Zig zagging calories

scarlettd12

I have seen a few people on here talking about zig zagging calories....eating over their calories one day, but eating under their calories another day. I am interested to hear about people that do this....if this works for them or why they do it? Do you plan the days on which you will eat more, or do you go over your calories one day so the next you decide to eat less? I've heard that it works for people because it "keeps their body guessing". Do you focus on a weekly calorie goal then? Just looking for some insight on this. Thanks.

beckylawrence70

I do this alot.......

pamperedhen

I have been wondering the same exact thing. How???

EbbySoo

I call it balancing the books. If you know your goal number for deficit/losses or have an event you want to eat/drink at and which training days you have ahead of yourself without anything potentially getting in the way of it, eat what you want and budget it in later in the week. My body is not a 24 hour clock, it is a space ship, I travel into time.

anmei120

I used to do that a while ago.
Usually I focused on the average, so when I am aiming for 1200 calories a day, I go for an 1200 calorie average.
I noted the total number of calories in an excel workbook every day and calculated the average.
Some days I had 800 calories and on other days I had 1600. As long as the average is below 1200 all is allowed.

Did not work for me though, because I ended up binging a lot.

PunkyRachel

Yes, zig zagging calories confuses your body, and it never gets a chance to adjust or get used to your intake. Therefor, you continuously loose weight, in theory.

EbbySoo

I used to do that a while ago.
Usually I focused on the average, so when I am aiming for 1200 calories a day, I go for an 1200 calorie average.
I noted the total number of calories in an excel workbook every day and calculated the average.
Some days I had 800 calories and on other days I had 1600. As long as the average is below 1200 all is allowed.

Did not work for me though, because I ended up binging a lot.

This is because you were eating on your low days way below your BMR. Zig zagging IS NOT THE SAME AS binge and starving/purging.

kaitlynnrogers

bump

cjpg

A standard zigzag week involves a Zig Day, a Zag Day and a Target Day, like below:

Monday - Zig Day - 200 calories more than your allowed calorie limit
Tuesday - Zag Day - 200 calories less than your allowed calorie limit
Wednesday - Target Day - On the mark of your allowed calorie limit
Thursday - Zig Day - 200 more
Friday - Zag Day - 200 less
Saturday - Target Day - On the mark of calorie limit
Sunday - Zag Day - 200 less

It's a pretty standard routine to have more Zag Days than Zig Days but you could also alternate these week by week to even it out to perfect thirds Zigs/Zags/Targets.

The reason for Zigzagging your calories is because when you are strength training it is important to feed your muscles to assist in muscle growth. An inherent problem with cardio exercise is it is known to decrease muscle mass. By Zigzagging, you are minimising the decrease in muscle mass and optimising an increase in weight loss all the while keeping your metabolism 'on it's toes' and ready to put the energy to where you're telling it to go.

I am very soon going to be marking out an alternating Zig Week/Zag Week routine coupled with an intense 12-week muscle training regimen. My first goal was to lose the weight down to 90kg's. Once there, I will begin muscle building using the above.

sparklefly74

I read in an article once that this is the "secret" to naturally skinny people--- that they may overeat one day, but undereat the next. I kind of do this because I have such a funky schedule. Some days I'm awake for close to 24 hours, some days I'm only awake for 8 or 9, so I eat when I'm hungry, but make sure that it averages out over a couple of days. Well, when I'm watching, that's what I do, but lately I've just been eating constantly...gotta get back on the wagon.

msespresso

I did this years ago when I was on Weight Watchers- saw an article in a magazine that called it the 'Wendy plan' and it got my past a plateau, which was great. Of course, it didn't stick because my high days usually included junk food, etc.

You wouldn't want to do this if you are set to 1200 calories a day, but if you up your goal it would work nicely. I recently increased my calorie goal to lose 1lb a week instead of 2, since I found that 1200 calories was not something I could maintain. I'm just getting in the grove of that, but am planning to do some zig zagging, too. It's nice to be able to have dinner out and not beat yourself up about going over your calories!

mariagabriella

I have a question. On days that you eat less, would you eat your exercise calories back, or just half, or not at all?

