Good luck!

Pinto, i have heard from the experts when there are multiple formulas to use them and then take the average. They all contribute something. I have heard Harris-Benedict is the most reliable. But I don't know if that is true.

That's a good point.
I've used Harris-Benedict before and it was a fairly good estimate. I did use HB formula to come up with my zig-zag numbers. Here's hoping for the best and some good workout days!
Thanks again for this site.

u r welcome!

i just wanted to give a little more info on that pinto...

at my height..most websites state my ideal weight is between 120-130. However, in my experience even as a bulemic/anorexic teenager my weight was 125 lbs. and I was told my ribs showed through my shirt. Not a good weight for me. I look nice and trim and healthy at 130-140. So my ideal weight for me is 135 lbs. However, prepregnancy my weight was 145 lbs and I was very muscular.

I've never tried Zig-Zagging, but it seems useful!

Same concept as varying your workout to trip up your body, keeps the plateaus away.

lol "keeps the plateaus away" like "keeps the blues away"

EXACTLY like "keep the blues away"!

I've used this website/calcualtor every week of my weight loss and I love it! I serioulsy don't know where I'd be right now without it.

awesome Moonlight! That is inspiring and gives us all hope. Look how far you've come!

do y ou use zig zagging ? and did you use extreme or just fat loss guidelines? Please let us know!

Ya know, I just went to that site and for "Extreme" it lists the following

1624
1624
1949
1624
1624
1787
1624

Now, my questions are -

Do the calories need to be exact each day? For example...does it *need* to be 1624 or is 1600 or 1650 okay?

Also, what is considered extreme? 2 pound a week loss?

I have used the Zig Zag option through out my weight loss. When I started I used the extreme loss numbers because I wasn't exercising at the time...but as I started in introduce excercise, I had to up the calories to the fast loss numbers to keep the scale moving. Now I run for an hour every other day and do either pilates or ride my bike on the days I don't run.

I seriously love that calculator and recommend it to anyone who asks me how I lost my weight. It's really my "little secret".

yay for you moonlight and thanks for indulging us with "your little secret".

Chic, the calculator just helps make it more exact. What I meant by "have you ever tried it yourself? is it is very hard to take a set number...and then day after day monitor your calories so you equal that set number for the week. I am sure if you are off 50 pts one day you can alter the next day fairly easily. But it gets kind of odd if you are doing it very often.

I have to play with so many combinations in order to hit the sweet spot for caloric intake for the week. I like that the calculator does it for you.

I never thought about cycling, but I don't think it really works for me because I was cycling all this week(from 1500 up to 2000) due to some poor food choice and I gained about a pound. But it's TOM, so who knows.

I think I'd like to stick with 1500, but I'm worried it might be too low.

Well, peachy..it is a little low for your weight, you could try a little higher maybe 1600-1700 and see if you lose. If the scale starts moving comfortably for you then it works.

The key behind calorie cycling is to make sure you don't go over your weekly allowance for your weight loss plan. If it is 1500 then that is 10,500. You can divide that up 7 ways whatever way you want.