How I broke my month long plateau

funkyspunky871 · July 2011

You know what's coming... Calorie zig-zagging!!

Here's a great calculator right here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Personally, I didn't use that calculator because I didn't think the changes in daily caloric intake were extreme enough. So, I made my own plan. For nine days (since I also pushed back my weigh-in to Mondays instead of Saturdays), my days were supposed to look like

Saturday: 1800
Sunday: 1500
Monday: 1200
Tuesday: 1700
Wednesday: 1200
Thursday: 1600
Friday: 1200
Saturday: 1800
Sunday: 1200

Total Weekly: 13,200
Daily Average: 1467

All I did was decide I wanted an average daily intake between 1400 and 1500 and that I didn't feel comfortable going higher than 1800 or lower than 1200. I just played around with numbers until I found something I liked.

In reality, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, I didn't stick to just 1200 calories. I went 30-200 calories over. It wasn't a big deal though, because I just subtracted the overage from the next days or just dealt with a higher average intake than planned. Really my daily average ended up being 13,522.

I also increased my water intake. Normally I drink 8-16 oz of liquid a day (this includes cokes, juices, coffee, and plain ole' water). Somedays I don't drink ANYTHING at all. I'm not a very thirsty person, and I'm really good at ignoring my thirst (and perhaps deceiving it as hunger? I think I just might actually). I drank the recommended 8 glasses of water a day, and twice this past week I got as high as 12 glasses in a day. That's pretty amazing for me. I thought my bladder was going to explode.

Next, I changed up my exercise routine. I usually do a lot of Leslie Sansone Walk-At-Home videos. This week I completed the first week of C25K and 3 days of the 30DS and some beginner yoga. I even took a 6 mile walk to the neighborhood pool on Saturday.

Sooo... After an entire MONTH of being at the same weight (163.2), I woke up, jumped on the scale, and found this number blinking on the screen: 160.4! That's 2.8 pounds after weeks and weeks of nothing, nada, zip, zero.

Now, I just can't decide what I should do now. Continue with zig-zagging?

P.S.: I'm only .8 pounds away from a healthy weight! My BMI has gone from 46.3 to 25.1. SO CLOSE!

Mad_Dog_Muscle · July 2011

Bump

Helice · July 2011

calorie zig-zagging definitely sounds like an interesting concept.
i always thought that zig-zagging would end with u going into starvation mode one day, and then the next day eating alot more and pileing on the weight...
but i have seen so many people have the opposite effect with it.

But if its working for u i say go for it!!
Maybe continue zig-zagging until u hit a plateau again, and then go back to eating the same calories again..
I assume that would work, and then u could just repeat until at the desired weight..
If only things in life really were that easy...

Congratulations though!
And good luck on ur weight loss journey
x

lockermama · July 2011

Good work! I think the exercise is the thing that does it, as long as calories stay within a reasonable weekly average.

khodges15 · July 2011

i agree. for about the past week or so i wouldnt say i ate whatever i wanted, i was still concious of what i was putting in my mouth, but i didnt take in some different foods. i fairly kept up with excercise still about 5 times a week with 2 days off. kept up regular habits. hopped on the scale, 3-5 lbs down. can i survive and lose weight doing this? no probably not. will it get me by for the summer til i start school again and be strict, yup.

congrats to you tho.

EHuntRN · July 2011

Awesome job...I have been at a plateau too for about a month....cant get 160 off my back for nothing...started C25k 4 weeks ago and I thought that would push me to 155 in a month but nothing...I do pretty good with my cals and water(sometimes)...so Im not sure why the plateau...except I think my fat is as stubborn as I am...and I am also working with a trainer 2 days a wk...but congrats to you and hopefull by the end of July I can report a 3-5 lb loss....Im trying not to get discouraged as I have just hit my 185th logging day!!!

sweebeesmom · July 2011

very cool! It seems like your tried a couple things and something paid off! Congrats!

sharidiane · July 2011

First of all - congrats!!! That is such a huge accomplishment, and it must feel great!

I am very interested in calorie zig zagging, but there's one thing I haven't been able to figure out - The calorie amounts you posted above - are they NET calories, or GROSS (ie pre-workout). I simply cannot do this much math in my head. I try to eat around 1500 per day, with at least 300 burned, but some days I can't workout at all, as I am working 12-14 hours on those days. I would love to make those my high calorie days, but I just can't work out the math, and how the exercise figures in. The free dieting website doesn't talk about exercise cal's. Thanks!

michellehorvath · July 2011

Yay for great successes!!! Congrats on your determination! I am trying to hit the 140's right now and so I may tweak your suggestions!!!

