zig zagging calories / cardio workouts question

elri1908

I have a few questions about zig-zagging calories and cardio workouts for the bodybuilders out there (you seem to have this method refined to an art):.

BACKGROUND:
I've set my MFP settings as sedentary and wanting to lose 2 pounds per week, and it gave me 1200 calories per day. Whatever exercise I do, I eat back the calories and I'm currently tracking my exercise with a FITBIT which I consider fairly accurate. I'm not over-managing this process, I just try to do the best I can possibly do on any particular day. Recently I hit a plateau and gained weight, but have since managed to lose it again (I say this with cautious optimism. Point is, I want to stop this from happening again, and started looking into zig-zagging calories as a possible solution.

I want to lose weight but maintain muscle at the same time. Due to my current size and circumstances, the only real exercise I do is walking. I try to sometimes jog (max 1 minute), I climb stairs whenever I can, etc. but I don't do any strength exercises and due to my extremely heavy work and study load, and the fact that I'm in Korea, I don't feel comfortable (nor can I afford) joining a gym at the moment. (there are many reasons for this which I won't go into here)

QUESTIONS:

1) Zig-zagging:

I want to do the following - 3 high days, 2 low days, 2 high, 2 low , but I'm unsure how many total calories I should be eating on high days, and how many on low days. Can you please give me some advice?

2) Ratio of protein/carbs/fats:

During the high calorie days I've decided on this ratio of protein/carbs/fats

1st meal: 65/55/20
2nd meal: 35/42/15
3rd meal: 35/42/15
4th meal: 35/42/15
5th meal: 25/23/14

The advice is to eat COMPLEX CARBS, but that concerns me as I currently don't eat anything like potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice etc. (the no white rule) and I keep cereals (mostly weet-bix and oats) to a minimum. I'm concerned that if I carbo-load like that, that I will gain rather than lose weight. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.


3) Exercising / Eating back calories:

I'm not sure how exercising and eating back calories factors into this equation. It seems to be logic that I still have to eat back exercise calories, but that might depend on how many calories I plan to eat on the high vs. low days. Could someone please give me an idea how to manage this?

4) Intense Cardio Workouts:

The advice in general seems to be that during the High Calorie Days, I should do intense Cardio workouts, but nothing I do in the form of exercise can be considered intense. I'm an asthma sufferer as well and with the high humidity at the moment (soon to get worse), I'm really careful of not overdoing it. Keeping in mind my physical ability - what kind of exercises should I be doing that qualifies as an intense workout. At the moment I really don't feel capable of doing all sorts of gym exercises, but I'm willing to push myself running at intervals etc.


This might sound like I'm a control freak, but I really just want some general pointers. (specific pointers will also be helpful though). I'm very new at this game and for once I want to lose weight and keep it off, so I'll really appreciate it if you could give a girl some help! My most recent solution was to stop logging my food and exercise and to just try to 'feel' what my body wants. This seems to have helped me overcome the plateau but I don't think that is a good general approach - I'd much rather have something more scientific like zig-zagging!

Thanks in advance
Elri

Sidesteal

You may not like this answer, but I don't think a cyclical intake will give you any advantage or benefit. Steady intake will be much, much simpler and consequently, easier to manage.

Sarauk2sf

If you have a fitbit, I would suggest looking at your average burn - take your deficit from that and eat a static number each day. On a very high burn day (which is sounds like you do not have) you should eat a little more. You will effectively be zig-zagging without all the math. Trying to manage to the detail that you have suggested for calorie intake and deficits is far too complicated and not necessary. Do not bother messing around with your macros, especially from an intra-day perspective. To be honest, with the amount of weight you have to lose, there is no point over-complicating it. Keep it simple - hit your calorie target and your mimimum protein and fat requirements and exercise...thats it.


ETA. re-read my post and it unintentionally may come across as b*tchy (sorry if it did) - imo, playing around with calorie cycling is only really worthwhile, if at all, when down to those last few pounds and when folks are really focussing on body recomp.

LatinaGordita

This topic is familiar, I had the same questions. Someone suggested this website. I have put my info but have not cycled my calories yet, however will try it in a couple of weeks.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Put in your info and there is 7 day calorie zig zag button, that will tell you how much to eat.

