Re-feed question

[James-M]

Have a quick question I tried searching but couldn't find an answer.
I am currently cutting 7 weeks in using low carb diet. I notice after every cheat meal (once a week) I lose weight. I haven't been having refeed days but I was going to give it a try once a week.
My question is should I have a refeed on the day I eat my cheat meal or on a different day?
Cheat meal is always pizza and I've read on a refeed day fats should be kept low.

 

[semper03]

On your heaviest training days (heavy lifting, sprinting, anything that results in glycogen depletion), increase your carbohydrates and limit your fat intake. Yes, limit your fat intake to around 50g (eyeball it – don’t demolish that stick of butter today). Don’t cut it out altogether, mind you, but emphasize carbs over fat. Fat doesn’t have much of a short-term effect on leptin, and, since we want to increase leptin in the short-term without gorging on overall calories, limiting fat and emphasizing carbohydrate is the way to go. Don’t do much to your protein intake. Just keep it relatively normal. Limit your refeeds to once, maybe twice a week, and always after really big workouts, but really go for it. Eat a lot of yams, sweet potatoes, fruit, plantains, squash – any Primal source of starchy carb will do the trick (grains and legumes are still problematic, so keep away). Eat more total calories than you’d normally eat and way more carbohydrate calories than you’d normally eat – at least 250 g-300 g worth. Finish your refeed day with a decent chunk of lean protein (chicken breast, cottage cheese).

You’ll probably get that bloated, water-weight feeling the following day, especially if your diet is relatively low-carb, but that will go away after a day or so. Leptin will rise (independent of fat storage), glycogen will replenish, and your appetite will normalize. Since you’re already fairly lean with low circulating leptin (and, remember: you should be relatively lean before employing refeeds), your leptin senstivity will be high. The leptin bounce won’t be enough to dull your leptin receptors; that generally only happens with the obese, who have chronically elevated leptin.

 

[James-M]

Thanks for your reply, very informative. How lean should I be for the need for refeeds? I'm currently about 14% bf. I thought they would still be benifical especially because I lose weight after my cheat day.

 

[Grizzly723]

This is what I think for refeed days

18%+ once a month
15%-17% once every 2 weeks
10%-14% once a week

 

[James-M]

This is what I think for refeed days

18%+ once a month
15%-17% once every 2 weeks
10%-14% once a week

Thanks