How do you do your cheats?

[OrganicShadow]

I've been looking into the art and science of cheat meals. At one point I would have never cheated my diet when trying to get lean but now realizing that it's almost essential (especially when in the single digit BF%).

My question is: How do you cheat? When and what?

 

[bmcjames]

Yeah I have noticed that the leaner I get the more important my cheat meals are becoming.

It seems if I skip it I lose only 1/2 of my goal but if I do it then I hit my goal easily...

I usually nearly have a full cheat day on Saturday (just be sure to eat high protein sources, ie all you can eat Chinese food ) and on Sunday 1 cheat meal + my normal diet (last week was chipolte, a full burrito bowl + 1/2 of my girls burrito, I am food disposal unit ).

It leaves me bloated like a Prego but the water is usually all gone by mid week and I am down .5 to 1 lb over my previous weeks weight by Friday morning...

 

[Rodja]

Cheat or a refeed? They're often used interchangeably, but they're very, very different.

 

[OrganicShadow]

Cheat or a refeed? They're often used interchangeably, but they're very, very different.

Hmm, could you elaborate on this?

 

[gamer2be08]

I must say, I cheat like 3 times a week haha...

 

[bmcjames]

I wish I could cheat 3x per week lol.

I think I am gaining weight just thinking about that now... ahha

I am a bloated sob today, had me good cheat day yesterday.

1 Full Oatmeal/Wholewheat loaf of bread
Skippy peanut butter and honey sandwiches all day
1 full back of Tyson Boneless Buffalo chicken tenders (white meats)
Butter Milk Ranch full fat for my dipping sauce

made be go from my 196.8lbs to 206lbs this morning, its all good though it will be gone by friday

Gotta go get my 1 cheat meal for today in still, haven't decided where to go yet...


-James

 

[gamer2be08]

I wish I could cheat 3x per week lol.

I think I am gaining weight just thinking about that now... ahha

I am a bloated sob today, had me good cheat day yesterday.

1 Full Oatmeal/Wholewheat loaf of bread
Skippy peanut butter and honey sandwiches all day
1 full back of Tyson Boneless Buffalo chicken tenders (white meats)
Butter Milk Ranch full fat for my dipping sauce

made be go from my 196.8lbs to 206lbs this morning, its all good though it will be gone by friday

Gotta go get my 1 cheat meal for today in still, haven't decided where to go yet...


-James

I guess its ok to have an ungoldy thyroid and metabolism. I cheated today for lunch. CHINESE FOOD!

 

[EasyEJL]

Hmm, could you elaborate on this?

A refeed is more about when you've been low carb all week, and primarily replenish glycogen reserves through high carb intake. Its usually also higher calories for the day in the end to also meet your overall macros. So some people call that a cheat, but if you are still eating clean its not really a cheat.

To me a cheat meal is an "eat whatever the heck you please" meal, that is also higher in calories than your average while on the diet. My cheats tend to be along the lines of a burger, fries, shake plus stop at Cold Stone Creamery after.

 

[Aviad]

I will offer a few of my thoughts if I may share my understanding of refeeds. These are only my opinions based on experience and from what I have read on the subject.

As Rodja stated, I think the proper term would be refeed as most do this to enhance some type of cut, recomp or contest prep. The word “cheat” indicates that people are consuming foods that don’t contribute to ones favorable body fat %, or individual goals. This isn’t intended to be a binge, instead the purpose of a reefed is to facilitate any current diet/training protocol and to aid in staying focused on your goal

Refeed Ideal Responders

Those under who have under 15% bodyfat

Trained individuals as they have more of an increase in T3 & T4 hormones than do the untrained

Trained individuals store more carbs while burning more fat; consequently untrained individuals tend to store more fat and burn more carbs


