Metabolism "Kick"?

krysty702
krysty702 Posts: 25 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been consistently eating the same calories daily since mid-July and I have had one "cheat day" since where I do not calculate calories.

My question is: is it good to have more "cheat days" in order to boost your metabolism and get it working more effectively? What is everyone's thoughts on "cheat days"?

Thanks!

Replies

  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    You've only had one cheat day in all that time? Well done!

    For me, it's better not to have planned cheat days. I seem to have an an unexpected food event once every two-three weeks (nights out, coming home famished to find that pizza has been ordered, etc). That said, I'm being really good right now because I am eating mashed potatoes and pie on Thanksgiving.

    I don't know if it kick-starts your metabolism.
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    carb refeed once every 1-2 weeks
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  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    The only things that will "boost" your metabolism are cocaine, meth, and amphetamines. Humans would not have survived if eating a little more food increased our metabolisms--until the last hundred years or so, there wasn't a surplus of food available to us on a regular basis. Extra food needed to be stored as fat.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    krysty702 wrote: »
    I have been consistently eating the same calories daily since mid-July and I have had one "cheat day" since where I do not calculate calories.

    My question is: is it good to have more "cheat days" in order to boost your metabolism and get it working more effectively? What is everyone's thoughts on "cheat days"?

    Thanks!
    Nope. Food does not boost metabolism.

    Cheating implies doing something wrong, and eat over your calorie goals is not right or wrong.

    As for me, I don't do cheat days, I eat what I want in moderation. If I go over, and I do sometimes, it's simply because that's what I chose to do.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    unexpected food event



    I love this... lol
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    nosebag1212 wrote: »
    carb refeed once every 1-2 weeks
    No.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    Eating more doesn't boost your metabolism, unless you count the minimal amount of additional calories you'll burn during digestion.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    In 6 months (58 pounds down), I've never had a cheat day. So no, it's not necessary and I don't believe it will "kick" your metabolism.
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
    evileen99 wrote: »
    The only things that will "boost" your metabolism are cocaine, meth, and amphetamines. Humans would not have survived if eating a little more food increased our metabolisms--until the last hundred years or so, there wasn't a surplus of food available to us on a regular basis. Extra food needed to be stored as fat.

    ^^^The only "boost" a metabolism would get is if someone was starving and finally got a decent amount of food. If you're regularly eating enough food, then any extra food you eat will just be stored as fat. If you want to boost your metabolism, be more active.

    As far as "cheat days", do what works for you. Some people can't have cheat days because they go overboard while others have the discipline to only go over by a little. Some people spread out the "cheat day", meaning they eat a little treat every day instead of a bunch of bad stuff on one day. See which one of these methods works for you and pick that.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    evileen99 wrote: »
    The only things that will "boost" your metabolism are cocaine, meth, and amphetamines. Humans would not have survived if eating a little more food increased our metabolisms--until the last hundred years or so, there wasn't a surplus of food available to us on a regular basis. Extra food needed to be stored as fat.
    Sign me up! :\
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Saturday is my whatever day...I don't call it cheating, I don't really understand that mentality...but Saturday is my whatever day. That said, it's always within reason...when I'm dieting, I'm still within my maintenance level of calories...when I'm in maintenance I might be slightly over.
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    nosebag1212 wrote: »
    carb refeed once every 1-2 weeks
    No.
    Yes. Actually. Your Leptin levels have a strong impact on your metabolism. Not sure I'd do it every 1-2 weeks though.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,033 Member
    ElliottTN wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    nosebag1212 wrote: »
    carb refeed once every 1-2 weeks
    No.
    Yes. Actually. Your Leptin levels have a strong impact on your metabolism. Not sure I'd do it every 1-2 weeks though.

    Body fat levels would have to be fairly low for leptin to become a factor? Down in the teens maybe...
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    krysty702 wrote: »
    I have been consistently eating the same calories daily since mid-July and I have had one "cheat day" since where I do not calculate calories.

    My question is: is it good to have more "cheat days" in order to boost your metabolism and get it working more effectively? What is everyone's thoughts on "cheat days"?

    Thanks!
    I think your metabolism is 'working effectively' now but a lot of dieters find they can either enjoy some high-calorie days periodically without gaining, or find it helps them past a hump.

    It's clear that adaptive thermogenesis exists, we just don't know how much a single day of eating or any short time span or calorie level really affects it. You pretty much have to be your own test subject. Even then you never can know what day's eating caused what scale effect because there are too many intertwined factors.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23107264
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,753 Member
    glevinso wrote: »
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    unexpected food event



    I love this... lol

    Me too!
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  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    ElliottTN wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    nosebag1212 wrote: »
    carb refeed once every 1-2 weeks
    No.
    Yes. Actually. Your Leptin levels have a strong impact on your metabolism. Not sure I'd do it every 1-2 weeks though.

    Body fat levels would have to be fairly low for leptin to become a factor? Down in the teens maybe...

    Not necessarily, check this out:

    http://muscleevo.net/leptin-resistance-and-obesity/
  • MelanieRBrace
    MelanieRBrace Posts: 245 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    So much derp in this thread.

    +1
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    What issues are you having with your metabolism that you feel an old kick in the *kitten* with "cheat days" are needed?

    My thoughts on "cheat days" is that they are unnecessary because I budget the food I enjoy into my calories allotment for the day or week.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    So much derp in this thread.
    Yeppers.

  • RoseyDgirl
    RoseyDgirl Posts: 306 Member
    why are you eating the same things every day? how are you getting a complex variety of nutrients if you're always eating the same dishes over and over again?

    I can understand trying to keep the calorie ranges the same, but some variety would be good...
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    So much derp in this thread.

    The thing about pretending you are the Arbiter of All Truth is it's a lot more convincing with support, like maybe a link now and then. Though I'm not even sure which camp you're insulting this time. :D
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