IIFYM AND CHEAT MEALS.

Christine_72

Thanks for explaining sara xx I wasn't sure about the science of a re feed.

Sarauk2sf

christinev297 wrote: »

Thanks for explaining sara xx I wasn't sure about the science of a re feed.

Welcome

There are some possible additional benefits to lean individuals, but that the thoughts on it are a bit conflicting. The real benefit of a refeed is more psychological than physiological - having a day where you can loosen the reigns a bit.

ana3067

Sarauk2sf wrote: »

Generally when cutting it is advisable to keep the weights up but back off on volume if you find your recovery impacted. For example, when on a 5 x 5 full body routine - drop to 3 x 5 when 5 x 5 becomes too much. If you are lifting 3 x a week, then that should still be enough volume for LBM retention.

You mentioned lifting 2 x a week. This is generally considered the minimum needed for LBM retention - however, imo 3 x a week is better so that, if you cannot for some reason make one of the sessions, you still have lifted 2 x a week that week.

mhm, aside from having to reduce weight for some exercises due to tennis elbow (otherwise click + pain), I've maintained as best I can. I have lost some muscle for sure though unfortunately.

I have actually been lifting 4x a week, 2 upper, 2 lower. Alternatively doing 2 FB a week if time doesn't allow the split. Have you had experience with both or one specifically that you had good results with while cutting? I've usually been doing ~3x4-5, although upper body could probably be done 4x4-5 some days.

stephe1987

1/2 large pizza is way too much food. I think you should take 2 slices, and then wait a while to see if you need that 3rd slice. Cheat meals are nice, but there's no need to overdo it. If there are leftovers, put them in the fridge for another meal on another day.

A large chili cheese fries is also a lot of food. If it's a whole meal, a medium should do just fine. If it's part of a meal (meaning you're eating something else with it), a small portion is enough, as it's supposed to be a side dish.

Eating them together, you could probably stay under your macros for that meal if you take one slice of pizza and a small chili cheese fries. But depending on the number of calories, that might end up being enough calories for two meals, so plan accordingly. For example, if I know I'm going out to lunch I skip breakfast and have a snack-sized dinner. If I'm going out to dinner I might have a snack but the dinner sized portions at restaurants are so big that I can go over my calories for the day on just that one meal.

As for releasing water weight, that's true up to a point. If you are worried your body is under stress, you might want to switch to eating at maintenance for a week. That gets your body off diet mode so it can "reset" itself. But going over maintenance will not help you lose weight; that is how to gain weight.

Remember, this isn't a "diet" it's a lifestyle change. Eat smaller portions to lose weight and be able to maintain a smaller size. If you treat it like a "diet" and have "cheat days" and then go back to your old habits once you reach your goal weight, you'll gain the weight back. This happens to so many people and it's sad.

GaleHawkins

indianwin2001 wrote: »

^^ this---again its simple -calories in/calories out

I do wish your statement was not false but when you repeat a false statement it is still a false statement.

Moreover if this statement was true at least one of you would have posted the research to support your position as I did that painted your statement as false.

Just as the same gallon of gas will not make every car travel the same distance not every calorie put in the human body will enable it to do the same amount work as another calorie put in the same body.

Folks I really do not understand how you are repeating things years ago were proven false. This is screwing up good people who come to this fine site. It is not a slam on the macros at all unless you see the macros to be God like. Just as with the hurricane models macros they get tweaked from time to time.

Dieting is not rocket science but one does have to be open to the factual truths relating to the human body. When new info is learned it may call for one to rethink the old data.

neanderthin

GaleHawkins wrote: »

indianwin2001 wrote: »

^^ this---again its simple -calories in/calories out

I do wish your statement was not false but when you repeat a false statement it is still a false statement.

Moreover if this statement was true at least one of you would have posted the research to support your position as I did that painted your statement as false.

