For sure you’ve heard about cheat and refeed days. You’ve probably planned one before even started on your diet… “what would I eat if I had a day when I could eat anything….”
Well, let me lay out my thoughts on these ideas!
First off, a cheat day is a break from your diet. They can be structured in many different ways. All out binges, eating till you’re stuffed, eating something you’ve been craving and denying yourself, or just eating a little extra because you are worn out.
OR… you can have just a cheat meal. Which is where you eat one meal that you normally wouldn’t according to the diet you are following.
I am not a huge fan of them. But they can be used with very positive results. Why don’t I like them? Because the idea is great, but the execution is rarely done well. Let’s say you plan a cheat meal, or just plan a cheat day but say to yourself you’ll eat more than usual but not things that are unhealthy. What usually happens? You end up eating too much, you end up saying “fuck it” and stuffing your face with foods you normally wouldn’t eat. You go too far with everything and then regret it. After your stomach is sore, you’re bloated and you’ve eaten 4000 calories, you rarely feel good! You might feel great allowing yourself to do it, and while you are eating… but afterwards usually regret your choices. And many times it’s really difficult to get back 100% on track the next day. That’s where I see this a problem for certain people… if you end up not getting back on track- was it really worth it? Could you not have just kept fighting and then eaten more reasonably after you’ve reached your goal?
How I can see it working. Planning, planning, planning. Plan out what, where and when you are going to eat. Think about why. Personally if I’m doing a cheat meal/day, I like to do it at lunch. Or eat whatever I want for breakfast and lunch, then fast for the rest of the day. That way I don’t go to bed full, with a sore stomach. And I feel like I can spend the rest of the day exercising, reflecting and getting myself back on track and ready for the next day.
It also allows you to exercise after. Ideally, you could do a big workout the day before, have a cheat meal/day, workout that day, and the next, and then take a rest day. Focus your hardest and biggest workouts of the week for before and after the cheat day. Let your body use the extra calories to recover and for fuel for the next workout.
But be prepared for the possibliity the next day could be REALLY hard to get back on track.
I have failed so many times with what I planned for a cheat day or a cheat meal. And even completely fallen off my diet. Personally I try not to go so strict that I’m craving foods and overeating that badly that I need one. But we are human so if you want to try it, plan it out!
You’ll read a lot about eating more carbs than usual and how it raises your leptin levels and then you burn more fat. Don’t use this as a reason to do a cheat meal. Unless you’re a body builder it probably doesn’t impact you. Plus, it can be a very short elevation and for some people (because our bodies and how we react differently) it doesn’t work out very well. Many people will get on the scale the next day (or up to a week after a cheat meal or cheat day) and be up 5+ pounds. Yes, it’s water weight. No it’s not fat. But that can be difficult mentally and working through that idea that you’re starving yourself for potentially a week just to get back down to where you were before the cheat (which isn’t really the case) can be tough to get through.
Refeed days. This is a different principle. The simplified idea here is that you increase your calories for the day around 30% more than you usually do, and focus that 30% increase on carbs to increase leptin levels. These days are typically used by bodybuilders and elite athletes who are worn down, who are dieting really hard and taking things to the max. I have seen these working really well for people and used them effectively myself. But for the ordinary person this can be quite difficult, as explained above. And also because it requires more reading, research and knowledge (to a level that many people don’t want to get to).
Overall… there’s a way you may not need a cheat day, cheat meal or a refeed. If you plan your diet from the beginning to be more sustainable and enjoyable you might be able to eat the foods you want occasionally and still lose weight/fat. If you stuck to a plan 6 days a week, or 13 days straight, then had one day where you enjoyed yourself, were able to go out to functions, have a family dinner, etc. it is still possible to lose weight. The body is very adaptive and can get used to schedule and regular days where you are not as strict. I’ve seen people on 12 month plans where once a week they ate “normal” who still lost a ton of weight and didn’t struggle with their diet. It’s all about planning. In my opinion that is!
SMPL Fitness 