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Author: Tim Barnby
The Zig-Zag method of weight loss is very simply: Eating more calories some days than you do on others. This may seem odd, but it works. If you want long term success in your weight loss program, please read on.
The body can adapt quickly to reduced calories. If you eat 1,500 calories every day, your body will eventually adjust its metabolism to use only 1,500 per day. Partly by reducing metabolically active mass “your hard earned muscle.” Occasionally increasing your calories for a day effectively increases the time it takes your body to adapt.
Problem: You’re weight training 3 days a week. You’re hitting the cardio as hard as you can. You’re eating like a rabbit. You’ve stopped losing weight! What now? Nothing is more frustrating than hitting a plateau in weight loss. Most people start eating less, or doing more cardio. This can be a mistake. More cardio can cause you to release Cortisol (A hormone related to stress, which causes among other things, muscular breakdown). Less food can lower your Leptin (a substance which regulates fat metabolism and several hormones related to metabolism) levels even more. More Cortisol and less Leptin is a recipe for hanging onto fat and halting weight loss.
Solution: Feed your body more calories on some days, less on others, averaging the same daily caloric intake. This is called Zig-Zagging.
ASSESSMENT You must first assess what your daily caloric maintenance is. This is the amount of calories your body requires to stay at the same weight. If you have hit a plateau, you already have an idea of what this is. You just have to log your food for a week, and figure out how many calories you are currently eating. If you are not in maintenance, simply figure out how much weight you are gaining or losing per week. It takes about 3,500 calories to gain or lose 1 lb of bodyweight. If you are losing 1 lb per week, add 3,500 to the amount of calories you logged that week. This is your weekly caloric maintenance. Divide that number by seven and you have your daily caloric maintenance.
RE-FEED I cannot stress enough, the importance of the three day re-feed. People who have been training hard and dieting for several months likely have low levels of Leptin. Leptin is an important substance which helps regulate fat metabolism. It also helps manage important hormones responsible for weight control. The three day re-feed is simply a period of time in which you will eat a high calorie, high carbohydrate, low fat diet. When I say high carbohydrate, I do not mean candy, crackers and cookies. I mean high quality carbohydrates. This is no time to lose discipline. It’s a time to re-focus on why your program is so important to you. You’re going to gain a lot of water weight during this time. Don’t worry. It will come off in the first few days.
PLAN Start with your daily caloric maintenance. Design your plan around that number. Let’s say your daily caloric maintenance is 2,000 calories. Let’s also say that you want to lose 2 lbs per week. You’ll have to create a 7,000 calorie per week deficit (7,000 calories less than your weekly caloric maintenance). 3,500 of these will come from exercise, and 3,500 from nutrition. Subtract 500 from your daily caloric maintenance. This will take care of the nutritional deficit. I am betting the reset of your Leptin will take care of the other 3,500. Here is how you might create your 1,500 calorie per day Zig-Zag:
Monday: 1,500 calories (Chest and Triceps)
Tuesday: 1,800 calories (HIIT)
Wednesday: 1200 calories (Back, Biceps)
Thursday: 1,800 calories (HIIT)
Friday: 1,200 calories (LEGS)
Saturday: 2,200 calories (HIIT)
Sunday: 1,200 calories (Rest)
This averages just over 1,550 calories per day. Your body gets plenty of fuel during 3 days of the week. The body thinks nothing is wrong. In reality, you are creating a huge energetic deficit. You are losing 2 lbs per week.. Your body will adjust to this deficit eventually. When it does, we simply do a 3 day re-feed, and it’s time to start all over again. I recommend a 3 day re-feed every 8 weeks, even if you don’t think you need it. Okay, now let’s discuss how to plan this. There are a lot of ways to skin this cat. I personally count calories, because I am so anal about the physics of weight control. You may want a simpler plan. Here are a couple of methods that can work for you:
Options for Zig-Zagging
PALM AND FIST SIZED PORTIONS: Some of you may be familiar with this technique. Most of you are unaware this is a Zig-Zag. Using palm and fist sized portions is a very simple way of creating a zig-zag. This only works “well” if you eat different foods on different days. A fist size apple has fewer calories than does a fist size potato. A palm sized top round steak has more calories than does a palm size chicken breast. When you learn the “proper” method to determine what fist size and palm size is, this program can create an energetic deficit. Variety is “key” to this nutritional plan. For this method to be effective, you must understand what “palm size” and “fist size” is. I am about 6′ tall with a medium frame and about 180 lbs. My palm in about the size of a deck of cards. My fist is about the size of a medium potato.
PORTION CONTROL: Using portion control is also quite simple once you get the hang of it. Take a 3 ounce chicken breast. It’s about 110 calories. A ½ cup portion of White Rice has about 150 calories. Simply increasing your portion sizes by “about” 20% gives you a high day. So, increase to 4 ounces of chicken breast and 2/3 cup of rice on a high day. You’ve increased your calories by 20%. Reduce it to 2 1/2 ounces of chicken and 1/3 cup of rice, and you’ve got a meal for a low day.
NATURAL RESPONSE: I find I am naturally more hungry the day after weight training than I am the day after HIIT. This makes perfect sense. I am more hungry the day after a legs workout than I am after a chest workout. This also makes sense. Following your body’s natural signals can give you a zig-zag without thought. You have to be disciplined for this to work though. It does not mean you can eat Pizza Buffets after every leg workout! It means you can increase your portions of good food.
Regardless of your method, you have to remember your goal. You have to plan your life, and live your plan! Zig-Zagging can help you past rough spots like, Uncle Bob’s Bar-B-Que, or Aunt Irene’s Christmas Dinner. You simply adjust your weekly zig-zag to accommodate the larger meal.
TIMETABLE:
Week 1: Figure your maintenance calories
Week 2: Re-Feed (first 3 days)
Week 2–8: Reduce your calories and increase your activity to create an appropriate deficit. (losing 2-3 lbs per week).
Week 9: 3 day re-feed!!!
Week 10-12: Lose 3-4 lbs per week.
You are now about 23 lbs lighter, and leaner. If you are still not where you wish to be, start the process all over again.
For more great information regarding fat loss, please visit: No Nonsense Fitness
Tim Barnby is the Co-Owner of Fitness Review Network, a free fitness information and coaching portal. Tim has successfully helped hundreds of regular people meet their fitness goals. Tim is an accomplished triathlete who has also trained and coached numerous aspiring triathletes and marathon runners to their first finish line. You can find more of his articles, and reach him personally at: Fitness Advice Guide www.fitness-review-network.com/nononsense