are avoiding by doing this. When you fill in the calculator on freedieting it asks for your exercise. For example I put in 4 half hour sessions, it then adjusts your cals accordingly. Just don't over do it on exercise, there's no need. Cardio 3 times a week and some regular weight bearing exercise is enough to keep healthy, don't overdo it.