Cheat days

[pleno1]

Should they be allowed?

How frequent?

Is it better to eat 100% 6 days kf the week and 5% one day of the week or eat 90% all the way through the week?

[byronkincaid]

you are on a diet? Lyle goes on about refeeds a lot in his books, basically he sez they're great as long as you don't go nuts ie if you're on 2K calories a day and bump up to 3K then that will bring your leptin back up and other good stuff but if you nom nom your way through 6K then obv it's very bad.

some people (including me) find their biggest weight loss days come after a refeed, most likely your body retains water when it loses fat during the rest of the week and wooshes it out after a lovely cheat day.

see leangains and bodyrecomposition websites for a ton more info.

[RED-DOG]

you are on a diet? Lyle goes on about refeeds a lot in his books, basically he sez they're great as long as you don't go nuts ie if you're on 2K calories a day and bump up to 3K then that will bring your leptin back up and other good stuff but if you nom nom your way through 6K then obv it's very bad.

some people (including me) find their biggest weight loss days come after a refeed, most likely your body retains water when it loses fat during the rest of the week and wooshes it out after a lovely cheat day.

see leangains and bodyrecomposition websites for a ton more info.

You are the very man for this question Mr Acid.

What is your opinion of the '2 minute workout' intense exercise programs that are in the news at the moment?

[byronkincaid]

i haven't been acidic for years now

high intensity interval training? love it, do sprints at least once a week, look like a knob down the park and get old men coming up and saying "huh huh you training for the olympics son?"

but what are your aims? if you want to lose fat, set calories 20% below maintenance and refeed once a week. if you want to "look toned" ie build some muscle, lift weights or do some other form of resistance exercise. i do sprints because i've noticed that many people have lost the ability to do them and i want to be able to run for the bus when i'm 70. a use it or lose it kinda thing.

stuff like stubbon fat protocols (5 mins HIIT, 5 mins rest, 30 mins cardio, 5 mins HIIT) is fun but nothing compared to getting your calories right.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-fundamentals-of-fat-loss-diets-part-1.html

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-fundamentals-of-fat-loss-diets-part-2.html

[Mohican]

I don't know much about the science of it but I follow the 'exercise more, eat healthier' maxim and try to follow it. So if I fancy a treat, I have one. Don't feel guilty about and just carry on eating healthy most of the time. My mate's Wife is a nutritionist so she helped me modify my diet and it has see my shed 1/2 stone. Relapsed recently with number 3 child turning up early but I'm determined to get back to my healthy eating ways. Still lifting weights 4/5 a week so it's not all bad news as this keeps me in check.

[iRaise]

you are on a diet? Lyle goes on about refeeds a lot in his books, basically he sez they're great as long as you don't go nuts ie if you're on 2K calories a day and bump up to 3K then that will bring your leptin back up and other good stuff but if you nom nom your way through 6K then obv it's very bad.

some people (including me) find their biggest weight loss days come after a refeed, most likely your body retains water when it loses fat during the rest of the week and wooshes it out after a lovely cheat day.

see leangains and bodyrecomposition websites for a ton more info.
Would t go too heavy on refeeds. To easy to binge. If your nailing your training (most don't) then there is logic. If not keep it clean and be sensible. Refeeds is better mindset than cheat days tho.

All dependant on goals tho.

[Marky147]

I've been on a cheat year, so it's that long ago I did this, I almost can't remember.

When I was training 4x a week, and following a pretty strict eating plan, I would eat strictly Monday to Saturday.

On a Sunday, I would have a roast dinner for lunch, and takeaway Sunday night.

[zerofive]

Refeeds are basically a way of keeping your body from adapting. Your body, bless it, doesn't know you're eating at a caloric deficit in order to lose weight; it just thinks something is wrong and starts to slow your metabolism. Bumping up the carbs every so often (like once a week for most people looking to lose weight) prevents your leptin levels from crashing, keeping your metabolism active and allowing you to continue losing weight rapidly.

A lot of people choose their bonus calorie allowance to enjoy their favourite foods, so they'll grab a few slices of pizza instead of eating twice as much pasta and broccoli. Choice is yours, just make sure you're getting some extra calories from somewhere once a week.

[iRaise]

Refeeds are basically a way of keeping your body from adapting. Your body, bless it, doesn't know you're eating at a caloric deficit in order to lose weight; it just thinks something is wrong and starts to slow your metabolism. Bumping up the carbs every so often (like once a week for most people looking to lose weight) prevents your leptin levels from crashing, keeping your metabolism active and allowing you to continue losing weight rapidly.

A lot of people choose their bonus calorie allowance to enjoy their favourite foods, so they'll grab a few slices of pizza instead of eating twice as much pasta and broccoli. Choice is yours, just make sure you're getting some extra calories from somewhere once a week.

Just to play slight devils advocate with Sean. The psychology of stopping at one meal in my experience is very very hard even for the best. I agree some people can just take it or leave it. But if you have always battled food. Leaving it is a really tricky thing to do. Whereby it might give you slightly improved psychical results, is it worth the risk of falling of the wagon completely? Reading the fat loss thread you could argue gives more evidence to this. Having a 'clean refeed' does have a more all round benefit.

Again, person dependant and what you are trying to achieve.

[RED-DOG]

I can't take one meal off and then stay on the waggon for the rest of the day, but after a day off I'm always fine to continue my diet the next day.

[Boba Fett]

Guy I know is a personal trainer/nutritionist and he actually posted this on his FB today about it

https://rossstewartpt.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/nutritional-truth-bomb-self-control-is-fatiguing/

[BangBang]

Think you pretty much have your question covered above..

Why are you dieting/considering dieting?

What are you trying to achieve? Are you dieting because you have a specific target? Weight? Aesthetic look? Competition?

Watching what you eat is one thing, but actually strict dieting becomes wholly consuming… I’m not knocking it at all, each to their own…

Unless you’re competing or modeling and need to be a certain weight, you should just have balanced meals, it’s easier to maintain over the long term without it affecting ones lifestyle.

Good cheat for you if you’re looking to lose weight is compound exercises before cardio and if you are doing a lot of cardio stick to high intensity interval training and plyometrics. 

Being an ex-athlete your muscle memory should be good anyway and it shouldn’t take you long to get into shape…