Zig Zagging Calories

Zig zagging has definitely worked for me. When I was in weight loss mode, I would stick to a lower standard calorie limit during the week. On the weekend, I would allow myself more treats, as this coincides going out with friends, parties, restaurants, etc.

It also keeps me from feeling deprived while still staying on plan, and I also think it helps with weight loss as well.

I also think "starvation mode" is a myth, as weight loss is usually pretty basic - eat less calories than you burn = pounds gone.

Check out this site for a calculator: http://www.johnsonupdaydowndaydiet.com/html/how-to-do-the-diet.html

That is the plan I use. I alternate with 500 and 2000 calories and exercise as normal. I don't eat my exercise calories back. I think yesterday, after my workout on a down day, my net calories were something like 15. I'll be the first to admit that the down days aren't fun, but the up days always are so it keeps me from feeling deprived.

I love zig-zagging! But I prefer to do it more intuitively and based on what kind of social events are on my calendar than by following a set formula. Yes, I do have days where my net calories are quite low as exercise also cuts my appetite. But those days are balanced out by higher calories on days where I might be going out to dinner or to a party or just because I'm in the mood for a guilt-free splurge. I love using the phone app because it tracks your calories for the week better than the website does so I use it to aim for a weekly calorie target, not a daily one. It works for me. I can keep my calories at or just under my weekly target without any feelings of deprivation and eat when I'm hungry, don't eat if I'm not.

Funker camper, your eating and exercise habits sound just like mine. It's like we're twins!

If you're using MFP as intended, and eating back at least some of your exercise calories, you are zig-zagging by default. Your active days will have higher intake than your rest days.

yes.

That plan is fine for awhile, but eventually you will have to increase your calories or your body will produce hormones that will hinder your weight loss efforts. This is what people on this site commonly refer to when speaking of 'starvation mode'. But technically 'starvation mode' is a misnomer because at no time are you actually starving. Eating below BMR means that you are depriving your body of micronutrients, but it takes time for this malnutrition to register and your body to react to it. Just be sure that you get some healthy unsaturated fats into your diet and you will be fine. When your weight loss slows down, consider raising your calories so that your calorie deficit is 20% of your TDEE.

While I have nothing against those who want to always eat 20% off of TDEE, it isn't a system that works for me. Trying to hit the same calorie target each day is, to me, extremely stressful. I resent that whole process. And eating at or just under BMR for a day here and there is not going to put you into starvation mode immediately. It just doesn't happen that way. Most of the studies I've seen indicates that it takes about 72 hours of serious under-eating before any kind of metabolic slowdown begins. I'm not advocating for eating below BMR for multiple days in a row so that this can happen. I've never seen a good zig-zagging plan that would.

Add to that, my exercise routine is purposely erratic because I quickly become bored doing the same things all the time. And sometimes I do activities for fun that burn calories that I don't really consider my regular exercising. I might have a couple of days a week where I have simply done my heavy-lifting program. Minimal calories burned (not counting the elevated after-burn that is impossible to track). I might have another day where I go on a three hour bike ride because I'm out having fun but then go to a bootcamp class that night which is hard work and exercise. Yeah, I track the calories form both but there's no way I can eat an additional 2000 calories that day (and I'm actually skeptical of MFP's calorie burns so I may have only burned half or 2/3 of that anyway). I would especially have a hard time eating that much because exercise tends to decrease my appetite. But the next day or the day after that, I might go out to dinner where I really want to enjoy my seafood platter or whatever, with a drink and dessert, and I can eat those calories then without going over my calories for the week, enjoying each bite completely guilt-free. It's not a cheat or a real splurge as it's all within my calorie target.

Our bodies aren't set on a time-clock that resets itself at midnight. So it just makes far more sense to track calories/exercise over multiple days and be able to be on a program where I lose fat, maintain and strengthen my muscles, lose inches, gain fitness, in a totally stress-free and fun manner than to try to reach a concrete daily goal that just makes me crazy and increases my stress.

We're all different in terms of finding a method that works for us. If this was promoting a metabolic slow-down, I'd share your concerns but studies have shown that flexible dieting tends to lead to a higher degree of long-term success. So, embrace the flexibility, I say!

Edited to fix quote formatting error.

That plan is fine for awhile, but eventually you will have to increase your calories or your body will produce hormones that will hinder your weight loss efforts. This is what people on this site commonly refer to when speaking of 'starvation mode'. But technically 'starvation mode' is a misnomer because at no time are you actually starving. Eating below BMR means that you are depriving your body of micronutrients, but it takes time for this malnutrition to register and your body to react to it. Just be sure that you get some healthy unsaturated fats into your diet and you will be fine. When your weight loss slows down, consider raising your calories so that your calorie deficit is 20% of your TDEE.

While I have nothing against those who want to always eat 20% off of TDEE, it isn't a system that works for me. Trying to hit the same calorie target each day is, to me, extremely stressful. I resent that whole process. And eating at or just under BMR for a day here and there is not going to put you into starvation mode immediately. It just doesn't happen that way. Most of the studies I've seen indicates that it takes about 72 hours of serious under-eating before any kind of metabolic slowdown begins. I'm not advocating for eating below BMR for multiple days in a row so that this can happen. I've never seen a good zig-zagging plan that would.

Add to that, my exercise routine is purposely erratic because I quickly become bored doing the same things all the time. And sometimes I do activities for fun that burn calories that I don't really consider my regular exercising. I might have a couple of days a week where I have simply done my heavy-lifting program. Minimal calories burned (not counting the elevated after-burn that is impossible to track). I might have another day where I go on a three hour bike ride because I'm out having fun but then go to a bootcamp class that night which is hard work and exercise. Yeah, I track the calories form both but there's no way I can eat an additional 2000 calories that day (and I'm actually skeptical of MFP's calorie burns so I may have only burned half or 2/3 of that anyway). I would especially have a hard time eating that much because exercise tends to decrease my appetite. But the next day or the day after that, I might go out to dinner where I really want to enjoy my seafood platter or whatever, with a drink and dessert, and I can eat those calories then without going over my calories for the week, enjoying each bite completely guilt-free. It's not a cheat or a real splurge as it's all within my calorie target.

Our bodies aren't set on a time-clock that resets itself at midnight. So it just makes far more sense to track calories/exercise over multiple days and be able to be on a program where I lose fat, maintain and strengthen my muscles, lose inches, gain fitness, in a totally stress-free and fun manner than to try to reach a concrete daily goal that just makes me crazy and increases my stress.

We're all different in terms of finding a method that works for us. If this was promoting a metabolic slow-down, I'd share your concerns but studies have shown that flexible dieting tends to lead to a higher degree of long-term success. So, embrace the flexibility, I say!

Edited to fix quote formatting error.

First off, I never said that you couldn't eat below BMR once in awhile. I never said that the program had to be adhered to religiously. I actually never said that anyone had to eat back exercise calories, though I would recommend it on any day that one lifts. For the most part, I eat a consistent amount of calories every day regardless of how much or how little I exercise. My TDEE is calculated based on my exercise goals and not what I 'actually' exercise. So some days, I am in a much deeper deficit than 20%. Personally, I don't even look at net calories. You do not have to be exact. You just have to be in the ball park.

For you to have read my post and assume that I follow a rigid eating plan, just says to me that you really didn't read my post.