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2003/05/16, 01:42 PM
I've heard about a lot of people who have a cheat day, is there any real nutritional benefit to this, beside being able to eat what you want for a day? I've started by diet program this week, and have stuck to it great, but if a cheat day helps I'm down with that!
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2003/05/16, 01:54 PM
A cheat day can be beneficial if you have trouble sticking with a diet, but also detrimental. On the positive side, if used correctly, they can help drive down the overwhelmingness of cravings on a strict diet by a "reward", and then get right back on the diet. The problem some have with them is they sometimes tend to become more frequent, giving a "taste" is like giving candy to a baby, the "tastes" become bigger and more often. Start thinking, well, that last one didn't hurt me, I will have this too! And you know the story. I prefer myself to be pretty "anal" with a diet. When I am on it, I find it easier to stay totally with it, and when completed, then cheat good for a day or so. Whichever way works for you, this is what you need to do. Experiment. Be careful, and good luck to you.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/05/16, 04:51 PM
I've also been advised to have just a cheat meal instead of a whole day, especially as I am trying to lose weight/fat. Someone also said to 'cheat' on a day you work out and not on your OFF day.
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2003/05/16, 05:21 PM
It depends on what you mean by cheat. A day or meal where you eat whatever you want in unlimited (or even limited) quantities is a great psychological tool, though it won't offer you much physiologically. I never use this type of cheat during my cut phases, but I use it once or twice a week during bulks to help throw down some extra calories.
Then there is the refeed 'cheat.' When you're on a calorie restricted eating plan, eventually your body will adapt and you'll stop losing fat. To remedy this many folks (myself included) use what is called a 'refeed.' You set aside a day where you increase your calorie consumption to above maintenence levels in order to keep your metabolism at or above baseline. This is particularly useful with reduced carb cutting phases as you increase your carb intake on refeed days to replenish glycogen. I'm currently on a two week cut and I'm consuming 125g (150 on training days) carbs / 2400 cal per day. On my refeed day, I'll consume close to 3000 calories and likely 300g-350g of carbs (this is all still clean) to keep my metabolism up and replenish muscle glycogen.
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"Don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters!"
-- Bob Dylan
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