Goals of refeeds

• Raise the level of glycogen in the muscle/liver that have been depleted as a result of cutting/recomp
• Raise serum leptin levels – leptin can decrease after weeks of dieting (this theory can and I am sure will be debated regarding leptin increase due to refeeds)
• Removing the “set point” in weight loss that increases based on the body’s acclimation to restricted calories or nutrients
• Raise possibly decreased cortisol levels from the effects of dieting by the increase in insulin
• Increase energy expenditure peri-refeed
• To get back on the horse after you have just eaten one...meaning refeeds can get all the cravings out of your system for a certain amount of time keeping you focused on your goals

Dietary Strategies for Refeeds

• Protein eaten first of course if the meal permits
• Consuming a proper mixture of high and low gi carbs
• Keep the cheat meal earlier in the day to aid in digestion; sleep quality, and proper nutrient portioning
• Generally, the amount of carbs consumed should be within the range of 150 grams or higher based on the mean intake of carbs (user dependant)
• Keep protein moderate as the need for protein is decreased in relation to increased carb intake
• Keep fat, other than omega 3’s/essential fats to a minimum
• Maintain normal meal frequency instead of scheduling your day around the reefed
• Consuming peri refeed meals that are high in fiber. In addition, a fiber supplement peri-reefed can slow digestion and serve as a mild fat absorbing agent for any saturated fats consumed

Supplemental Strategies

• Depending on your activity/workout for the day, employing the use of products such as PSlin or Anabolic Pump can be particularly helpful…speaking from experience. This maximizes glucose uptake in muscle cells and reduce the amount that goes to adipose tissue.
• Enzymes - personal preference on which particular product/ this will aid in proper nutrient distribution/digestion and reduce bloating, digestive issues and reduce incidental inflammation depending on the nutrient profile of the reefed
• D Pinitol – aids in storage of gylcogen
• Multi mineral including magnesium citrate & chromium
• Vitamin C as always in divided doses
• R Lipoic Acid – as I am sure we are all aware
• The body generally increases thyroid response when we reefed so it would be beneficial to elevate these levels throughout the day to aid in the increase in metabolism. OEP would be helpful as it increases T3 & T4 levels considerably.
• Ephedrine can also increase thermic effects of refeeds by as much as 30%... or stay away from stimulants peri reefed meal as they affect insulin sensitivity (user preference)
• Since most of these reefed foods are high in carbs, sodium, and other things that indirectly affect water retention, diuretics may be useful. These include dandelion, uva ursi, taurine, B6 and so on

Don’ts

• Consume alcohol peri-refeed
• Consume fructose peri-refeed
• Never consume high-fructose corn syrup – especially during refeeds
• Mistake a binge for a refeed - one can be used as a tool for improving body comp and the other is simply taking off

Exercise – highly debateable

As the research and reviews are mixed on this subject, a workout after seems to support the most favorable environment for refeeds. This again is very user specific as it is more dependant on your goal regarding the reefed and the days preceding and following.

It appears that glycogen depleting cardio or resistance training is beneficial before refeeds to create an environment for maximum uptake of glucose into muscle/liver cells.

The only reason I can see a post refeed workout being of any benefit is if the refeed was more of a binge. Then this would be more damage control that trying maximize glycogen stores.

My Personal Protocol:

I choose to utilize the benefits of a refeed on days when I play ball.

I will do a moderate rep range resistant workout in the morning followed by a normal post workout meal. Then I will play basketball for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. By this point glycogen is all but gone and I am ready for a nice refeed. I will choose something simple such as chicken parm (homemade) with whole wheat pasta...plenty of whole wheat pasta. Possibly some type of bread product I normally don't have. By the end of this meal I am buzzing and body is feeling good. In most cases I choose to do absolutely nothing as I would like some of these carbs to be around for the following days workout. The workout after a refeed for me is always strong.

Again, these are only suggestions based on my personal experience and from the little bit of knowledge I have gained. I am looking forward to other contributions to this thread as well.


