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Cheat days while cutting.
- Thread starter 36drew
- Start date
personally, i have a cheat meal once or twice a week. i spend all week measuring and counting out calories to the T, so having a cheat dinner or larger than usual breakfast is my way of rewarding myself. i find that after strict dieting for extended periods of time, even then my body begins to adapt to the caloric deficit and i come to a halt. after a cheat meal, there is a spike in my metabolism and it kickstarts the fat loss process. i think they are very good ideas and one should not be so anal to the point that one has to be miserable 24/7. life is short, diet hard, but reward yourself for your hard work now and then. my .02
When I first started cutting, I'd have one cheat meal a week, which would consist of Red wine & a big fat blue cheese crusted filet or the like ... it was more of a reward meal for a weeks worth off kickin' ass 
... not to mention I use to love wine
With the metabolism fire burning strong, it'll usually rip through any crap I threw in it, as long as I incorporated one every week ... When I tested the waters to see how my body would react to a cheat 'day' ... OMG misery ...
I don't crave the foods that are commonplace to society ... cakes, cookies, chocolate, fast food, etc ... so when I do ever eat something like that, my body freaks out ... for good reason Everything in moderation... you have to be happy with yourself & lifestyle ... I think they are good not only for your metabolism, but your sanity
... not to mention I use to love wine With the metabolism fire burning strong, it'll usually rip through any crap I threw in it, as long as I incorporated one every week ... When I tested the waters to see how my body would react to a cheat 'day' ... OMG misery ...
I don't crave the foods that are commonplace to society ... cakes, cookies, chocolate, fast food, etc ... so when I do ever eat something like that, my body freaks out ... for good reason
Everything in moderation... you have to be happy with yourself & lifestyle ... I think they are good not only for your metabolism, but your sanity 
alex2678
New member
Cheat days usually cause more harm than good for most people. A one day boost in calories is really not enough to effectively raise T3 to that much of a degree. Having one meal that you're craving, however, will probably not have that much negative effect on your body provided you don't go overboard. (And it can be beneficial to the mind as well) If you're in your final weeks of cutting and have to cheat(wedding, party...), cut the food intake for your other 5 meals in half to avoid going too far above your caloric maintenence. It won't be the most "balanced" food day, but you can have your meal and stay on a relatively good track.
Lifterforlife
New member
Ironically, the mentality is the leaner you get, the less you should cheat. When it is probably quite the opposite.
Hormones can wreak havok. You will have falling test levels, high cortisol. Bring leptin into play here also.
Hormones can wreak havok. You will have falling test levels, high cortisol. Bring leptin into play here also.
Makavelli
New member
36drew said:
For most bodybuilders I work with I'll have them eat around 800 grams of carbs for the carb up. I lower their protein and fat that day so the calories don't get out of hand. For figure girls I'll have them eat around 300.
For cheat days I don't care what they eat.
dce2956
New member
I'll jump in on this. Say you start off at 30% bf, you only need a cheat meal every 2 weeks. As you get lower in BF, you can increase the "cheat" meal frequency. Every week, every 5 days, etc. eventually up to cheat days, and so on. The idea is as you get leaner, your body will be more likely to burn muscle in a caloric deficit, thus increasing the need to stay at or around maintenence cals. Also the reason why it's a hell of a lot easier to get from 30% to 20% BF than from 20% to 10%, and VERY hard to get sub-10%.
And on 'cheat' meals or days, I've found that going out to dinner to a nice fancy restaurant keeps me much saner than eating something terrible for me. Just think of how much better that tastes than McDonalds! A great piece of fish or meat prepared by a great chef, possibly with a glass or two of wine really gets me ready for another week of surviving off chicken and veggies.
And on 'cheat' meals or days, I've found that going out to dinner to a nice fancy restaurant keeps me much saner than eating something terrible for me. Just think of how much better that tastes than McDonalds! A great piece of fish or meat prepared by a great chef, possibly with a glass or two of wine really gets me ready for another week of surviving off chicken and veggies.
Lifterforlife
New member
36drew said:
Leptin is an appetite-suppressing hormone, and so it plays a critical role in the balance of bodyweight. (hunger)
It is actually produced by adipose tissue and is important to complex hormonal and metabolic regulation.
So, key here is serum levels(blood levels) of leptin reflect the amount of energy stored in the above mentioned adipose tissue. This relates back to balance of bodyweight by appetite suppressant.
On both a physiological and emotional level REWARD days are of great import. One day a week doth not calorie/carb cycling make however, as you all have stated: three days low, one day mod, two days low, one day high (THAT is your 'reward' day).
If you dont, IT will for you, ya know?
If you dont, IT will for you, ya know?
36drew said:
My bad, dont kick, I bruise easy. Old and in the way you know.
... my comment is that if you dont satisfy your urges/needs/passions on a psychological/physiological level, THEY will creep out and disrupt your hard work: in reference to the current topic, you need a Reward Day to satisfy those needs as well as to shore up the very real need to emotionally pat yourself on the back in terms of the rest of the week(s) and all those short terms goals of NOT cheating and keeping clean and on track.
there are times when my 'reward meal' consists of greasier types of food, typically some sonic or wendys. but now, on my reward days, ill just eat larger amounts of my cleaner types of foods. if im supposed to eat 8 to 10 oz of lean beef, ill say to hell with it and cook the whole pound. each to their own, but one cheat meal a week isnt gonna kill you. would you be better off not cheating, of course, but im all about a nice sit down dinner once a week at my local steakhouse.
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