zig zag calories vs. calorie increase with more excercise

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celiason81
celiason81 Posts: 57 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have read a lot of articles talking about how zig zagging calorie intake through the week keeps your metabolism up compared to eating the same lower amount every day. A few sites have calculators on expected calorie intake for each day based on zig zagging. I have been doing MFP for a few weeks, and my BMR with normal activity (work and taking care of kids/household) is 1920, so with a 1.4 lbs weekly weight loss=720 daily defecit, putting my expected intake at the minimum of 1200. I only work out 5 days a week, so there should be 2 days a week I keep my calorie count pretty low at 1200. Other days I work out, expect to burn 200-500/ day, so I take in those extra calories accordingly. My question is then, am I already naturally zig zagging my calories, even though my net calories always ends up at 1200/day or is true zig zagging altering your net calories?

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  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
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    Bumping for you. Was looking for info for a friend.
  • celiason81
    celiason81 Posts: 57 Member
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    Any answers from anyone? I am so confused by this and can't find web sites with a more direct answer.
  • cuatesmom
    cuatesmom Posts: 173 Member
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    zig zag your net. see groups...search under spike diet for groups with detailed info.
  • celiason81
    celiason81 Posts: 57 Member
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    Thanks for that. Don't know if that's quite what I'm looking for but I'll check it out.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    You are already zig zagging. That just means eating different amounts on different days, which you are doing. Only MFP really uses the concept of "net", if you look at the TDEE or zig zag calculators they just go by total calories consumed because they are based on a certain activity level.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    Just eat to your weekly net calories, more one day, less the next to fit in around your lifestyle and social life. You don't have to follow a 'magic number pattern' because it doesn't exist.

    Through weight loss and maintenance I always ate lighter during the week (or not eat all my exercise cals back) and then eat them at the weekend when there were more food and drink orientated things going on and so long as my weekly net cals were even I wouldn't not lose weight or now, maintain.

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