HELP can i eat junk every once in awhile

[Bluecrew12]

I dont feel so great because i have been sticking to this lo cal low carb diet and it is starting to take its toll. i have been on it for a month and have lost 20 lbs. not to mention i work out and do extensive running. is it ok to eat some bread and pasta and maybe even some ice cream? i am afraid if i dont then i am going to go on a binge.

 

[Mr.X]

Not daily, but "once in a while" (whatever that means to you) is a good idea. I'd say, every 3 days, (on the 4th), in the morning have a "cheat meal" ex: ice-cream, pasta etc. It's a feasible way to abstract your-self from a binge. But, to tell you the truth, this type of dieting requires very high self control because once you have the first bite it's hard to say no.

Mr.X

 

[blood_drinker]

every 4 days? ! that sounds a bit too early for me...

i aim for, ideally, once every 2 weeks !
some even go once a month?

But what I tend to do is once a week.
Peace

 

[BigAndy69]

The ideal way to cheat is every 16-20 days.

 

[diamonddiceclay]

if you lift mon upper body,tue lower body, and do the whole body on fri, you can eat high carb food for 24-36 hours starting late friday

 

[cozmokramer]

you can do a 24hour carb up on weekends... and then no carbs all week... it works great and keeps your muscles fueled...

although you have had great results already on no carb diet... that should be motivation enough to keep you going!

 

[Par Deus]

The ideal way to cheat is every 16-20 days.

Very poor generalization.

Someone with bodyfat levels well below their natural"setpoint" would benefit from far more frequent refeeds, as often as every 2 or 3 days.

It's all about leptin.

In addition, cutting calories too severely, particularly carbohydrates, will also depress leptin levels faster.

 

[Mr.X]

Surely, we now have a general answer for you:
Every 3 days...try it and post your results

Remember, you have already gone done below the natural set-point....20lb in a month is a very good number.


Mr.X

 

[MS]

I'll 3rd the above 2 opinions. Infrequent carb feedings will work OK for overweight people (in general) but as you get leaner it helps to increase the frequency of these feedings (notice I prefer to not use the word binge since it should be a scheduled and controlled part of your diet). In an ideal world we would have "leptostix" (tm) to tell us exactly when to have these feeds and for how long. In the real world you kinda have to get in touch with your body, or just go with a set plan like every 3-8 days (max) between carbs treats. Anyway the good news is that everyone agrees to having a carb feed regularly. My favorite is pasta (no cheese) followed by lowfat ice cream with hershey's choc sauce. Ohhhh I'm drooling just thinking about it.

 

[Bluecrew12]

thought i would post my results

After seven months of eating whatever I wanted on Friday and working out extensivly throughout the week I was able to drop 35 lbs. I started at 205 and am now at 170. I am pretty impressed. I did however take the last month off and am starting back up. I just started to look ematiated. however I put on a little bit of fat and am now going back at it and trying to gain back pure muscle. Any comments are more than welcome.

 

[MR. BMJ]

Hey great job Blue!!! Thanks for the report. Now that you are leaner, you should try out a refeed method every 3 days or so like previously mentioned. Kepp us updated there big guy!!!

MR. BMJ

 

[rez]

i havent had a cheat day in about a month, however im not on a low carb diet. I am rotaing hi/lo carbs depending on what i train that day. eg cardio lo carbs, weights hi carbs.
would i benefit from a 'refeed' or is there no need if my goal is to drop bf?

 

[USMC_Devildog]

Once A Week

On a low carb diet you want to be in ketosis. Cheat only once a week. For example my cheat day is on my rest day which is Sunday. Then I start training and dieting again on Monday. When you cheat, it's okay cheat all day. Wait....let me define. I don't mean sit and pig out while in front of the TV. Eat 3-4 meals instead of your 5-6 meals. Here's my example of a cheat day.

Meal 1: Scramble Eggs with cheese, meat (usually chicken breast or spicy sausage), Orange Juice, Toast with yogurt spread or hashbrowns.....Good breakfast (not the best for you though)

Meal 2: Sandwich (Egg Salad, Chicken, roast beef...etc) Low Fat Mayo, Dijon Mustard, 1 slice of cheese, on wheat, sour dough or dutch crunch, 1 small bag of potatoe chips (Kettle Chips...yum) Juice

Meal 3: Top Sirloin Steak (trimmed of fat), seasoned and BBQed, Salad, Rice or a potatoe, Coke (I can't go without my coke)

Meal 4: Desert of some kind, slice of pie, or a scoop of ice cream. Don't go overboard here.

This won't hurt you if you eat like this once a week. Just be sure you're exercising and dieting throughout the six days.