EmBlazes · July 2011

Wow...good work so far!!! I actually find I calorie zig-zag naturally anyway and I'm losing weight so it must be working for me. I think if it works for you keep going :happy:

sloanie1 · July 2011

Great feedback, thank you....I'm on day 4 of zigzagging and hoping it does the trick! Getting to 1800 was tough because I only eat clean and you fill up really quick on wholesome foodTo be honest I was quite apprehensive about it but I thought it can't hurt! I wonder how long your meant to do it for, I was planning on just one week to start with..

purplepollypops · July 2011

That's brilliant well done

I was in a similar situation a couple of weeks ago and I attempted zig-zagging but I didn't set out to have a certain amount on certain days. Some days I ate my exercise cals back, some days I didn't and some days I ate more than my cal allowance plus my exercise cals. And I lost 1.5lb last week and 2lb this week :happy:
I'm intending to keep this up until I hit another plateau and then I'll switch back to what I was doing before.

joanpeters · July 2011

what is c25k?

coolcatcan · July 2011

You know what's coming... Calorie zig-zagging!!

Here's a great calculator right here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Personally, I didn't use that calculator because I didn't think the changes in daily caloric intake were extreme enough. So, I made my own plan. For nine days (since I also pushed back my weigh-in to Mondays instead of Saturdays), my days were supposed to look like

Saturday: 1800
Sunday: 1500
Monday: 1200
Tuesday: 1700
Wednesday: 1200
Thursday: 1600
Friday: 1200
Saturday: 1800
Sunday: 1200

Total Weekly: 13,200
Daily Average: 1467

All I did was decide I wanted an average daily intake between 1400 and 1500 and that I didn't feel comfortable going higher than 1800 or lower than 1200. I just played around with numbers until I found something I liked.

In reality, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, I didn't stick to just 1200 calories. I went 30-200 calories over. It wasn't a big deal though, because I just subtracted the overage from the next days or just dealt with a higher average intake than planned. Really my daily average ended up being 13,522.

I also increased my water intake. Normally I drink 8-16 oz of liquid a day (this includes cokes, juices, coffee, and plain ole' water). Somedays I don't drink ANYTHING at all. I'm not a very thirsty person, and I'm really good at ignoring my thirst (and perhaps deceiving it as hunger? I think I just might actually). I drank the recommended 8 glasses of water a day, and twice this past week I got as high as 12 glasses in a day. That's pretty amazing for me. I thought my bladder was going to explode.

Next, I changed up my exercise routine. I usually do a lot of Leslie Sansone Walk-At-Home videos. This week I completed the first week of C25K and 3 days of the 30DS and some beginner yoga. I even took a 6 mile walk to the neighborhood pool on Saturday.

Sooo... After an entire MONTH of being at the same weight (163.2), I woke up, jumped on the scale, and found this number blinking on the screen: 160.4! That's 2.8 pounds after weeks and weeks of nothing, nada, zip, zero.

Now, I just can't decide what I should do now. Continue with zig-zagging?

P.S.: I'm only .8 pounds away from a healthy weight! My BMI has gone from 46.3 to 25.1. SO CLOSE!

I did the same thing during my weight loss journey and it worked for me!! I was watching the Dr. Oz show and he stated to break plateau to stagger your calories. It boosts your metabolism into high gear. Your body is smart and becomes acclimated pretty quickly...like exercises, you have to vary your calorie intake as well. Tons and tons of water is also a MUST...took me a while to learn that, but it makes such a huge difference. I started at 131 lbs and now I am at goal at 106 lbs. Sooooo glad you posted your experience. This will help a lot of people!

Continue with zig zagging calories and different exercise routines...keep your body guessing at all times. You are doing AWESOME!!

jus_me77 · July 2011

Congrats! You have done an amazing job!!

igora_soma · July 2011

That is so awesome! I've yet to hit a plateau but I'll definitely follow your lead when that happens. Thanks for sharing and congrats!!

emily859 · July 2011

I've been wondering about how to break this thing. I've raised my net calories per day from 1200 to 1350 thinking that might do the trick, but I seem to be stuck here as well. I think I've lost about 2 pounds since the beginning of June and since I've bumped my intake up a bit, I've only seen about a .5 lb loss. So maybe its not a total plateau but I was losing pretty steadily for the months before. And I think at least one of those lbs in June can be attributed to a week where I was less strict. That, along with reading posts about increasing calories to break a plateau, is what made me increase the daily amount in the first place.

