Zig-Zag Method of Dieting -- More Food = Weight Loss!??! HELP!!

I've just stumbled upon this concept and I am utterly intrigued by the idea that I can eat more and lose more weight!??!??

I see the advantages and want a little advice from some experienced "zig-zaggers."  What kind of results did you see?  Do you exercise? 

Regarding calorie intake:  I went to two separate sites and the daily calorie amounts are a little different.  Is there a standard formula that I can use or should I assume that lower calories = more weight loss?

If you have informaiton to share about zig-zagging, I'd be very interested in hearing it.  As I mentioned, this is the first time I've heard of it, and I'm very curious.  Thanks in advance!

I'm a faithful zig-zagger.  Some will try to make it sound more complicated than it is, but as long as you stay under your burn for the day, whatever way you decide to do it is fine.  It makes dieting sooo much less stressful than feeling like you have to stick to an exact number each day.  If you want a cookie today, so what?  Have a salad for lunch tomorrow.

The theory behind zig-zagging is to fool your metabolism into not knowing it's dieting.  They say if you eat the same # of calories each day, your metabolism adjusts for it and will slow down.

My example is that with my activities I do, my average  burn is 2000-2100 cals.   Therefore I need to eat on average 1600 calories per day to get a 500 cal deficit.   

So some days I'll eat 1400.  Some days I'll eat 1800.  Others I might eat right at 1600.  I eat a little more on weekends than during the week.  I stick to looking at my weekly deficit rather than daily, aiming for 3500-4000 less than what I burned. 

If it helps you, just set yourself a schedule on how may calories you want to allow yourself to eat each day.  I used to keep an Excel spreadsheet to do this, but since I've been at it quite a while now, I kind of weaned myself off of it, and can just keep the tally pretty well in my head now.

Some mistakes to avoid, are zig-zagging to the extreme.  Don't eat 2000 one day and "make up" for it the next day by eating only 1000.   Just keep it within a 200 calories or so range either way from your average.   And if your not making your weekly deficit goal, so what?  Again don't have an extreme "make up" day just to meet your goal.  You're not in a race to the finish are you?  Just remember this is a long term, lifestyle change. 

Anyway, I have lost 40lbs in 23 weeks this way, without a single plateau lasting more than one week.  (knock on wood, cross myself, prays I'm not jinxing me - lol)

Good luck.

Thmheh has it right on the nose - but I do have a bigger difference in calories, both in an out, from day to day.  Some days I'll burn 1,000 calories, some days 1,800, some days only 300 - 400, and at least once a week I don't do any workout at all.  I vary between eating 1500 and 3000 calories per day, depending on how much I burn.  I am a female, age 47, but 6' tall so I get more calories than the average gal.

The average female will burn 12 calories per pound of body weight, males are at about 13 - but it is just an average.  The charts show my RMR at 1800-1850, but I had my RMR measured a couple years ago and came up with 1651.  There are so many variables in the way each person's body processes, and variances in your own body from day to day.  I generally stay close to the 1,000 calorie deficit, but some days bring it to 500 deficit instead.  I have lost 42 pounds since June. 

One hard and fast rule I have - if I feel hungry, I eat something.  There is a theory called Volumetrics (Jenny Craig program currently uses this) which says you eat the same volume of food every day to make your body feel good.  On Jenny Craig I eat 3-4 servings of milk per day, 5-6 protein, 4 fruit, 6 starch, 3 fat, and 5+ veggies (doesn't include starchy veggies like potatoes, corn, or peas).  I start with water or tea (not the Crystal Light kind which I love, but the natural tea leaves cooked in water to avoid the extra chemicals), then get some veggies - a salad with mixed greens, can of green beans, bag of frozen brussel sprouts (don't you love the bags you can throw straight into the microwave and steam?).  One favorite is a bag of frozen oriental-style mixed veggies, and a can of stewed tomatoes mixed together.  YUM.  It is actually difficult to screw up your calorie count by eating veggies!

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calc ulator.htm

This is the link to the zig-zag calculator.  I'm told zig-zagging is great for breaking a plateau, but so far I haven't plateaud yet.  I've been saving interval training for plateau busting.

I've been doing cardio 5-6 days per week, anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours per day, with an average workout being around 90 minutes.  I add weight training about once a week, but can only do upper body at this point.  I'm under a doctor's care for problems with my hips/knees/feet. 

Hope that helps! 

So funny, I just looked back at my food logs, and I've been zig-zagging without knowing it! Maybe that's the reason why I've lost 7 kilos since September 17th...I stayed between 1350 and 2100 with an average of 1600 a day, but changing the amount everyday...hmmmmm. This is the first I've heard of this and I must say, I feel lots better about scheduling a cheat day once a week!

Hello I just ran across this zig zag dieting.  Would someone be willing to be my partner with this.  Meaning someone I can come to with questions?  What if you have 1400 calories to eat today and you only eat 1300?  What do you do?  I want to do this correctly so that I can lose weight.  You guys have some true success stories.  I have lost 15 pounds the off fashioned way but I need to lose about 20 more by between Jan and Feb.  Please help.

Thank you

It's a good program if you get the numbers right.. it's more effective if you cycle carbs as well though.

Don't try to use it to get off a plateau though, if your metabolism has fallen. I made that mistake and spent a month carb/calorie cycling with a meager 2 lbs of weight loss. If you're on a plateau, up calories back to maintenance or a little above for a week or two, and then start it.

Also, it's important, as on any diet, to make sure you're eating nutritious, low calorie foods, as well as getting enough protein for muscle maintenance (I go with 1 gm protein per lb of body weight, don't go TOO much lower than that or your losses will be more muscle and less fat.) I think a lot of people don't know about this point and really have a poor ratio of muscle:fat loss. I know there's a lot of emphasis on calories here, but any old calorie is not just "a calorie". There are people eating the right foods and at a surplus of calories and losing more fat than people eating poor foods on a 1000 calorie deficit.