Zigzagging Calories

shannon128

I am stuck at a plateua and I have been researching zig zagging my calories. But I have a few questions and need some advice.

First, I have gone to several websites to see what my calorie intake should be and all of them come back with the same or similar numbers:
Mon 984
Tues 984
Wed 1184
Thr 984
Fri 984
Sat 1083
Sun 984
As you can see, everyone of these numbers is under 1,200. I know your never supposed to be below 1200 so I am hesitant to start this.

I am also really confused on how exercise will fit into this... Right now I eat about 70 percent of my exercise calories ( I assume the treadmill "calories burned" is pretty inaccuate).

So is there maybe a way to still eat 1,200 but then exercise so there is the same defecit as if I just ate 984 calories?

I think all the math is tripping me up a bit :laugh: Please help!

shannon128

I am stuck at a plateua and I have been researching zig zagging my calories. But I have a few questions and need some advice.

First, I have gone to several websites to see what my calorie intake should be and all of them come back with the same or similar numbers:
Mon 984
Tues 984
Wed 1184
Thr 984
Fri 984
Sat 1083
Sun 984
As you can see, everyone of these numbers is under 1,200. I know your never supposed to be below 1200 so I am hesitant to start this.

I am also really confused on how exercise will fit into this... Right now I eat about 70 percent of my exercise calories ( I assume the treadmill "calories burned" is pretty inaccuate).

So is there maybe a way to still eat 1,200 but then exercise so there is the same defecit as if I just ate 984 calories?

I think all the math is tripping me up a bit :laugh: Please help!

thejarviclan

Are these numbers your net calories? Or your gross calories? If it's gross calories, they're way too low.

Everyone is different but I had luck sticking with 1200-1400 calories/day (gross) and exercising away between 400-800/day. I tended to zig-zag my exercise rather than my calories. I'd burn 400 or so 4 days a week, and 800-900 the other 3 days.

dimplzz

1200-984=216 So you would have to exercise away 216 calories. Is that what you mean? Then if you exercised more than that, you could also eat those calories.

hiddensecant

Why don't you do different exercise every day so you can eat different amounts every day. Just be sure you burn 200 more 3 days out of the week than the others.

Then you wont have to be in a deficit and you'll be able to zigzag your calories.

And no, dont' go below a net of 1200. If anything go for eating all your calories instead of 70%.

aprilvet

I am stuck at a plateua and I have been researching zig zagging my calories. But I have a few questions and need some advice.

First, I have gone to several websites to see what my calorie intake should be and all of them come back with the same or similar numbers:
Mon 984
Tues 984
Wed 1184
Thr 984
Fri 984
Sat 1083
Sun 984
As you can see, everyone of these numbers is under 1,200. I know your never supposed to be below 1200 so I am hesitant to start this.

I am also really confused on how exercise will fit into this... Right now I eat about 70 percent of my exercise calories ( I assume the treadmill "calories burned" is pretty inaccuate).

So is there maybe a way to still eat 1,200 but then exercise so there is the same defecit as if I just ate 984 calories?

I think all the math is tripping me up a bit :laugh: Please help!

If this is your TOTAL calories intake for the day, you are WAY too low. Even if this is your net (total consumed minus exercise burned) this is too low. You should not drop below 1200 very often. So if you burn 400 cals exercising, you should eat 1600 cals a day. However, you can't trust the calorie estimate from the machines. You need a good hrm to give you a better est. of your calories burned.

That said, none of this is "calorie cycling." My understanding is that you should consume at your daily burn, i.e. active metabolic rate plus exercise for several weeks, then cut out 200-300 cals per day for several weeks, etc. Songbyrdsweet can give you a really good explaination for this.

Bottom line- you're currently not eating enough. You need to slowly up your calories. You might notice some weight gain during this time. Be patient!!! Once your body is accustom to getting enough calories, then you can start cycling.:flowerforyou:

shannon128

No, no no... I have been eating 1200+ a day (normally about 1400-1600 after adding my exercise calories), and still am. This is just something I was looking into because I've been stuck for a few weeks.
I eat about 70% of my EXERCISE calories ON TOP of my usual 1200.
I work out about 3-5 times a week and burn about 300-600 calories everytime I go.

Sorry.. I know this is kind of confusing. My questions are:
1. Can I adjust these numbers so they are over 1200/day but still zig zagging?
and
2. How does exercise fit into this?


I don't know why but this really really confuses me. :huh: I'm sorry if I'm not communicating what I'm trying to ask very well.

hiddensecant

No, no no... I have been eating 1200+ a day (normally about 1400-1600 after adding my exercise calories), and still am. This is just something I was looking into because I've been stuck for a few weeks.
I eat about 70% of my EXERCISE calories ON TOP of my usual 1200.
I work out about 3-5 times a week and burn about 300-600 calories everytime I go.

Sorry.. I know this is kind of confusing. My questions are:
1. Can I adjust these numbers so they are over 1200/day but still zig zagging?
and
2. How does exercise fit into this?


I don't know why but this really really confuses me. :huh: I'm sorry if I'm not communicating what I'm trying to ask very well.

Well, those numbers show wednesday and saturday having 200 more calories than other days. So do a different kind of exercise on those days, maybe the kind in which you're burning on the high end of your range.

NOTE: You can also try eating all your exercise calories. I know it's scary but it works when you're exercising a lot.

nickybr38

Those numbers are way too low. ): I've never heard of zigzagging calories but I would be hesitant to try anything that deprives your body quite so much.

Maybe if you're stuck try bumping up to maintenance calories for a few weeks instead of cutting back even more. That will give your body a chance to relax and stop freaking out. Our bodies are very delicate flowers and needed to be treated quite gently.

Hee.

That's just my suggestion anyway.

lenmana

I'm lost and my head hurts...anyone have the ADD abbreviated version? Gross/net...I have no idea.

12by311

I agree with April, based on what I've read about zig-zagging on here from Songbyrdsweet and other sites. If you are going to zig, it needs to be for about a month...then zag, for another month.


1.) Yes, you can adjust your zigzagging calories to fit you personally.

2.) I would imagine you would still eat at least some of your ex-calories. However, if you are on maintenance calories for a month, you could just exercise and not eat those cals back.

aprilvet

Kerrishannon,

You may want to pm songbyrdsweet about this since she doesn't seem to have found this thread. She's very smart and knowledgeable- B.S. in exercise physiology, I believe; just starting her graduate studies.

Good luck!!!

CarmenSantiago

:laugh: LMAO @ LENMANA

I was thinking the same thing. My brain is sprained now.

loreeb18

Zigzagging is keeping your weekly amount the same but not your daily. So for example, eating 1500 calories a day would give you a weekly total of 10,500. Or you could eat Sun-1500 Mon-1200 Tue-1800 Wed-1600 Thu-1400 Fri-1300 Sat-1700 which also totals 10,500.