I'm just wondering how zig-zaging works in terms of exercise.

Devlyn_P

I zig zag right now 1800-2200 always hitting my macros (as close as possibly). I don't eat back exercise calories because it is worked out via the zig zag days in the week.

anmei120

I used to do that a while ago.
Usually I focused on the average, so when I am aiming for 1200 calories a day, I go for an 1200 calorie average.
I noted the total number of calories in an excel workbook every day and calculated the average.
Some days I had 800 calories and on other days I had 1600. As long as the average is below 1200 all is allowed.

Did not work for me though, because I ended up binging a lot.

This is because you were eating on your low days way below your BMR. Zig zagging IS NOT THE SAME AS binge and starving/purging.

True, but I was not I was not speaking about the numbers, it was about the principle.
I know the difference very well

kaned_ferret

I think I sort of zigzag, but entirely by accident On my exercise days I usually have a couple of hundred calories left over, and on my off days I often hit just on, or just over target. I'm hoping that this means overall I'll still be able to lose weight as there should still be a general defecit when looking at a weekly average

MelissaGraham7

I tried zig zagging for 2 months to break a plateau. It did nothing for me physically or emotionally. I felt I was either over eating or under eating and, since it is not a method that I want to continue for my lifetime AND I am in this for my lifetime, then I abandoned it for what is for me a more reasonable and balanced out way of eating.

soyum

I think this works for people that have alot of weight to lose and are possibly at a plateau. I've researched this alot and it does indeed work. You can average out weekly or monthly if you want to. But if your zig-zag is the same every week, your body will adapt, so once in a while randomize things a bit. Zig-zig on different days, etc, etc.

TheVimFuego

I'm naturally low during the working week (I'm an office drone so not that active) and make up for it at the weekend. Or in this case, the long weekend = extra day of excess ...

The weekly deficit is my goal. Having said that if I was genuinely hungry then I'd eat whatever day of the week it was.

cdjs77

I read in an article once that this is the "secret" to naturally skinny people--- that they may overeat one day, but undereat the next. I kind of do this because I have such a funky schedule. Some days I'm awake for close to 24 hours, some days I'm only awake for 8 or 9, so I eat when I'm hungry, but make sure that it averages out over a couple of days. Well, when I'm watching, that's what I do, but lately I've just been eating constantly...gotta get back on the wagon.

I have been thin most of my life (I guess some might also say I was thin when I started getting back in shape, I just had a high body fat percentage), and this is what I do, but not on purpose. I don't know if it's a "secret" so much, since I don't really do it consciously, but I definitely attribute the leaner physique I had for most of my life to this.
For example, I had a huge dinner last night with lots of snacks and desserts but had nothing but tea for breakfast and probably won't eat lunch until mid-afternoon. It's not because I'm purposefully starving myself, I'm just not hungry and probably won't be for a while. I think some people's bodies are just really good at knowing when they need energy and when they don't.

In short, it's good for if you need to go over a couple days because of social get-togethers or other things, but don't try too hard. If you feel like you're starving yourself, it's probably not for you. Overall it's the weekly average that really counts.

lauren3101

I have just recently started doing this. One day I eat at maintenance, which is 2600 calories. The next I eat at TDEE - 40%, which is 1560 calories. The reason is because I struggle to stay within my calories on the days that I'm going out for a meal or a drink, and I have some days where I'm not overly hungry, and some where I just want to eat and eat.

There's no reason why it shouldn't work as long as you have a weekly deficit. Plus the low calorie days are not as difficult as you may think as I know I have a higher one the following day. And, yes, I still eat my exercise calories back, regardless of the day.

MinimalistShoeAddict

Zig zagging is a very useful skill to have in other areas as well (such as running):
http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/zigzag-run-test-for-power-speed-quickness-and-body-control



This technique can save your life if you are ever being chased by an alligator:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjtmrKKNPJ8

alisonlynn1976

I don't have a methodical plan for this, but I do eat less than usual the next day if I eat more than usual on a given day, and it seems to keep me on track. I think it's important to have for flexibility if going for permanent lifestyle change, because life events vary.

pdilippa

this topic really interests me..watching.