Monday Nutrition Tip of the Week: The Zig Zag Diet

This is a guest post by my other half, Coach Zach.

I follow Steve Edwards' fitness and nutrition blog, The Straight Dope. Edwards is Beachbody's Direct of Results/Fitness, also known as the Beachbody "White Mouse" since he tests supplements, training, and dietary theories on himself.

I'm always looking for ways to change up my diet to meet my fitness goals, and for the past week I've been experimenting with a plan called "The Zig Zag Diet," which I saw on The Straight Dope.


With the Zig Zag Diet you alternate between low- and high-calorie days, with the purpose of losing body fat without losing muscle.

The theory behind the Zig Zag Diet is muscle confusion for your metabolism. In an ordinary weight-loss plan, you operate at a calorie deficit over an extended period of time so that your body burns fat. But even when you're on a calorie deficit, you have to make sure you're eating enough calories to sustain your resting metabolic rate. Eating too few calories for an extended period of time can cause your metabolism to slow down (aka "starvation mode"). And eating too many calories over an extended period of time results in weight gain because you are not burning off all the calories you're taking in.

The Zig Zag Diet keeps your metabolism guessing -- just as your metabolism thinks it needs to slow down because you haven't eaten enough, you flood it with excess calories and the metabolism revs up again. The result is efficient burning of fat, without muscle loss.

There are many different ways to approach the Zig Zag Diet -- people have different opinions about how many "zig" days you should have in a row compared to "zag" days. Here is what I've been doing for the past week. I plan to continue for the next few weeks to get an idea of if/how the diet works.

I began my plan with two zig (low-calorie) days. These are 300-500 calories lower than my normal intake. If your average intake is 2,000 calories, then your zig days would be 1,500-1,700 calories. My typical zig days have consisted of:

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs (1 whole and 3 whites) with fresh veggies (chopped spinach, green peppers, tomatoes)
• A.M. Snack: piece of fruit (apple)
• Lunch: Shakeology (with added fruit and whey protein powder)
• P.M. Snack: protein bar, or cottage cheese, or almonds
• Dinner: vegetables, lean protein (chicken, tilapia)

I followed the two zig days with one zag (high-calorie) day. These are 300-500 calories higher than my normal intake. Again, using the average intake of 2,000 calories, your zag days would be 2,300-2,500 calories. My typical zag days have consisted of:

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs (1 whole and 3 whites) with fresh veggies (chopped spinach, green peppers, tomatoes), whole wheat toast with peanut butter
• A.M. Snack: Shakeology (with added fruit and whey protein powder)
• Lunch: raw vegetables, tuna avocado salad on spinach
• P.M. Snack: protein bar
• Dinner: vegetables, lean protein (chicken, tilapia)

The remaining four days of the week consist of two more zig days and two zag days.

If you'll notice, there is not a huge difference between the zig and zag days -- I just change the serving size to meet my calorie goal for the day. (I use MyFitnessPal.com to track calories.) No matter what the day, my diet consists of a bunch of fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, complex carbs, and lean protein.

I've only completed one week, but so far my observation is that this plan is an easy way to lower your calorie intake, both physically and mentally. I am not starving on my zig days, and mentally I know that it's temporary -- I get to have a zag day where I can eat till my heart's content. On my zag days I feel like I'm eating more food than I should, but my metabolism is burning it off quickly.


It's too early to tell what the results will be, but so far I feel good and my body is responding well. I've had sufficient energy for my workouts and for my day.

This diet requires you to track every single thing you put in your body. You have to be confident that you are reaching the deficit or surplus on the zig and zag days. It also requires you to be very in tune with how your body feels and identify whether you're eating too few or too many calories, then adjust accordingly.

I'll keep you up to date on my progress over the next few weeks.

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