Just as the same gallon of gas will not make every car travel the same distance not every calorie put in the human body will enable it to do the same amount work as another calorie put in the same body.

Folks I really do not understand how you are repeating things years ago were proven false. This is screwing up good people who come to this fine site. It is not a slam on the macros at all unless you see the macros to be God like. Just as with the hurricane models macros they get tweaked from time to time.

Dieting is not rocket science but one does have to be open to the factual truths relating to the human body. When new info is learned it may call for one to rethink the old data.

Please, stop talking.

Sarauk2sf

ana3067 wrote: »

Sarauk2sf wrote: »

Generally when cutting it is advisable to keep the weights up but back off on volume if you find your recovery impacted. For example, when on a 5 x 5 full body routine - drop to 3 x 5 when 5 x 5 becomes too much. If you are lifting 3 x a week, then that should still be enough volume for LBM retention.

You mentioned lifting 2 x a week. This is generally considered the minimum needed for LBM retention - however, imo 3 x a week is better so that, if you cannot for some reason make one of the sessions, you still have lifted 2 x a week that week.

mhm, aside from having to reduce weight for some exercises due to tennis elbow (otherwise click + pain), I've maintained as best I can. I have lost some muscle for sure though unfortunately.

I have actually been lifting 4x a week, 2 upper, 2 lower. Alternatively doing 2 FB a week if time doesn't allow the split. Have you had experience with both or one specifically that you had good results with while cutting? I've usually been doing ~3x4-5, although upper body could probably be done 4x4-5 some days.

I have done a variety of routines. To be honest, any sensible routine that has you lifting a reasonable volume looking at the week as a whole will be beneficial. Most routines will be very similar when cutting, bulking or maintaining but will often drop volume when cutting. Selection depends on goals, but basically, pick one that allows you to get the most volume in - whether that be a split or a full body - which really depends on your schedule. For example, if you only have 3 days to workout, one in the week and two at the weekend - do a full body in the week and a split at the weekend. My advice will be to not over-think it.

FatJockSing

^^^ Every time you post I get a message stating "Good knowledge and practical Advice has just been posted on a Forum" LOL - Sara = Sanity.

cincysweetheart

I will typically fit anything I want into my daily calorie goal. But every once in a while, there will come a time when I just want to be able to eat without weighing/measuring everything. When I want to be able to eat without first checking to see if that will fit in my macros/calories. That is what I call cheat meal. I still log it. But I am just having to estimate my portions because I'm not weighing/measuring things. And I log it after the fact… after it's already been eaten. The still logging it portion helps me to be aware of how much I've actually eaten. That part keeps me honest. I don't do them every week. And I don't schedule them. But usually they revolve around major family events. However, I'm guessing Thanksgiving will be my next cheat meal.

I call them "cheat meals" simply because it is a term that everybody understands. But I don't consider it a dishonest thing or like I'm doing something wrong. I consider it part of life. I don't mind portion control and logging as being part of the rest of my life. But if it means I can't even enjoy Thanksgiving (for example) without constantly worrying about whether or not I have enough calories left for a piece of pie afterwards or an extra dinner roll… well, that's not living in my book. And it's not realistic or even necessary. There are PLENTY of slim and fit people out there who can and do enjoy their holidays without fretting over calories. Not to mention… it won't do any harm whatsoever to a weight loss plan so long as you just get back on track.

You want to be able to enjoy a meal with your brother without fretting about calories. Not to mention he wants to be able to enjoy one with you without you fretting about them! There is NO reason why those occasional "cheats" can't still be apart of your healthy diet. As long as they are occasional and don't turn into an everyday thing.

Sarauk2sf

FatJockSing wrote: »

^^^ Every time you post I get a message stating "Good knowledge and practical Advice has just been posted on a Forum" LOL - Sara = Sanity.

Thank you :flowerforyou:

Unknown

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Francl27

For me it's about weekly average. So have your cheat meal, but try to eat less the other days to make up for it.

