Better understanding on cheat days

[feinburgrl]

I'm trying to get a better understanding on how cheat days work. When I go on my cut diet I general never cheat but when I do it only happens twice a month. This will be my 3rd round of cutting and would like to know the science around it and why cheat days are important because I just can't understand how eating over your caloric intake will help with weight loss besides not going crazy by just eating a low calorie diet.

 

[Marat]

High carbohydrate refeed periods refill muscle glycogen as well as normalize various hormone levels (ghrelin, leptin, etc.) that tend to get wonky after spending some time in a deficit.

Individual cheat meals are basically purely psychological.

Randomly eating whatever you want for a day (cheat day?) may fulfill those roles but, I suppose, it's a bit sloppier and less structured. Instead of coming out feeling reinvigorated, you may also come out feeling pretty crappy.

If you really want to dial it in, you'd probably be well served to utilize a structured program instead of randomly putting something together. The latter can still give you results but a structured program will probably get you closer to your goal with less wavering.

Check out Lyle McDonald's stuff. The Ultimate Diet 2.0 and the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook are great resources.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

I second Marat

 

[ThreeGigs]

Try a search on leptin control. The scheduled cheats are basically a way of stopping your metabolism from morphing into "OMG I'M BEING STARVED TO DEATH" mode. You wind up with more energy (which you use) during the next few days after the cheat.

Don't think of them as cheat days, think of them as reset buttons that put your metabolism back on a higher track, instead of an energy (and calorie) conserving one.

 

[SuperLift]

Cheat day or cheat meal? Big difference. You could go all out and eat some pizza for lunch once a week as a cheat meal but don't go all day and eat cheese burgers pizza and ice cream. Pick one for 1 meal. Personally I like to still eat clean but treat it as a high carb day and load up on oats, rice, potatos, fruit, etc..