Anyone tried zig zagging their calories?

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2

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  • Sapporo
    Sapporo Posts: 693 Member
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    I think that will make you stay fat, you cant range your calories all the way from the 1400s to the 2000s. Thats a 600 calorie difference, thats going to mess up your metabolism and it just screams that you don't actually want to get healthy.
    This actually made me Lol :laugh:

    Me too. How do people come up with this crap?
  • Mommy2Avaj
    Mommy2Avaj Posts: 140 Member
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    I do it, but not intentionally. I sometimes eat close to my calories goal, and other days, I'm 500-600 under. I'm still losing just fine. I think it is prolly different for each person.
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
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    Unless you're already very lean, it won't make a whit of difference as far as fat burning is concerned. Eating more on training days and less on off days may help with performance, but that's strictly personal preference.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    I think that will make you stay fat, you cant range your calories all the way from the 1400s to the 2000s. Thats a 600 calorie difference, thats going to mess up your metabolism and it just screams that you don't actually want to get healthy.
    This actually made me Lol :laugh:

    Me too. How do people come up with this crap?

    It made me giggle too. There is so much garbage to try weeding through to get to anything useful around here.
  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
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    personal preference. It won't make a significant difference. I eat more on days I work out than on days I do not.

    I feel this sums it up best for me too.
  • sniperzzzz
    sniperzzzz Posts: 282 Member
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    Unless you're already very lean, it won't make a whit of difference as far as fat burning is concerned. Eating more on training days and less on off days may help with performance, but that's strictly personal preference.
    Ron i agree with you to a degree, but there are some hormonal benefits to eating higher calories, around workout days not just performance. I know you like a good debate, but im too tired to start pulling study's out to prove it. So will leave it at that :smile:
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
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    Unless you're already very lean, it won't make a whit of difference as far as fat burning is concerned. Eating more on training days and less on off days may help with performance, but that's strictly personal preference.
    Ron i agree with you to a degree, but there are some hormonal benefits to eating higher calories, around workout days not just performance. I know you like a good debate, but im too tired to start pulling study's out to prove it. So will leave it at that :smile:

    Agreed, but for the vast majority of people on this site, the differences are negligible. Once you get lean, then this stuff becomes more of an issue. Typically, when someone uses the term "zig-zagging" as opposed to "calorie/carb cycling", it's a pretty good bet that they don't need to worry about it.
  • sniperzzzz
    sniperzzzz Posts: 282 Member
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    Unless you're already very lean, it won't make a whit of difference as far as fat burning is concerned. Eating more on training days and less on off days may help with performance, but that's strictly personal preference.
    Ron i agree with you to a degree, but there are some hormonal benefits to eating higher calories, around workout days not just performance. I know you like a good debate, but im too tired to start pulling study's out to prove it. So will leave it at that :smile:

    Agreed, but for the vast majority of people on this site, the differences are negligible. Once you get lean, then this stuff becomes more of an issue. Typically, when someone uses the term "zig-zagging" as opposed to "calorie/carb cycling", it's a pretty good bet that they don't need to worry about it.
    I see your point, but for many here, who have been eating very low calories for an extended period of time. They could very well benefit hormonally from days of increased calorie intake, opposed to a static low number. Even zig zaging can bring you up to maintenance or above for a few days a week. This is why i think some people stuck at a plateau have good results, when zig zaging. However if someone has not stalled, and is losing weight on a regular basis, i see no need to try and fix what's not broke. But yet again the psychological benefit of eating more some days may appeal to them. Whatever way you look at it, there is nothing to lose by trying it, its how we learn how our body's respond to different approaches of dieting.
  • BandedTriaRN
    BandedTriaRN Posts: 303
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    I "zig zag" by not according to any offical equation. I just do lower calorie for several days and then up it for a few and then back down. It really seems to work for me even with my inability to exercise very strenuously and my sluggish thyroid (hoping that's what it is anyway and I have all the symptoms).
  • mrs_deg1983
    mrs_deg1983 Posts: 157
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    I did the zig zag lost 40 lb. i did it a little different but its all the same. I would go higher on the day I weight trained, normal on just cardio days and every other weekend the days i have off eat just lower then my normal and weight training.
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
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    Unless you're already very lean, it won't make a whit of difference as far as fat burning is concerned. Eating more on training days and less on off days may help with performance, but that's strictly personal preference.
    Ron i agree with you to a degree, but there are some hormonal benefits to eating higher calories, around workout days not just performance. I know you like a good debate, but im too tired to start pulling study's out to prove it. So will leave it at that :smile:

    Agreed, but for the vast majority of people on this site, the differences are negligible. Once you get lean, then this stuff becomes more of an issue. Typically, when someone uses the term "zig-zagging" as opposed to "calorie/carb cycling", it's a pretty good bet that they don't need to worry about it.
    I see your point, but for many here, who have been eating very low calories for an extended period of time. They could very well benefit hormonally from days of increased calorie intake, opposed to a static low number. Even zig zaging can bring you up to maintenance or above for a few days a week. This is why i think some people stuck at a plateau have good results, when zig zaging. However if someone has not stalled, and is losing weight on a regular basis, i see no need to try and fix what's not broke.

    I'm pretty much on the same page. I'm just of the mind that there's no need to overcomplicate things unnecessarily (and if you look at the OP's first post, I'm sure you would agree that her plan is far more complicated than it needs to be). For every person here that has broken plateaus from cycling, you'll probably find 10 that are trying to fix something that isn't broken.


