Zig zag calories or maintenance with short diet cuts

At this point (55kg down with ??? left to lose) I have my calories set to maintenance. Usually I will choose to have a small deficit but sometimes I'll eat close to maintenance. So yeah, sort of what you're saying except I don't really attribute that reasoning to it. I do it because it's working for me.

I use MFP's approach of setting a base calorie level that excludes intentional exercise, then adds the exercise calories when they happen. (I've always estimated the exercise calories as thoughtfully and carefully as possible, then eaten them all, all through weight loss and 6+ years of maintenance since.) That does result in uneven calories day by day. A day with no exercise for me is a calorie goal 150-500 or more calories lower than an exercise day.

I've never used one of those deliberate calorie zig-zag strategies where they tell you to eat X calories one day, Y calories another, in some kind of pattern. I understand and agree with sijomial's point that 5:2 or alternate week deficit-calories/maintenance-calories can make the practicalities easier for some people. (They may also keep energy level up in a helpful way, vs. a long slog at a routine daily big calorie deficit.) But there are also zig-zag strategies in published sources that just seem . . . arbitrary, to me. They seem tricksy, honestly, and not in a good way.

During weight loss, I mostly stuck to my calorie goal. On a few occasions during that slightly less than one year period, I did eat above my goal, or even occasionally above maintenance. For me, that was part of a "lose in the way you plan to maintain" strategy: The high days were special occasions of some sort, birthday, holidays, maybe a special rich meal at a restaurant . . . but rare.

In maintenance, I "calorie bank" - eat a little under maintenance most days, in order to indulge sometimes, on an irregular schedule. I don't do that for metabolic benefits, I do it because that's a happy way to live, for me personally.

All of that said, I do have higher calorie needs than MFP and some other calorie estimators predict, for my demographics. Is that "a higher metabolism"? I'm doubtful. I don't really know why I need more calories (though I have some guesses), but I'm extremely doubtful that the reasons have anything to do with how I allocate my calories across days.

For some potentially interesting info, see also: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

YolliB2014 wrote: »

Exactly what I’m trying to achieve. To actually lose and maintain my weight loss in a normal human being way! It shouldn’t be tricky! Thanks for sharing!!!

In that case, I'll share my approach to weight management within a calorie goal:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

I'm still not saying that would be the right route for everyone, but I do think it's one possible way to "lose and maintain weight loss in a normal human being way". (I think other ways people have described above are also "normal human being ways".)

The trick is finding the right approach for you. The rest of us can pretty much only say what worked for us, give you things you could try as personal experiments.

Best wishes for success!

I lost 32 kilos (i think that's maybe 70 pounds) 11 years ago and have kept it off. I found the zigzag method incredibly useful!. One day I would have 1400 calories and the next 1800. I was really active and had an active job too so it was great to be able to have 1800 calories every second day, and handy to have that leeway on the weekend as well. Weighing foods and accurately tracking was also very important. Sometimes eating out was challenging but I became an extra picky orderer. If a restaurant had their calorie content available online I would always plan ahead and look that up too.

This was an interesting read. Thanks for posting it, OP.

IMHO the single most important feature of a plan is that it's easy for you to stick to in a normal human being way (given that it means different things to different folks). Consistency is easiest for some -- less to think about, fewer decisions. Variety where you average calories over a week with high days/low days is an easier lifestyle fit for others-- often called "banking calories for the weekend." I don't think either have a big impact on actual metabolism.

I will say, though, that after 10 weeks deficit eating, even a really small 250 calorie deficit, I feel kind of deficit weary. So I'm an advocate of taking a "diet break to "practice maintenance" if you start feeling worn down. This may be pretty individual, too. IDK. I suspect maintaining low BF% makes it a bit harder to tolerate a sustained deficit. Even if you have a lot to lose, diet breaks can help.