References:

Matsumoto T, et al. Comparison of thermogenic sympathetic response to food intake between obese and non-obese young women. Obes Res 2001 Feb;9(2):78-85

Poehlman ET, et al. Genotype dependency of the thermic effect of a meal and associated hormonal changes following short-term overfeeding. Metabolism 1986 Jan;35(1):30-6

Levine JA, et al. Role of nonexercise activity thermogenesis in resistance to fat gain in humans. Science 1999 Jan 8;283(5399):212-4

Douyon L, Schteingart DE. Effect of obesity and starvation on thyroid hormone, growth hormone, and cortisol secretion. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2002 Mar;31(1):173-89.

Ahima RS, et al. Leptin regulation of neuroendocrine systems. Front Neuroendocrinolgy 2000 Jul;21(3):263-307.

van Dijk G. The role of leptin in regulation of energy balance and adiposity. J Neuroendocrinol 2001 Oct;13(10):913-21.

Weyer C, et al. Changes in energy metabolism in response to 48 h of overfeeding and fasting in Caucasians and Pima Indians. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 May;25(5):593-600.

 

[OrganicShadow]

bmcjames - that's just wild
EasyEJL - hmm, got it - gives me some direction
Aviad - wow... awesome post. So would you consider it unfavorable to have some kind of "cheat" let's say on a Tuesday post-workout that might be about 150% normal caloric intake of the average meal while keeping it smarter in choice?

 

[Aviad]

I would say that a refeed is always a good idea considering the following conditions:

• you are doing it for a specific goal and have a clear strategy
• you not using it as an excuse to binge
• you have dieted for a sufficient amount of time to warrant the refeed. The longer the diet - the more beneficial the refeed
• employing the use of a nutrition partioner/disposal product such as Pslin or Anabolic Pump
• the bulk of the calories come from complex carbs - lower protein and even lower to no fat (with the exception of omega 3's)

Also...aside from all of this technical talk. Lets all not forget to just enjoy a meal from time to time without having to be concerned how this will affect our goals.

 

[EasyEJL]

Also...aside from all of this technical talk. Lets all not forget to just enjoy a meal from time to time without having to be concerned how this will affect our goals.

I think thats the most critical part - not having the bodybuilding obsession entirely ruin social lives. So have that 1 meal a week where you end up at Chilis or Appleby's or wherever with friends and family, and just order what you like the taste of.

 

[schwellington]

im eating cookies and ice cream 4 my cheats- it does not stop bf loss at all sometimes i do it 2x a week at night and i still get lean

 

[SilentBob187]

Lets all not forget to just enjoy a meal from time to time without having to be concerned how this will affect our goals.

Cheated HARD this past Thursday.

All you can eat pancakes at IHOP.

hashbrowns
2 slices bacon
2 links sausage
2 eggs, scrambled
and...
19 pancakes, no syrup. (at this point no syrup is kinda like ordering a KFC Double Down with a 'diet' coke :006

When I cheat, I cheat to win. And I won that day (vs my 291lb friend,) by 1 pancake. :bigok:

 

[AnthonyIOSOS]

I would normally cheat one time per week. Right now its more like three, mainly because my shirt won't be coming off anytime soon. Come September ill go back to the once a week to lose some fat. I usually eat low carb, so my cheat days contain high carbs and bad fats.

Aviad nice post! That is way to much **** for me to follow, lol.

 

[CCV3]

I dont plan on cheating, it just comes around so I roll with it then.
Weddings, birthday parties, etc.

I always show up full, but eventually I resort to eating something out of my normal routine.

So ya, I never plan cheats...it comes across my lap more than enough.

 

[bomb402]

Bro I think you need to go on the see it eat it diet at 157 lbs.

 

[fmoncas]

During contest i never cheat....i only have high carb days

Offseason i have a cheat meal once per week

my 2 cents

 

[Ponderosa]

"Cheat to win" My cheat is as much pizza in a single sitting as I can handle, at most the my weight perks up for one day, then eliminated by the end of the second day. Keeps me in check for the long term as I don't feel I'm missing any foods in life.