Diet Question - Cheat Day, Cheat Meal, or Neither.

veneficus

veneficus

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Sep 12, 2008
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Some people swear that the cheat day recharges your metabolism, and tricks it so your body doesn't get used to the low calories your eating. Some say just a "healthy" cheat meal is all you need.

Is this scientific proven? or is this just something to keep people motivated on the diet?

I'm down 50 pounds since January, and I hit a plateau almost twice a month now, and need to keep the plateaus to a minimum.
 


What have you been doing so far?

Anyways I'm a huge believer in John Berardi's approach so I looked up an article for you. He seems to be a fan of cheat days if you're trying to gain mass, but not a fan when it comes to losing weight.

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"Don't have cheat days or meals while you're trying to lose weight. I know, I know, you've always heard talk about "stoking the metabolic fire" or some nonsense like that, but simply put, that's bunk. First, psychologically, it's very difficult to stay disciplined after a cheat meal. After weeks of dieting, the taste buds, which have all but given up hope, are stirred back to life. Each time you cheat on the diet, it's more difficult to stay strict when next you're being tested by the devil on your shoulder. "Come on, John, you know you want a slice of pizza. Remember, you didn't get fat after your cheat meal on Sunday. This one time will be fine, too."
And physiologically, there's no sound reason to have a cheat meal. One meal will not upregulate your sluggish dieter's metabolism, despite what you've heard. Sure, the metabolic rate gets upregulated for a few short hours after the big meal, but no way will this thermogenesis account for the large caloric load you'll be dumping into the gut at once.
So my final answer is that it's okay for some people to "believe in" the cheat meal. Others however, should categorize the cheat meal right up there with the Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot."

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Full (poorly written IMO - must be old) article here Bodybuilding.com - Damage Control: To Cheat Or Not To Cheat! - John Berardi
 
Thanks chris,

Yeah I started with the atkins/southbeach phase 1, I then regulated back to good carbs. After that I've been eating healthy and more often. Theres a few other rules i have as well, like getting my fats and carbs with mostly breakfast.

A good workout schedule has been great too.

Thanks, if you have any other input on the "cheat day" let me know. I agree with chris on the tastebuds things, because once you get used to vegetables and healthy food, you actually start enjoying them more.

V3nE
 
eh... a lot of people misunderstand the concept of a "cheat day". Cheat day doesn't mean eat shit. It means bump up your caloric in vs out for the day.

Weight loss is a pretty simple concept. If you calories in are less than your calories out you will drop weight. HOWEVER your body will constantly strive to find homeostasis and when it recognizes patterns that makes it a lot easier for it to do so. Thats the point of the cheat day. To throw the body off and keep it from going into "starvation mode" where it will reduce your resting metabolic rate to compensate for the lack of calories in vs out.

So no, don't eat pizza and cake on your cheat day but yes have a cheat day and try to eat as much or more calories that day as you burn as apposed to posting a caloric deficit like you do on your non-cheat days.

Another thing to consider is if you are "plateauing" twice a month... you aren't really plateauing at all. A plateau is a place you get stuck at... if its un-sticking and re-sticking itself that often its just a normal variance in your weight loss patterns. Looking at your numbers it seems you are losing an average of 3ish lbs per week. This is better than average (most people can sustain about a 1-2lb weight loss per week if they work at it) so I would say keep doing what you are doing. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
 
I have been working out and dieting for about a year now, I have a cheat day once a week. I have lost about 40 kilos of fat, and built up a nice amount of muscle in the meantime as well.

I have to say that it is a great way to reward yourself after a week of working out and eating nasty crap.

bran flakes ftw.
 
Before, when I lost a ton of weight, I had 1 cheat day (Sunday) where I would go out to eat, eat candy, whatever I wanted. This really helped with alot of things. #1 it was a laid back day where I didn't have to prep any meals and eat wherever. #2 being massively bloated then next day reminded me of how horrible I feel after eating badly. #3 It did seem to boost the metabolism of that same day.

Another thing that really helped waiting for the cheat day (I just like calling it a break day) was if I saw something that I really wanted to eat (candy, soda, w/e) throughout the week; I wouldn't deny myself it, but instead I would buy it and save it until Sunday came around. That drastically helped the feeling that I was being deprived.
 
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