Cheat Days and Refeeds

Anyone out there seem cold all the time?  I mean, you just cannot get warm with a hot soak in the tub or a blistering shower.  I have been feeling this way at work about the last three weeks and my wife has complained about it lately too.  It seems it being winter has masked as symptom of a slowing metabolism I completely forgot.  Then have to ask myself, is my metabolism slowing or am I just disappointed with my progress?  I am eating right (well my macro could be tighter), I am dropping some sort of cardio in at least five days out of seven and I am sleeping ok.  Well, I could be sleeping better but between late evening workouts that wire me and having to hit the bathroom because of all this increased water and fiber intake (well you get the point).  One of my co-workers mentions Refeeds last week (as he is in the process of cutting) and one of my MFP friends posts to her wall about a Cheat Day.  Fireworks go off in my head.  My metabolism has slowed!

You may start to notice that you will feel cold all the time, you get sick very easy, sluggish feelings, workouts become harder, and your mental lethargy is at an all-time high from cortisol levels being stressed to the max. These are all signs that the diet phase needs something and that is change. Granted as the diet does prolong you will experience some of the effects above not to mention sleepless nights and dreams of walking into a buffet because you are starving, or there will be those who have vicious snacking habits and it will get the best of them and their mental struggle with sacrifice for their goal. - See more at: http://www.machinemuscle.com/refeeds-and-cheats-impact-on-metabolism/#sthash.WzUbOLxz.dpuf

 I think most of us know how to cheat while on a diet, but I don’t want to cheat.  I measured out my Frosted Mini Wheats and my half cup of Light Almond Milk this morning.  My mind was screaming “Hey?  Is that an appetizer?  No way is that enough food!”  I ate it and I am not hungry, but Audrey II (the Food Drunk Demon that lives within me) is screaming “Feed Me!”

I am proud I have put a leash on Audrey II, though I can feel it whenever I pass that great burger joint or I see the hot light is on at Krispy Kreme.  I can’t cheat?!  Cheating is the path to the dark side.  Cheating leads self-loathing.  Self-loathing leads to emotional eating.  Emotional eating leads to FAT!  I then read more about Cheat Days and Refeeding…

For many they will need to schedule periodic breaks in their diet or include cheat meals/reefed days to help boost those hormones, t3, and leptin levels to keep the cutting diet going and to keep the fat coming off to get into the best shape of their life. While this does not sound ideal to throw in say a burger and fry, or doubling your carb intake it has its benefits. Revving up the metabolism and kicking your body in overdrive from time to time will have its benefits regarding fatloss/weightloss when dieting gets longer and the body is starting to slow down. - See more at: http://www.machinemuscle.com/refeeds-and-cheats-impact-on-metabolism/#sthash.WzUbOLxz.dpuf

So does this mean I get a pass?  I can cheat, but is not really cheating.  The rational side of me thinks back to being caught cheating in the second grade on some darken in the bubble test.  The test we were taking was not for a grade so it could not really be cheating.  I am sure I screwed on my best seven year old puppy face, but Mrs Wise did not seem to taken with my retort at being caught in the act.  I still did not to get to go and play at recess, while the other kids danced around just outside the glass having what it seemed was the best time of their lives.  A cheat day just cannot be right.  Maybe that is why they call it a refeed?  Because no one gets caught on a refeed!  They announce it while they are seeming to break the rules because the rules don’t apply to refeeds.  They are the in your diet, where your conscience cannot tag you and mocking say “Your it!”

Some science to back up the reasoning on these refeeds and cheats meals, let’s look further into this. Even if you are nailing your caloric intake day in and day out and knowing you are reading your body with the proper macros/micro’s to meet your goals for the day let’s see what this can do to an individual. The individual starts to find stalls occurring and when I say a stall I mean they cant figure out what is going on. They dropped calories, they added another HIIT session and another week goes by and nothing changes, energy drops, and they are fatigued/mentally weak. The reasoning is that long periods can cause hypocaloric periods that can cause the metabolism to slow/shutdown to an extent. This is where the refeeds and cheats play a key factor.

