Zigzagging is the most powerful tool in your nutrition arsenal for adjusting your diet as your fitness or your goals change.
Whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, or just eat so that you
perform at your best, the most effective tool to figure out how much
you should be eating is known as zigzag dieting. Also referred to as ārefeedingā in bodybuilding circles, itās a technique Iāve been using for years.
Hereās how to zigzag diet: On 2-3 days of the week, eat the same number of calories you usually would. On the remaining 4-5 days, eat more (or less) calories. The general practice is 4 days of change and 3 days of remaining the same, but some prefer 5 and 2, or even changing daily as shown in the graph below. No matter which plan you follow, your body will tell you if it was a good idea by responding better (or worse) to your workouts. While itās generally used to add calories (hence, ārefeedingā), it works the same in both directions. Continue zigzagging up and/or down until you feel like youāre performing at your best.
How many more (or fewer) calories should you eat while zigzagging?
The bigger and more active you are, the higher number of calories you should add or subtract. Most people move in a 200-500 calories per day range (or more, as you can see in the image above, though thatās more of a deficit than Iād use unless I was well versed in it). Donāt get too caught up in the number. Thereās nothing wrong with going too low, and then zigzagging again. Unlike yo-yo dieting, zigzagging wonāt negatively affect your metabolism. Instead, if you pay attention to your workouts, and keep zigzagging until youāre nailing every workout, your body will respond by raising your metabolism to handle the stress and gaining or losing weight will become easier.
How zigzag dieting can break a plateau
Say, for example, youāre eating 1500 calories a day and youāve lost weight. But, now your weight loss has stagnated. Thatās because the new, fitter you has a different body composition than the former you. You have more muscle and a higher basal metabolic rate (BMR). In order to continue your weight loss you need to eat more, because 1500 calories isnāt enough and your body is reacting by slowing down your metabolism and releasing cortisol in a protective response (this is often called starvation mode because this is how your body would respond to being starved).
For the sake of this example, letās say your run a calorie calculation and determine that you need to 2500 calories per day. (Hereās an article to help you figure out how many calories you should be eating.) You donāt want to jump straight to 2500 calories. First, it would cause some shock to your system and, second, it might be inaccurate, as those calculators only give ballpark figures. The most effective thing to do is to zigzag your caloric intake. In this instance, I would recommend eating 2000 calories per day 3-4 days per week and 1500 calories on the other days. Note how your body responds. My expectation is youād feel good on the higher calorie days and famished on the lower calorie days.
You want to be energized but not hungry and not full. So, after a week or two, bump up your calories to around 2200 calories for 4-5 days and 1500 calories on 2 days. Do this for about a week. If Iām still starving on the low days, try bumping them up to 2000 and see how you respond. You can tell when youāre eating too many calories because youāll begin to feel full, you wonāt digest your food between meals, and youāll feel more lethargic at the beginning of workouts.
Do you have questions about zigzag dieting? Let me know in the comments below.
Whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, or just eat so that you
perform at your best, the most effective tool to figure out how much
you should be eating is known as zigzag dieting. Also referred to as ārefeedingā in bodybuilding circles, itās a technique Iāve been using for years.Hereās how to zigzag diet: On 2-3 days of the week, eat the same number of calories you usually would. On the remaining 4-5 days, eat more (or less) calories. The general practice is 4 days of change and 3 days of remaining the same, but some prefer 5 and 2, or even changing daily as shown in the graph below. No matter which plan you follow, your body will tell you if it was a good idea by responding better (or worse) to your workouts. While itās generally used to add calories (hence, ārefeedingā), it works the same in both directions. Continue zigzagging up and/or down until you feel like youāre performing at your best.
How many more (or fewer) calories should you eat while zigzagging?
The bigger and more active you are, the higher number of calories you should add or subtract. Most people move in a 200-500 calories per day range (or more, as you can see in the image above, though thatās more of a deficit than Iād use unless I was well versed in it). Donāt get too caught up in the number. Thereās nothing wrong with going too low, and then zigzagging again. Unlike yo-yo dieting, zigzagging wonāt negatively affect your metabolism. Instead, if you pay attention to your workouts, and keep zigzagging until youāre nailing every workout, your body will respond by raising your metabolism to handle the stress and gaining or losing weight will become easier.
How zigzag dieting can break a plateau
Say, for example, youāre eating 1500 calories a day and youāve lost weight. But, now your weight loss has stagnated. Thatās because the new, fitter you has a different body composition than the former you. You have more muscle and a higher basal metabolic rate (BMR). In order to continue your weight loss you need to eat more, because 1500 calories isnāt enough and your body is reacting by slowing down your metabolism and releasing cortisol in a protective response (this is often called starvation mode because this is how your body would respond to being starved).
For the sake of this example, letās say your run a calorie calculation and determine that you need to 2500 calories per day. (Hereās an article to help you figure out how many calories you should be eating.) You donāt want to jump straight to 2500 calories. First, it would cause some shock to your system and, second, it might be inaccurate, as those calculators only give ballpark figures. The most effective thing to do is to zigzag your caloric intake. In this instance, I would recommend eating 2000 calories per day 3-4 days per week and 1500 calories on the other days. Note how your body responds. My expectation is youād feel good on the higher calorie days and famished on the lower calorie days.
You want to be energized but not hungry and not full. So, after a week or two, bump up your calories to around 2200 calories for 4-5 days and 1500 calories on 2 days. Do this for about a week. If Iām still starving on the low days, try bumping them up to 2000 and see how you respond. You can tell when youāre eating too many calories because youāll begin to feel full, you wonāt digest your food between meals, and youāll feel more lethargic at the beginning of workouts.
Do you have questions about zigzag dieting? Let me know in the comments below.
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