Refeed, carb-up, cheat day on diet

[Silverback]

There was a thread a few yrs back pertaining to having cheat days/refeeds in order to have a successful cut and whether they were needed.

At the moment i am cutting and ive been going 14 days then having a small cheat meal, and the fat is coming off faster than it ever has, compared to previous once a week cheats.

The reason i decided to change was that the more competitive bodybuilders i spoke to, the more i found that they dont cheat in prep for a contest. Its almost like clockwork, until showtime. I also feel the longer i go without junk, the easier it is not to have it.

It makes me wonder whether cheating is neccessary or just an excuse to eat crap, although still lose fat but not optimally?!

Anyone else got any views on cutting, refeeds? i know that lyle mcdonald is a big proponent, and have read his UD2. In theory its sound, but it makes me wonder why i dont see people prepping using this strategy?

[getfit]

this might help
http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=29589

[Silverback]

this might help
http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=29589

lol cheers, that was the thread i was refering to :D
There was loads of good info on there and the argument for refeeds was definately valid, im just thinking maybe its not really that effective unless you are sub 10 bodyfat and really fighting to get the last extra bit of fat off.

[TheGimp]

If cutting back on refeeds gets results for you then certainly don't change it!

I am a big fan of UD2.0. It is probably true that the need for refeeds becomes more acute as body fat drops - from a fat loss point of view. However in my personal experience a cyclical diet like this allows one to build muscle while losing fat.

[Utopianhopes]

It makes me wonder whether cheating is neccessary or just an excuse to eat crap, although still lose fat but not optimally?!

For me it more of enjoying the food. It depends on the time restrictions. I have been dieting for 4 months and will probably diet for another 3 months atleast. so, having a cheat meal every other week makes very little difference.

I would be catious doing a cheat day. People sometimes treat a cheat day as their person vendetta to stuff their faces with as much as possible and some can actually reach the point of undoing a weeks worth of dieting.


One cheat meal/day I had was my goal on trying to eat a whole extra large pizza by myself (manage to eat 6 slices). I ran my calories up to around cal. 4,500 and a ton of carbs. Most, if not all of the gains the next day was water weight (4lb gain). It was gone 3 days later after rehydrating myself properly and continue to following the diet. I even lose a lb after an entire week was complete.