When using your cutting recomendations do you use a refeed day, meal, or time period?
When it comes to refeeds (aka cheat meals, strategic, or carb refeeds) it takes some experimentation. We all diet differently. We’re all biochemically unique. And we all respond differently to different approaches.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that it bears some research and is definitely worthy of research.
Generally, I like to give people 6 hours (after a workout or cardio session to increase/maximize insulin sensitivity and glycogen storage) to eat anything they want, as much as they want, 10 (or 20!) chocolate candy bars if they want. Eat until you’ve satisfied the cravings you’ve had all week. No food combining rules. No counting. Stomach capacity ends up being the limiting factor.
6 hours of refeeding will not counteract 6 days and 18 hours of a well-designed, dialed-in diet. You will gain scale weight, but it should all be gone in about 3 days.
But let me throw it out to the rest of the forum. How do the rest of you conduct your refeeds/cheat meals?
Sunday to Friday I stick with the plan and keep a food log. Saturday, anything goes, all day. Having a full cheat day doesn’t stop me from losing fat even when I’m in a dieting phase and doesn’t cause me to gain fat when I’m maintaining.
Having a cheat day once a week also helps me maintain my sanity.
what i do is just take one day to carb up. two days doesn’t work for me…i just end up feeling sick and not wanting to eat anymore.
i eat lots of potatoes, beets, etc, along with all kinds of fruits and even raw milk if i can get ahold of it. i also like to eat lots of berries, too. i personally keep the carbs ‘clean’.
depends on the client.
larger more muscular males may be able to get away with a desecent/frequent refeeds, whereas i generally find females looking to get VERY lean cant eat as much or as often.
obviously the longer you work with a client the better you will be able to assess these little things
Same as MD, but Sunday is my day. I eat whatever I’m craving from the time I wake up till the time I go to bed. I usually go to bed feeling uncomfortable. It’s really quite sick actually.
I been using weds and sunday. I go all day most
pro/carbs meals very little fat. Eating oatmeal
pretzels pasta baked potatoes and rice. The
next day is weight gain. But water weight is gone in 3 day. Hope this help.
as i am a larger male my refeeds go from thursday to sunday nite. largely in the form of Guinness and vodka, various types of burgers help keep my protein levels up. I think this is the key to my enviousable body. go the skinny fat guys!!!
Yeah, it is sick isn’t it, Magnus. The funny thing is, every Saturday night when I go to bed with that nasty bloated feeling I promise myself “This is absolutely the last time I do this to myself.” LOL
LOL! Cycomike, what’s the deal, here, with all the Aussies sticking together?
T-Bow, yes, absolutely! T-Dawg includes a refeed. In fact, when I design diets for people, I always factor in a 6-hour refeed. It helps psychologically as well as physiologically. You can have that “free” 6 hours on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Weigh in should be Friday morning every week, for purposes of measuring progress. This allows you to follow your diet 6 days and 18 hours of the week, but enjoy a family reunion, a date, a cookout or a party. And more importantly, it provides you with an opportunity to get sick eating the things you’ve been obsessing about all week. (grin)
Whatever you do, don’t step on the scale the day after the refeed. You’ll freak! (grin)
So repeating, yes, a refeed is appropriate for people with higher BF percentages.
