Here's the Zig-Zagging Link!

PrincessLaundry

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/tools.php?itemid=64

Don't be intimidated by all the numbers and rows, look at it one spot at a time. I just wrote this to someone and figured I'd share since I received several great notes about this type of calorie consumption.

Punch in your information and it will show you quickly what the deal is on zig-zagging your calories. The "simple" option is less fluctuating, and the "complex" option gives you more extreme highs and lows. Play with both of the calculations to see what happens. The different rows, although it can look intimidating, are options you can try depending on your weight goals.

I do not do zig-zagging "by the book" but I do keep it into consideration if I have a "heavy" day, to make sure the next day I am lighter in my choices.

For instance; if I go out to eat and munch on a burger and have some fries, I will usually workout and stay within my calories or possibly go over in one area or two. The next day I will make sure I "short" myself in those areas. Adding of course that I will really up it on the water that night and the next day to help "make up for" the crazy calorie day prior.

Weight Watchers use to do a program where you had 750 extra calories each week to either divide by the 7 days of the week, or munch all at once like a "cheat day." So knowing this option worked so great for me way back in the day, I realized that it was basically zig-zagging.

PrincessLaundry

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/tools.php?itemid=64

Don't be intimidated by all the numbers and rows, look at it one spot at a time. I just wrote this to someone and figured I'd share since I received several great notes about this type of calorie consumption.

Punch in your information and it will show you quickly what the deal is on zig-zagging your calories. The "simple" option is less fluctuating, and the "complex" option gives you more extreme highs and lows. Play with both of the calculations to see what happens. The different rows, although it can look intimidating, are options you can try depending on your weight goals.

I do not do zig-zagging "by the book" but I do keep it into consideration if I have a "heavy" day, to make sure the next day I am lighter in my choices.

For instance; if I go out to eat and munch on a burger and have some fries, I will usually workout and stay within my calories or possibly go over in one area or two. The next day I will make sure I "short" myself in those areas. Adding of course that I will really up it on the water that night and the next day to help "make up for" the crazy calorie day prior.

Weight Watchers use to do a program where you had 750 extra calories each week to either divide by the 7 days of the week, or munch all at once like a "cheat day." So knowing this option worked so great for me way back in the day, I realized that it was basically zig-zagging.

michlingle

I love it!!! Based on my weight and cal goals, I should be eating 1360 for "extreme fat loss" category and alternate it with 1560...MFP has me at 1200 and I have still lost weight consistently at 1 lb per week...there are days that I've gone over...like today I'm 300 over and a bit sore about it, but per this web site I'm actually okay!!! Thanks for the tip, I know that it's important to avoid the plateau by not always staying at the MFP allowance for the day...kudos! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

PrincessLaundry

This just seems to "fit" my life sometimes. It makes me feel okay about having a day to go out with friends for lunch, and then tightening up my meals the following day. I guess it gives me more realistic ways to live with my family needs. Umm...Kind of like "permission to not be perfect, but stay on track."

shorerider

I've lost a 9 yr old boy!

I found another calculator on that site that you can enter how much you have lost or want to lose, and it gives you a couple interesting averages plus how many calories you used up to lose that much or how much to lose so much more.

Anyway...I've lost 67 pounds, which it says is the average weight of a 9 year old boy!

But, I've got 72 pounds left to lose, which is says is the average weight of a 10 year old boy.

I guess that means that by the time I'm finished, I will have lost the equivalent of a 19 year old man :laugh:

Even more amazing are the others stats given to having lost 67 pounds--

---

How Much Fuel Is That?

To lose that amount of fat would mean to burn 234,500 calories or 981,148 KiloJoules! That is the equivalent of 7.63 gallons of gasoline. Humans, however, are far more efficient than cars, getting about 912 "miles to the gallon". If you could dump this many calories into the tank of a Honda Civic, you would be able to drive it about 257 miles before running out of gas!

Let's see how your goal would convert to other forms of fuel. 234,500 calories is equivalent to:

* 7.63 gallons of gasoline, or
* 83.74 pounds of coal, or
* 116.35 pounds of oven-dried wood, or
* 10.24 gallons of propane

This amount of energy would ...

* Brew about 654 pots of coffee, or
* Light a 60-watt light bulb for 4,542 hours ( 189 days = 0.53 years)

Cutting 234,500 calories is the same as saying "no" to:

* 2,931 apples, or
* 2,345 bananas, or
* 13,794 cups of cabbage (whew!), or
* 1,617 baked potatoes, or
* 2,931 large eggs, or
* 1,954 cups of 2% milk, or
* 169 pounds of ground beef, or
* 2,695 glasses of wine, or
* 726 Snickers bars, or
* 977 Clif Bars ( 1,303 Luna Bars), or
* 1,687 cans of Coke, or
* 1,379 pints of Guinness beer, or
* 477 Big Macs, or
* 455 Quarter Pounders with Cheese, or
* 335 Whoppers, or
* 711 Subway 6" Oven Roasted Chicken Breast sandwiches, or
* 1,379 Taco Bell crunchy tacos, or
* 998 slices of pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut

What it Takes to Burn 234,500 Calories

To burn 234,500 calories, a 190 pound male would have to:

* Backpack for 388 hours (16 days) nonstop, or
* Walk for 898 hours (37 days) at 3 mph straight, or
* Walk 2,695 miles (1,685 kilometers), or
* Bike for 680 hours (28 days) at 10 mph, or
* Bike 6,797 miles (4,248 kilometers), or
* Play basketball nonstop for 374 hours 16 days), or
* Play billiards for 1,086 hours (45 days), or
* Go bowling for 905 hours (38 days), or
* Stay on the golf course for 680 hours (28 days), or
* Spend 302 hours (13 days) playing competitive football, or
* Jump rope for 286 hours (12 days) straight!

You would have to walk the length of England about 4.53 times to burn 234,500 calories.

nightangelstars

Having a cheat day once in a while, I think, is important because if you can't ever have any of your favorite 'bad' foods (I'll be having one on my birthday this weekend so I can have shrimp alfredo at Red Lobster, mmm!) you'll give up sooner or go so overboard when you do break the diet that you'll do serious harm to your own efforts. And from what I've heard, zig-zagging is a good way to break a plateau! Thanks!

bbright53

Thanks for the good info

figueres3

So does this Zig-Zag thing really work???

LovelyLady1977

I love this! Gonna give it a try and see what happens. I did have to enter a lower weight to get to the actual calorie range that I know will enable me to lose weight, as I don't lose very well on the number of calories it gave when I listed my true weight. Thanks for sharing!!!

PrincessLaundry

Check out my ticker!!! Yulp, it works for me! All it is is changing the 24 hour period basically of when you are eating your calories.

I don't purposely zig zag my calories but I am not perfect and this allows me to make too low of mistakes and too high if I eat out. Fluctuating your calories, workouts, and the types of foods you eat keep your body guessing on what it should plan to burn each day. There are so many different ways and things to do to lose weight. It might be the plan for some, and not others.

Google more information on it to find out more.