How to zig zag cals properly/caloric cycling properly

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

This is the site that gave me my zig zag calories.

I'm upping my exercise too which I've never been one for that ...it's time after 95 lbs lost..better late than never!

Dang...I'm super confused...

I used the website and it's giving me a huge calorie allowance...like way more than I eat now...maybe that's why I can't shake the weight?


Maintenance Fat Loss Extreme Fat Loss
Monday 2972 2944 2944
Tuesday 2944 2944 2944
Wednesday 3566 3533 3533
Thursday 2972 2944 2944
Friday 2944 2944 2944
Saturday 3269 3239 3239
Sunday 2972 2944 2944
*Calorie cycling provides same amount of calories per week, but 'tricks' your body by constantly changing daily calories. This helps to prevent or break plateaus. Guideline only.

I only eat 2090 calories a day now based on what MFP gave me

I love this idea of zig-zagging and have been doing it for the last month or so. It's great as I can plan little splurges and it's not cheating as I stay within my weekly calorie limits. However, I am not using the calculator. I simply eat less on days I'm not as hungry and put those calories in the "bank". Then I look at my calendar for the week and figure out when I'm going to spend the calories I've banked. Last week I was putting on a family birthday celebration for three family members and I ate a relatively high calorie meal and two small pieces of cake (different types of cake). On another day that same week, we were going to dinner and a play with friends and I had a nice dinner and a mixed drink. Even though both those days were fairly high calorie, I was still within my calorie limit for the week and still experienced a loss on the scale. I did not gorge nor stuff myself but just ate until I felt pleasantly full.

I much prefer doing it this way instead of following some kind of formula because if I have a day where I'm just not hungry (this often happens on days I do more intense exercising), it's not a big deal if I don't eat all my exercise calories as I know that I'll find a way to eat them later in the week at a time and place where food is part of the festivities. To me this is far easier than having to eat to a certain formula. I believe in following the KISS principle whenever possible.

The MFP phone app really helps with this as it gives you the number of calories you are under/over for the week. I wish the website did that. Anyway, this makes it easy to know where I'm at and how much I can indulge without going over.

day 1 of week 2 and I'm telling you I feel better ..it's like my body isn't bored LOL

I won't log it but I was down even a few more ounces this morning. It may be ounces but they add up to lbs..so if I lose ounces daily I'm gonna lose a pound before I know it LOL.

my mini goal is 5 lbs by 11/3 my 38th birthday I'd be 138 lbs and I would have lost 100 lbs. Wouldn't that be fantastic?

The think about this is I'm not eating anythign I wouldn't eat before I started zig zagging. I'm just eating more on some days than others. I'm still keeping my carbs moderate and my calories in check. So this is really something good for me.

Please add me anyone who is trying this. I'd love the support ...and it goes both ways.

God Bless
Nichole

Bumpity BUMP!

bump!

bump! great info! started today.

bump

so confusing with the net calories...I cant fathom eating them all back...just my opinion:)

The deficit is already worked into the Fat Loss level and of course the Extreme Fat loss level.

Want me to make it very easy for all of you! I just figured this out myself.

What is your goal weight?

What is your height?

Go plug that into the calculator...

Use those amounts. why?? because it's already a deficit because your heavier than this and also it's gets your body ready to eat those amounts for a life time because that's the amount you'll need to eat when you maintain. Now if you have a lot to lose you can adjust these totals some also. Because if your used to eating a lot more than this it's harder to drastically cut down. For example
I want to weight 135. I'm 5'4" ..Maintenance calories for me at this weight are 1759. So for now I'm zig zagging around that total.

It works. I look back at my food diary months ago and I actually was zig zagging already but not in any set form, I now like knowing in advance when my high days are so I can plan outings and stuff accordingly. Also with the holidays approaching I will switch some days around..as long as my weekly average is at 1700 or so I'll do fine.

Good luck,

so confusing with the net calories...I cant fathom eating them all back...just my opinion:)

Also...how do you get a deficit if your eating back your exercise calories?

When you set up your MFP goals, you presumably told MFP how much you want to lose per week right - so it used that info to distract cals from your normal requirements. Any exercise you do adds onto the already existing deficit. For example, let's say X is the number of cals you burn on a day to day basis just by living. You tell MFP you want to lose 2 lbs a week. MFP will set your cal goal at X-500.
Let's say you exercise and burn 100 cals.
Now you're at a 600 call deficit: X-500-100. So if you eat back those 100 cals, you STILL have the 500 cal deficit that MFP set up for you.
Not saying you must eat them back, but that is the reasoning behind NET cals.

This is very interesting, may give it a go.....thanks everyone

I would be more inclined to do this if I knew that the calores in and calories out for me were 100% accurate. Plus no idea what my BMR is exactly, it's all just estimating!

Okay, um what is a maintenance day? Like do you eat you cals back? On any of the days? Because I am eating 1200 cals sometimes going slightly over was scared to up my calories bc I did loose a couple of pounds and quite alot of inches in the beginning and when combined with exercise I was doing really good. But now I'm like at a plateau so 1250 for two days and ? How much for another day. And so on and so forth or what? Please and thank you for your response

Thanks for this. I'm going to give it a go.
So weird how scary it is to have to eat so much more food. Although I'm sure there is a 'magic number' of cals that also have to be burnt as well?

I love calorie cycling but the mention of starvation mode in the first post really doesn't make any sense.

Starvation mode (as in the sense of your metabolism rate dropping) does not set in unless you're eating less than 50% of your maintenance calories for at least a month. So this kind of calorie cycling should never do that.