I absolutely need those 'refeed' days as well but typically my body lets me know when it's time (I get hungrier and get massive carb and fat cravings).

sodakat

Sarauk2sf wrote: »

ana3067 wrote: »

BombshellPhoenix wrote: »

ana3067 wrote: »

BombshellPhoenix wrote: »

ana3067 wrote: »

BombshellPhoenix wrote: »

shonako wrote: »

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

I fit all my goods in there. There is no way I could eat half of a pizza though.

Have you seen a difference in your progress between being on a clean diet and IIFYM? Or have you lost weight regardless of what you ate as long as you was at a calorie deflict? I want to understand this IIFYM a bit more lol.

Also not Lis but wanted to post my experience. This is my experience of iifym.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BombshellPhoenix/view/my-1200-calorie-story-705482

"Clean" is such a broad random word. Focusing on nutrient density is great, that's the essence of iifym. It's not intended to be an "eat nothing but cheetos diet". It's a philosophy that if you're getting your bodies required nutrients, there's no need to label foods. Focusing on macros and micros was super liberating for me. I will never diet again. This is something that makes sense for me for any goal I have.

UGH, I both love you and hate you lol. I'm maybe halfway through my journey, if that. So much time left Totally would love to have your physique! What kind of lifting routine did you implement while cutting? I've been doing upper/lower split but considering a 2x a week full body routine to give me more recovery days. Also on a diet break atm and plan to return with only a 15% deficit, which will hopefully be gentler on my body.

well don't hate me! !! Honestly, for my cut I wasted a lot of potential strength gains doing hacked together routines rather than a good structured ones. I saw most of my physique/strength improvement when I switched to bulk back in February and switched to All Pro beginner's routine(I still think this or strong lifts 5x5 would be good). It's bodybuilding.com. it's 3x a week full body. More of a hypertrophy routine, which was weird after coming off of lower reps but combined with a bulk resulted in quite a bit of difference over the months. My bulk, I'll add was not as successful as I'd hoped. Gained about 4 lbs in 7 months, actually hit maintenance for about 4 of those months but I didn't really want to up calories more.

Sorry that was a ramble♡

Thanks Looked at the routine and it seems like a lot for being in a cut, although I did read that the reps can be changed to your liking. Have you cut at all on this routine as well, or just bulk/maintain? I've done 3x a week FB and found it to be too tiring, but I also did not periodize the rep scheme..... This is an interesting routine, especially the 2 working sets! I've been doing 3-4.

I had intended on eventually attempting it on a cut, though sadly I'm out from lifting due to a back injury for the time being. It would be interesting to see how one would fair. It is quite a bit but I like it. It's challenging for sure. I started very light, especially since the intentions of going up by 10% each cycle. Which, I imagine would be slower when cutting.

oh no I have tennis elbow myself, but thankfully I can still lift with it. Hope you have a good, not too long recovery!

I am just not sure if changing up the weight like that while cutting would be ideal, although if the 1RM stays the same for all then it would probably still be okay since you'd be putting similar load on the muscles... right?

<snip>
You mentioned lifting 2 x a week. This is generally considered the minimum needed for LBM retention - however, imo 3 x a week is better so that, if you cannot for some reason make one of the sessions, you still have lifted 2 x a week that week.

Thanks for this! Great point.

beckygammon

I think a cheat once a week is ok. I burn extra calories on my cheat day and eat back some of the calories I burn. If I don't burn many calories I don't get much of a treat. It is the only day I eat back my exercise calories. On top of this my macros are set at my BMR not my TDEE so I burn more calories than I eat even without exercise. I think a "cheat" is okay as long as it isn't all the time. You don't get fat by eating too much once a week. I know I didn't. I got fat by eating too much every day. Just like you won't get skinny eating a deficit once a week, you need to do it consistently. Hardest part is not overeating the next day. If you can't do it once a week and be okay every other day than I would say don't do it. Those are my thoughts.