As leptin has been stated it has been studied since 1997 (as far as PubMed goes on their research) This hormone helps us understand that when controlled can increase fatloss and weightloss. The Anti-Famine and starvation hormone (as stated by many researchers) has a huge role in increasing metabolism for brief periods and regulating hunger. When you feel a hunger pain or an increase in wanting food this is a key factor being the premise and the effect on your neurological brain signals. While dieting leptin can decrease fat oxidation, increase appetite, and decrease your metabolic rate. Therefore the smaller the fat cells in your body the more that can be synthesized as far as hunger/lower energy expenditure during dieting and have a mimicking effect on famine situations. As we ramp up calories expanded (Cardio) and decrease overall caloric intake we need to find a way to shock the body and increase fat burning this is where the refeeds and cheats do come into play. - See more at: http://www.machinemuscle.com/refeeds-and-cheats-impact-on-metabolism/#sthash.WzUbOLxz.dpuf

So now what do I do?  There has to be a plan for all this.  I just can’t make a cheat day like The Rock...

While The Rock may be able to cook that, I know I would just be me hitting the all you can eat buffet like the Tasmanian Devil.  Small children would be crying and wabbits would be fleeing toward Albuquerque.  Even Audrey II would have to cry uncle.  Turns out there is a difference between a refeed and a cheat meal.  They are not exactly the same. 

For those starting (on a refeed) out I would do the following: Drop around 20-25g Protein, 5-10g Fat and increase carbohydrates by around 75-100g (around 100 kcals in Protein, 50-100 in fat and 350-400 added into carbs) while that does produce a slight surplus these will change as it does prolong. Someone who has been dieting for 15-16 weeks may be double this as far as carb intake goes and they may increase by around 200-250g or they will do 2 smaller refeeds to help keep the metabolism turning as their body will simply eat up the carbs for being in a deficit for so long and being on a restricted intake on the other 5-6 days of the week where they do not refeed.

Cheat Meals on the other hand I have an outline to prevent the client/individual from going overboard.  My outlook is pretty simple, most individual utilize a cheat meal with a great home cooked meal from their parents, their wife/husband, or a meal eaten out with friends/family (Social Occasion). This is where I like to say split an appetizer. Say you get a onion ring basket, fried zucchini sticks, some sort of sliders or potato skins among your party. Indulge on 2-3 of them to get the satisfaction and move onto the next portion of your meal. If you have a side salad to boot that is free game because greens are not very many calories and it will help curb hunger/appetite on your meal. Then grab an entrée of your choice, whatever your heart desires or may want. Many individuals it may be a burger/fry meal, for some it may be a great big burrito, for some it may be chicken wings or a few slices of pizza so eat up and enjoy! Then if you want you can split dessert with those at your table or whoever made the meal for you. Say you are dieting around the holidays and there is a slice of pumpkin pie left on the counter that is sealed up, split it with your wife/husband and move on. The cheat meal is done and complete and get right back on your diet the next day or next meal. For some it is very hard to mentally adapt right back on your diet if you do cheat earlier in the day, so this is why I would suggest to leave it as your last meal of the day so you can shut off, wind down, and get ready for bed soon after and get back on track the next day. For those who just need a meal on their own getting a takeout order works very well. Say you are digging some chinese. Grab an eggroll or some soup with it as your appetizer, take down an entrée of general Tso’s chicken and polish off a cone of ice cream, a few servings of ice cream, a doughnut or two, or a few cookies and call it a cheat meal and get back on the swing of things. - See more at: http://www.machinemuscle.com/refeeds-and-cheats-impact-on-metabolism/#sthash.WzUbOLxz.dpuf

So a cheat is still a cheat, but it is cheating with a purpose.  Kind of like my second grade test, but skipping the shame and detention.  Or is it the guilt from being caught?  Refeeds are akin to cheating, in that you change your diet with a purpose to the point of it being a math lesson.  Where cheat days are mental breathers to keep you on the train, refeeds are physical recharges to keep your train on the track.

Trying both the cheat meal and the refeed may be wise, see how you respond, see how you react as far as weight gain from both processes, and see how you mentally and physically feel. These are KEY indications on what works best for your body and what you should utilize in the future to help dial you into the best shape of your life! - See more at: http://www.machinemuscle.com/refeeds-and-cheats-impact-on-metabolism/#sthash.WzUbOLxz.dpuf

 I am not a cheater, though I have cheated in the past.  Ok, I am a cheater... but I am not planning to cheat.  I can see Mrs Wise in my head as I try to plan out the crime in my head, the swish of her finger back and forth while the tsk, tsk of disappointment escapes her lips.  No cheating, I am stronger than Audrey II... well... right now I am.  So maybe I need to plan for a refeed, and I can back it up with a heavy workout the day following.  My penance for planning out something akin to a diet crime, but not really a crime.   More of a Rube Goldberg mixed with Spy vs Spy, with me bring one spy trying to pull one over on the other Spy (keeping all my fat locked away).

 

-- TapouT FTW