Eat More to Lose More: The Wild Science Behind the Zig-Zag Approach

Today, more and more people find themselves getting in shape, or at least trying to. The reason I say “trying to” is that many diets fail once losing weight becomes a “real” challenge. If simply eating right and exercising isn’t enough to shed those pesky pounds, then what else CAN you do?

Well, as long as you are eating right and exercising to the best of your ability and the pounds still won’t come off then I suggest using what is called the Zig Zag approach to dieting. And before I continue, one must understand the role of our resting metabolic rate or Basal metabolic rate(BMR). This is a fancy term meaning the number of calories burned in a day while laying at rest. These calories simply account for normal vital organ function and nothing else. When one’s BMR slows down then less calories can be burned as a result and thus fat is stored more readily.



This Zig Zag approach is a process that may sound peculiar to some in that it  requires periods of eating less than average followed by periods of eating more than average. However, it has long been known that restrictive dieting leads to a drop in our resting metabolic rate, which can make fat loss even more difficult. So, by mixing stringent dieting with periods of greater caloric intake, one is allowing for occasional adjustments to be made to the resting metabolism. Otherwise, if someone diets hard until all excess weight is lost then the BMR never has an opportunity to adjust.
But how is this Zig Zag method applied?…..

The Zig Zag approach can be used in various scenarios. The one most pertinent to those at Phenforum would be for those wanting to decrease total bodyweight by losing fat and gaining muscle. In order to do this, one must reduce their caloric intake by two calories per pound of lean bodyweight for 4-5 days a week, especially on light exercise days and off days. Then, for the other 2-3 days add two calories per pound of lean bodyweight to your normal daily caloric intake, especially on the heavier training days. Also, calories need to be adjusted upward so as to reflect the body’s new caloric needs as a result of the new muscle mass.

However, if you really want to bust through that plateau, I would recommend weight training in addition to the cardio since lifting weights is what makes sure that the lost weight is coming from fat and not from lean muscle tissue which can happen with restrictive diets. In fact, cardiovascular training, when done alone, will actually cause a drop in the BMR and a loss in lean muscle tissue, which is an undesirable scenario. So, when that diet becomes a challenge try manipulating your calories to see if that helps, you might just end up in those size 4’s before you know it!