As far as carbs-- go to

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/#axzz1xxQje2V8

He recommends 50 to 100 grams of carbs per day for weight loss. I do about 60 to 100 grams and it is realistic for "ME" and works well for me.

Hope that helps!

Just wanted to add real quick I also increased my protein intake and my macros are set to 30 carbs, 40 protein, 30 fat. On a 1200 calorie diet that is 90 grams of carbs, 120 grams of protein and 40 grams of fat. Again this works for me, and you have to figure out what works for you. My larger protein intake makes me feel fuller longer.

Sarauk2sf

If you have a fitbit, I would suggest looking at your average burn - take your deficit from that and eat a static number each day. On a very high burn day (which is sounds like you do not have) you should eat a little more. You will effectively be zig-zagging without all the math. Trying to manage to the detail that you have suggested for calorie intake and deficits is far too complicated and not necessary. Do not bother messing around with your macros, especially from an intra-day perspective. To be honest, with the amount of weight you have to lose, there is no point over-complicating it. Keep it simple - hit your calorie target and your mimimum protein and fat requirements and exercise...thats it.


ETA. re-read my post and it unintentionally may come across as b*tchy (sorry if it did) - imo, playing around with calorie cycling is only really worthwhile, if at all, when down to those last few pounds and when folks are really focussing on body recomp.

What i am dong now, i view my burn for the days i don't exercise getting my average non exercise maintenance calories. I put that number minute 500 or 1000(depends on how much you want to lose) then eat back your exercise calories.

I tried the "average" fo the week.I would add up all my calories for the week i burned (according to bodybugg) and take off 20%, it didn't workout for me.

IMO, there are two ways to do it without overcomplicating:

1) eat to a steady state , as I noted
2) create your deficit on your 'base' and eat your calories back, so you end up with a consistent deficit, as you noted.

It really depends on what is easiest to track to. I like steady state eating as it is easier to plan, and I do not get hungrier on days I workout v non-workout days. However, I know that some people like to eat more in workout days so the later would probably be easier to maintain.

At the end of the day, it really comes down to the best (easiest) way for an individual to hit their weekly targets.

elri1908

No problem, you didn't come over as b***chy, just direct! Thanks for the advice and taking time to answer! After trying to make sense of everything yesterday, I've come to the same conclusion: I'm not willing to micro-manage like that!

elri1908

I didn't read your full post, but i did see you say you don't know how many to consume on some days, I made this excel spreed sheet, that would keep your calories on target, it can easily be used for zigzagging, it tells you how many to consume per day. to view the topic

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/631394-a-better-way-to-keep-track-of-your-calories

Thank you very much for sharing. I downloaded a copy, and will look into it. You certainly went to a lot of effort! :bigsmile:

elri1908

This topic is familiar, I had the same questions. Someone suggested this website. I have put my info but have not cycled my calories yet, however will try it in a couple of weeks.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Put in your info and there is 7 day calorie zig zag button, that will tell you how much to eat.

As far as carbs-- go to

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/#axzz1xxQje2V8

He recommends 50 to 100 grams of carbs per day for weight loss. I do about 60 to 100 grams and it is realistic for "ME" and works well for me.

Hope that helps!

Just wanted to add real quick I also increased my protein intake and my macros are set to 30 carbs, 40 protein, 30 fat. On a 1200 calorie diet that is 90 grams of carbs, 120 grams of protein and 40 grams of fat. Again this works for me, and you have to figure out what works for you. My larger protein intake makes me feel fuller longer.

This is the easiest yet! Thanks very much for sharing. I will be using this tool because it is simple and allows me to achieve what I'd like to - zig-zagging calories the easy way. With this formula, I also don't need to eat back exercise calories every day because it seems to already be factored into the calorie allowance. Eating my exercise calories (while I believe in the principle) has been difficult because I normally exercise in the evening and then sit with this huge amount of calories that I need to eat back late at night! I will also be increasing my protein and I normally try to keep carbs low. Good luck with your efforts!

elri1908

You may not like this answer, but I don't think a cyclical intake will give you any advantage or benefit. Steady intake will be much, much simpler and consequently, easier to manage.

I don't mind any answers - its a forum and people's opinions are going to differ. Thanks for your input.:happy: :happy: I've come to the conclusion that micro-managing like that is not a good idea, but I'm going to try zig-zagging using the tool that one of the ladies suggested.