So Im planning on cutting and keeping my carbs less than 100g a day and I always hear people talking about refeed days when they keep their carbs low and want someone to fill me in as to what that means. I have basically only ever bulked so that is the reason for this question. thanks!
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When you diet for an extended period of time, your metabolism slows down, mostly in part due to leptin levels. Leptin is a hormone that is released from your fat cells, and it helps regulate metabolism and appetite. Leptin levels are mediated by both calories and carbs, so after someone has been on a serious diet for 2-3 weeks, they need something to kick start their metabolism, hence the refeed.
Refeeds also serve to help keep you strong in the gym and give you energy, because after ~2 weeks of low carbin it, your glycogen stores are going to be depleted and you’re going to feel like a walking bag of ass. Finally, they also serve as a nice psychological break to the monotony of dieting, and give a structure to planning cheat meals.
As a general recommendation, have a refeed 2 weeks into your low carb phase, and try to keep it to 300-400g carbs. From there, have another refeed every week. Some schools say to limit fats on refeed days, some people are more in favor of totally free cheat meals. Some also say to take a whole day or more or refeeding, while others say to limit it to 3 meals or even to just a solid cheat hour. Another variable is after a workout vs on a rest day; both are valid approaches. you’ll have to experiment with frequency, size, duration, and types of foods on your refeed days to figure out what works best for you.
Personally, I take a 1-2 hour cheat meal every 5 days with ~1000-1500 cals and 2-400g carbs, and I try to make it after a workout. Works for me, my lifestyle, and my physiology. Good luck figuring it out for yourself man, hope that helped.
awesome thanks a lot!