    But so long as the weekly deficit is the same, it isn't going to hurt.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    Unless you're already very lean, it won't make a whit of difference as far as fat burning is concerned. Eating more on training days and less on off days may help with performance, but that's strictly personal preference.
    Ron i agree with you to a degree, but there are some hormonal benefits to eating higher calories, around workout days not just performance. I know you like a good debate, but im too tired to start pulling study's out to prove it. So will leave it at that :smile:

    Agreed, but for the vast majority of people on this site, the differences are negligible. Once you get lean, then this stuff becomes more of an issue. Typically, when someone uses the term "zig-zagging" as opposed to "calorie/carb cycling", it's a pretty good bet that they don't need to worry about it.
    I see your point, but for many here, who have been eating very low calories for an extended period of time. They could very well benefit hormonally from days of increased calorie intake, opposed to a static low number. Even zig zaging can bring you up to maintenance or above for a few days a week. This is why i think some people stuck at a plateau have good results, when zig zaging. However if someone has not stalled, and is losing weight on a regular basis, i see no need to try and fix what's not broke.

    I'm pretty much on the same page. I'm just of the mind that there's no need to overcomplicate things unnecessarily (and if you look at the OP's first post, I'm sure you would agree that her plan is far more complicated than it needs to be). For every person here that has broken plateaus from cycling, you'll probably find 10 that are trying to fix something that isn't broken.


    But so long as the weekly deficit is the same, it isn't going to hurt.

    True that.
    cycling should become a factor once you get down in the lower body fat.
    On the hormonal side of things OP could strategically use a cheat day or even a week at maintenance.
    oh!
    stay off the scale!
  • sniperzzzz
    sniperzzzz Posts: 282 Member
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    Unless you're already very lean, it won't make a whit of difference as far as fat burning is concerned. Eating more on training days and less on off days may help with performance, but that's strictly personal preference.
    Ron i agree with you to a degree, but there are some hormonal benefits to eating higher calories, around workout days not just performance. I know you like a good debate, but im too tired to start pulling study's out to prove it. So will leave it at that :smile:

    Agreed, but for the vast majority of people on this site, the differences are negligible. Once you get lean, then this stuff becomes more of an issue. Typically, when someone uses the term "zig-zagging" as opposed to "calorie/carb cycling", it's a pretty good bet that they don't need to worry about it.
    I see your point, but for many here, who have been eating very low calories for an extended period of time. They could very well benefit hormonally from days of increased calorie intake, opposed to a static low number. Even zig zaging can bring you up to maintenance or above for a few days a week. This is why i think some people stuck at a plateau have good results, when zig zaging. However if someone has not stalled, and is losing weight on a regular basis, i see no need to try and fix what's not broke.

    I'm pretty much on the same page. I'm just of the mind that there's no need to overcomplicate things unnecessarily (and if you look at the OP's first post, I'm sure you would agree that her plan is far more complicated than it needs to be). For every person here that has broken plateaus from cycling, you'll probably find 10 that are trying to fix something that isn't broken.


    But so long as the weekly deficit is the same, it isn't going to hurt.
    On the hormonal side of things OP could strategically use a cheat day or even a week at maintenance.
    stay off the scale!
    Thats another option :)
  • sophielilirose
    sophielilirose Posts: 41
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    I don't really know much about zig zagging but I have found that I dont have to stick so avidly to 1200 cals a day, sometimes I go up to about 1600 (my BMR) and sometimes I stay around 1200, and when I do this the weight seems to come off a lot quicker than if I stick to 1200 a day - think my body may just need a few extra calories, which is good for me haha!:tongue:
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    I don't really know much about zig zagging but I have found that I dont have to stick so avidly to 1200 cals a day, sometimes I go up to about 1600 (my BMR) and sometimes I stay around 1200, and when I do this the weight seems to come off a lot quicker than if I stick to 1200 a day - think my body may just need a few extra calories, which is good for me haha!:tongue:

    If you have a solid goal to lose weight then yes, 1200 will do the trick for a while.
    However if you are interested in keeping as much lean mass as possible while only losing fat...
    Sticking with 1200 cals after you hit 22%BF or lower would be folly.
    You would probably start plateauing and weight loss will stall with energy and hormonal issues.

    How tall are you currently?
  • SukiRob
    SukiRob Posts: 18 Member
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    I eat between my BMR and TDEE - I find this works best for me than keeping my calories static (some days I want more food than others) I have lost 20lbs doing this. It's really a case of trying a few things and sticking to the one that works for you.
  • AsaraFuriosa
    AsaraFuriosa Posts: 293 Member
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    I've been calorie cycling ( zig zagging) since April! Love it!! I agree that it will keep you from a platue! I can honestly say I've never in 73.3lbs lost so far. The only issue I've ever experienced is that some of my low days are to low. I'm a huge believer in changing up EVERYTHING. That's the key to not platueing!! I change my calorie intake everyday, my raw fruits and veggies every couple weeks, I change my workouts every 3 months. I'm telling you, it's the way to go and I'm proof!
  • love2cycle
    love2cycle Posts: 448 Member
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    I don't get the term "zig zagging" I guess. My caloric intake is different every day, because of the time and type of exercise I do, which means I am eating back the calories burned. Some days, I eat about 2200, others days about 1600, etc.
  • kazzsjourney
    kazzsjourney Posts: 674 Member
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    i zig zagged for a huge chunk of my weight loss...ive lost 190 pounds n it also helped me break a 7 month plateau - worked a treat for me :)
  • mikem45
    mikem45 Posts: 35
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    I realised I forgot to mention in my previous post we are all different everybody will react in a different way what works for me may not work for you so by knowing this try different things and learn what works for you. This is definitely a journey of self discovery and in the end no one can know your body better than yourself!

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