Can anyone help me out with this. I have been researching about zigzagging calories on the computer. In theory it sounds great. Does anyone do this? Does it work for you?
Yes I do it, and so far it absolutly works...but I've only been at it 1 1/2 weeks so it may be soon to tell.
I was at 1450 w/ 1 cheat day, I lost some weight then stalled. I zig zagged last week and lost 4 lbs. We'll see what happends this week. It makes a lot of sense to me and I'm hoping it continues to work. I love the flexibility and the constant change in my meals. It certainly keeps me from getting bored. Here is what my zig zag looks like. (FYI I also had to increase my cals because my metabolism was starting to slow at 1450 w/ how much I exercise).
M - 1650-1750
T - 1400 - 1450
W - 1800 - 1950
Th - 1650 - 1750
F - 1500 - 1600
S - 2000 - 2150
Su - 1650 - 1750
I used freedieting to get my numbers and I go between 3xs a week exercise and 5xs a week. I do exercise 5xs a week, but those numbers seem high and scare me so I try to stay closer to the 3xs. This way I have more room to drop my cals if needed as I near my goal but I'm hoping I can stay here for a while, because I've heard that we can do a lot of damage to our metabolism when we drop to low and it can be hard to get it back to spead once maitenance roles around.
NCUNEO - I recently lost about the same amount of weight as you... I have been stuck on quite a plateau and just started calorie counting as well... I'm also thinking on zigzagging... I basically just stick to between 1370-1600 cals a day. My Question, do u think under 1600 is too low? I fear my matabolism is already messed because I was eating low for quite some time and I recently quit smoking (which apparently lowers your metabolism), I vigoursly exercise 5 days a week, sometimes 6. Whats your opinion? I'm thinking you and I could probably live by the same zigzagging routine/calories!?
All you can do is try it. When I started calorie counting I was at 1300 ( think when I lost my first 70 I was eating around 1500-1600 I wasn't counting though) and I stalled almost immediatly. I think my metabolism went into reserve mode. So I upped it to 1450, saw some progress then stalled again. Finally I said to myself...I'm really motivated...I'm exercising like I should...let's not be afraid of the calories. Sometimes you have to eat to lose, we've all heard this. But the big question is how much do you have to eat. The other indication to me that I need to increase was that I was hungry all the time. So I did it and it seems to be going well. But it's only been a week so it's early to tell. My goal is not to go too low so as long as I can stay at this level the better for my metabolism once I hit maitenance. I'm also really comfortable here.
I don't think you are going to do any damage by giving it a week or two to see how it goes. If you gain then you know it's not right for you. It was a really hard decision for me to increase my cals, but I am glad I did. I really like freedieting, they do the zig zag for you. The cals seem high, but if want you can lower them a little to see how it goes. Good luck!
Thanks ncuneo
I checked out freedieting.com and you are right the calorie count does seem high, but I think I will try it out. BTW, great job on your weight loss so far.
Everyone here eats way more calories than I do. Am I doing something wrong? When I'm trying to lose, I eat 1050 a day. I only do this for 3 or 4 days to lose when I need to. If I am trying to maintain, i stay around 1100 to 1200 a day. I'm very active, take walks 5 days a week, I never sit!
fruitlady, you are WAY smaller than us in height and weight...calorie needs are individual. That may just be what works for you. You could try higher if you are hungry. For what it's worth freedieting says your maitenance should be over 1700 (assuming you're my age 30). Another general method to figure your maitenance and get your metabolism back on track is to multiply your weight by 12 and use that number for 2-3 months. I got this from a Jillian Michaels article. So that would mean you'd want to be at 1320...so see what I mean...it's all individual.
When you girls follow the calorie amounts from freedieting, do you use ext fat loss or just fat loss?
If I use extreme fat loss, my schedule would look like this:
M - 1550-1600 OR M -1800
T - same OR T - 1575
W - 1850-1900 OR W - 2200
T - 1550-1600 OR T - 1800
F - same OR F - 1600
S - 1700-1750 OR S - 2000
S - 1550 -1600 OR S - 1800
Now, Im thinking, isnt it weird that one schedule has 3 same counts in a row and the other one is different every day??? Can I have some opinions please, I am stuck!!!!
I exercise 5x a week (kickboxing/aerobics/walking/muay thai...etc) so about 6 hours a week of exercise.... eating above 1800 cals scares the bejebus right out of me! Ncuneo, I would love love love your opinion or an idea of a schedule for me!
Are there any zig zaggers out there?
