Question about "Zig-Zagging" your Calories

Tori_356
Tori_356 Posts: 510 Member
edited November 9 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone!

I have hit the dreaded plateau. My weight has been THE SAME for 3 weeks in a row.

I have changed up my workout routines a little (not a lot) I could definitely do better in that department. I have lifted started to weights 2-3x a week instead of 1x. I use the elliptical at the gym and have tried different programs on it (ie. GLUT program instead of WEIGHT LOSS program). My workouts are an average of 30 minutes, anywhere from 25-35 minutes, every morning around 6 AM, 5 days a week. Occasionally I get an hour of cardio in on the weekends. Burn an avg. of 300 calories per workout.

Anyways, I want to zig zag my calories starting Sunday or Monday (when my week starts). My question to those who have done this: Did you eat exercise calories too and count your NET calories or did you not eat back exercise calories and have a higher deficit?

I am going by freedieting.com's calorie calculator. I have input my age, weight, height and exercise level (as 5 time/week - not intense) they give a "7 day calorie cycle (zig zag)".

I plan to follow the "Extreme Fat Loss" plan, here it is. I don't think this would be too hard to follow with eating back exercise calories, because that's close to what my net is anyways without me feeling hungry all the time.....but I'm not sure if I should do that or not.

Monday - 1360
Tuesday - 1360
Wednesday - 1632
Thursday - 1360
Friday - 1360
Saturday - 1497
Sunday - 1360


And here is their "Fat Loss" plan (more calories) for me:

Monday - 1790
Tuesday - 1432
Wednesday - 2148
Thursday - 1790
Friday - 1611
Saturday - 1969
Sunday - 1790

Thanks for reading and any constructive advice you may be able to give me.

Replies

  • rrtnrn
    rrtnrn Posts: 31 Member
    Hi, I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this because I am like you and will have plateaued at the same weight for 3 weeks now. I am 50 years old, 5'3' and have stayed at 147 now for 20 days. It's frustrating because I exercise faithfully 6 days a week. January 1st, I started the Les Mills Body pump program, so I do strength training 3 days a week and cardio 3- 5 days a week. My HRM says I burn anywhere from 300-600 cals, depending on what exercise session I'm doing at the time. Nutrionally, of course MFP has me at 1200 cals but after reading the boards, I upped mine and eat in a range of 1400-1600 cals (depending on the exercise I do), hoping to restart my metabolism. I do eat 5 small meals a day, eating whole grains, lean meats, fruits and veggies. I will be measuring on Sunday as I will have completed 1 month on Les Mills so hopefully I have at least, lost inches.
  • rrtnrn
    rrtnrn Posts: 31 Member
    Bump
  • msmimi
    msmimi Posts: 238 Member
    I think it depends on did you factor in your exercise totals on the calculator. If you did factor exercise in then then no I wouldn't eat the exercise calories back because the calculator already factored that in. If you didn't put exercise in (like me, I didn't) then you may want to eat back half or so and see what your results are and make adjustments accordingly.
  • chicklidell
    chicklidell Posts: 275
    I've never done anything but zig zag my calories, I eat back exercise calories rarely..if i'm hungry I eat, but otherwise I go by my caloric intake and not by expenditure...not for everyone, works for me.
  • JMarigold
    JMarigold Posts: 232 Member
    Hmm, interesting I've seen this concept before but I've seen it with larger differences in the calorie intake between days. I don't know if just that difference will "reset" your body so to speak. I might eat more on the higher calorie days, but then I'm certainly not an expert nor have had much experience with it so I don't know that you should listen to me!

    I do know that another option I have seen people try when on a plateau is taking a break and eating at maintenance calories for a little while. I've seen several people say that helped them break a plateau.
  • puggleperson
    puggleperson Posts: 740 Member
    Bump.. :)
  • TexNut
    TexNut Posts: 53
    Hi there! I'm a nutritionist, trainer and wellness counselor from Texas and have worked with hundreds of clients (from morbidly obese to semi-pro athletes). In my personal experience, the best way to break out of a plateau is to MIX IT UP! Our bodies are miraculous machines - they are constantly trying to maintain a balance point and 'get used to' the exercise/diet that we treat them to. If your current exercise routine or caloric intake isn't working, consider the following:

    -Change the type of exercise you're doing. If you like to walk or use the elliptical, try an interval program. The easiest way to do it: warm up by walking at your normal pace; speed up (whether it's walking, jogging or all-out sprinting) as fast as you can for as long as you can (aim for 30 seconds, but work up to it if you need to); slow back down to your normal pace until you catch your breath. Repeat! And dont' forget to cool-down.

    -Review the QUALITY of your calories, not just the quanitity. Sounds like most of you are eating lean, plant-based proteins and lots of fresh/raw veggies - keep it up! Raw food diets can be incredibly beneficial for weight-loss. Many former clients have thought they're eating optimally, but were actually excluding healthy fats. My favorite? Coconut oil! Your body uses it immediately for energy; plus, it's anti-inflammatory, and can help remove harmful toxins (like free radicals/trans fats) from your body.

    Hope this helps! I just joined myfitnesspal and would be happy to help encourage, empower and support anyone who'd care to add me as a 'friend'!

    In health,
    Liz, owner New Leaf Health Consulting (.com)
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
    I love zig-zagging. It has made all the difference for me as I never feel deprived. I haven't used any special calculators to figure out up/down calories. I simply eat less on days where I've eaten very clean and I'm simply not as hungry. I bank those calories to eat later in the week when I'm at a social event where there is extra food I want to splurge on. This week, I'm spending the calories in "the bank" at tomorrow's Super Bowl party.

    If you have a smartphone, the MFP app makes this easy as it tracks your calories eaten and calories earned via exercise and tells you where you are by the number, not just a graph like the website gives you, It gives you these numbers from Monday-Sunday each week which works out perfect, imho, as most of my planned splurging falls on the weekends anyway. So, for example, it might tell me on Saturday that I'm 2000 calories under my weekly goal. This means that I have 2000 calories to eat over Saturday and Sunday over and above my regular daily allotment plus any calories I earn through exercise.

    If you don't have a smartphone, you'll have to track it with pen/paper. But I love it. Works great for me. I would caution that anyone who is the sort of person that might have a multi-day binge triggered by doing this, it may not work as well for you. For me, knowing I can have a guilt-free splurge here and there stops any desire to binge. But we're all different.
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