I might try something like this now. Thanks for sharing!

lauristewart · July 2011

I have been zig zagging for 7 weeks now and and I have lost 7.5 lbs. I am pretty happy with that loss. The first week I was stuck but it was the TOM......I have stayed on it pretty strickly except for 1 week......I think it is awesome and I am really happy with the results! The only hard days are my 1200 cal days, and it is hard for me to get in 1800 cal. I might switch those to 1300 and 1700 calories to help things out. This is my schedule:

Monday 1400
Tuesday 1400
Wed 1800
Thursday 1200
Friday 1350
Saturday 1800
Sunday 1200

I wanted my heavy days to be on Saturday b/c that is when I like my adult beverages!!

I really would recommend it to anyone who is stuck! I workout 6 days a week also. If I were you, I would stick to your schedule. Can I ask you why you did a 9 day schedule instead of 7 day? I am just curious....I am not knocking it at all!! Whatever works!

art4fun69 · July 2011

Here is another zig zagging calculator that is kind of cool:

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/64/zig-zag-calculator-for-fat-loss-andor-muscle-gain

Great post, great job!! Lots of people go through plateaus and get discouraged, it is nice to hear when someone breaks through.

jtoz88 · July 2011

Wow, this is so helpful! I'm not at that point yet, but in the past I've struggled with plateauing so much to the point where I gave up. I'm definitely bookmarking this for future reference.

Also, congratulations on your loss! Truly amazing and gave me so much inspiration right now. I've had in the back of my head for the longest time that I can't possibly lose that much. My starting weight was close to yours and seeing how far you've come has given me hope!

funkyspunky871 · July 2011

First of all - congrats!!! That is such a huge accomplishment, and it must feel great!

I am very interested in calorie zig zagging, but there's one thing I haven't been able to figure out - The calorie amounts you posted above - are they NET calories, or GROSS (ie pre-workout). I simply cannot do this much math in my head. I try to eat around 1500 per day, with at least 300 burned, but some days I can't workout at all, as I am working 12-14 hours on those days. I would love to make those my high calorie days, but I just can't work out the math, and how the exercise figures in. The free dieting website doesn't talk about exercise cal's. Thanks!

I made them gross goals....Except maybe you can count going over my 1200 calorie limit as eating back my exercise cals. :P Anyways, I just tried not to let my deficit get too high. I did that 6 mile walk (where I burned 900+ cals) on Saturday when I was eating 1800, and did the 30DS (where I only burn around 200 cals) on my low days.

sculptandtone · July 2011

calorie zig-zagging definitely sounds like an interesting concept.
i always thought that zig-zagging would end with u going into starvation mode one day, and then the next day eating alot more and pileing on the weight...
but i have seen so many people have the opposite effect with it.

But if its working for u i say go for it!!
Maybe continue zig-zagging until u hit a plateau again, and then go back to eating the same calories again..
I assume that would work, and then u could just repeat until at the desired weight..
If only things in life really were that easy...

You can't go into starvation mode in a day. What you're talking about is simploy going below your recommended calories. which is a long way from starvation mode. Starvation mode happens after weeks and even months of not eating enough calories.
Congratulations though!
And good luck on ur weight loss journey
x

funkyspunky871 · July 2011

I really would recommend it to anyone who is stuck! I workout 6 days a week also. If I were you, I would stick to your schedule. Can I ask you why you did a 9 day schedule instead of 7 day? I am just curious....I am not knocking it at all!! Whatever works!

I got some advice from my MFP friends to change my weigh-in day since I kept losing steadily for the first half of the week, and then gaining it back as Saturday approached (for absolutely no reason too. It was really weird). It would have been just 7 days, but I changed my weigh-in day to Monday.

Kissxx · July 2011

I did the same just about a week ago! I ate around 1400 for 2 days and 1700 for 2 and dropped back down to 1200 for 3 days. I dropped from 126.2-124.2. Our bodies just needs some confusion so they burn more efficiently. Great job!