Cheat Meal/Meal that Shocks your Body and Helps you Lose weight

Options
13»

Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Options
    DoreenaV1975 wrote: »
    @DeguelloTex At first I thought the OP was you, the profile picture threw me off at first glance... but I know better than to think you would ask that type of question! LOL
    I know, right? I need to change my avatar.

  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    Options
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    dewd2 wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    You're conflating issues here. A cheat meal isn't what's going to stop metabolic adaptation.

    Please reread my first comment. I NEVER said one meal. Please stick to what I said, not what you heard.

    It has to be more than a meal. I specifically said

    "Its not one meal but more like one day (or more) or even a week. At some point your body adapts to the lower calories (slows down to conserve energy) and a good way to 'trick' it is to feed it more."

    I am also not saying this is the case when you fist start dieting. This process takes time.

    There's lots of research on this. Google it if you wish. I'm pretty sure the original reference I am looking for is in a book since I can't seem to find it on my computer. I will dig it up at some point. :D
    You read the OP and thread title, right?

    Regardless, one day isn't going to do it either. Probably not a week, but that's not even the thread topic.

    A cheat meal can make a big difference psychologically, and that's important, too. It just isn't going to do much physiologically.

    Last frickin' comment (not sure why I care what the hell you think or say but whatever)....

    Read my first comment and everyone but you will see I corrected the notion that one meal would do it. That was the whole point of my comment.

    Now please carry on with your superior self as I no longer give a rats *kitten*. Good day.
  • Wtn_Gurl
    Wtn_Gurl Posts: 396 Member
    Options
    That is what I was trying to think of the word but could not - adaptation. I was thinking that perhaps my body was adapting to the amount of calories i was eating and it would hold onto weight,especially if one hits that dreaded plateau every once in a while, and then the one surprise meal (cheat meal or whatever i would call it) would shock the body into coming out of adaptation. As for me, i will not ever starve, that would be an unattractive route to take, and i could not handle hunger pangs, i basically eat when i feel those hunger cravings. and yes, i do feel that eating one meal per week to celebrate life or whatever is the thing that will keep this sustainable, and yet even with that i can choose the best food choices that will not screw up all my hard work of the week.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    That's not how metabolic adaptation works. The body doesn't "hold onto fat." Instead, you get a slight and gradual decrease in metabolic rate, so that your maintenance calories might go from, say, 2000 one week to 1995 the next and so on. It's also going to be going down because you are losing weight (smaller bodies require less to maintain) and fat specifically (my understanding is that there are some hormonal effects from fat loss). But you can't reverse it with one meal and it wouldn't explain a short term stall or the whoosh. Those are just normal ways the body works sometimes.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    Options
    mrsbaldee wrote: »
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

    I've had it with an increased carb day (unintentional) and alcohol.
    Very interesting read, Thankyou!
  • DoreenaV1975
    DoreenaV1975 Posts: 567 Member
    Options
    shell1005 wrote: »
    Wtn_Gurl wrote: »
    That is what I was trying to think of the word but could not - adaptation. I was thinking that perhaps my body was adapting to the amount of calories i was eating and it would hold onto weight,especially if one hits that dreaded plateau every once in a while, and then the one surprise meal (cheat meal or whatever i would call it) would shock the body into coming out of adaptation. As for me, i will not ever starve, that would be an unattractive route to take, and i could not handle hunger pangs, i basically eat when i feel those hunger cravings. and yes, i do feel that eating one meal per week to celebrate life or whatever is the thing that will keep this sustainable, and yet even with that i can choose the best food choices that will not screw up all my hard work of the week.

    If you are eating at a deficit....your body will NOT hold onto calories. That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works.

    I see what you did there... LOL! :D
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Options
    Francl27 wrote: »
    stealthq wrote: »
    A diet break makes me feel more energetic and helps recover some glycogen. I think if you're feeling a bit slow and draggy, it can help you snap out of that and get back to more usual levels of NEAT. That often drops when you are at a deficit for a long while. Plus, there's potential psychological benefits.

    There's no trickery involved.

    Or it can stimulate your appetite so much that it's hard to get back on a deficit. That's what happened to me after my vacation last year. And it really sucks. But it wasn't just one cheat day, but a 7 day vacation during which I put on 2 pounds, and I was very close to my goal weight anyway.

    Bottom line, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
    I say 7 days of vacation eating is different than taking a break for a day or two- or going into maintenance for a few months.
    Esp considering how rich that food often is.

    I'd also hazard a guess that you didn't put on 2 pounds in 7 days- that's like an extra 7000 calories at least- but 2 pounds is easily water weight. or some weight gain- and mostly water/glycogen.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Options
    JoRocka wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    stealthq wrote: »
    A diet break makes me feel more energetic and helps recover some glycogen. I think if you're feeling a bit slow and draggy, it can help you snap out of that and get back to more usual levels of NEAT. That often drops when you are at a deficit for a long while. Plus, there's potential psychological benefits.

    There's no trickery involved.

    Or it can stimulate your appetite so much that it's hard to get back on a deficit. That's what happened to me after my vacation last year. And it really sucks. But it wasn't just one cheat day, but a 7 day vacation during which I put on 2 pounds, and I was very close to my goal weight anyway.

    Bottom line, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
    I say 7 days of vacation eating is different than taking a break for a day or two- or going into maintenance for a few months.
    Esp considering how rich that food often is.

    I'd also hazard a guess that you didn't put on 2 pounds in 7 days- that's like an extra 7000 calories at least- but 2 pounds is easily water weight. or some weight gain- and mostly water/glycogen.

    No it was really 2 pounds, I dropped the water weight and kept two pounds. But we ate out all the time and I didn't get to exercise as much as I usually do. I'm unfortunately not one of those people who can go on vacations and eat what they want and not gain anything (and I restrict myself and usually only have one 'I don't care' meal or two, so it could be way worse).

    Honestly I was 131.9 pounds before going on vacations in July last year... Haven't gone under 132.6 since (and now I'm at 134 after gaining 2 pounds during my other vacation last month, but I lost one already). Just too hungry overall and my PMS cravings and hunger have just been crazy since then.

    So yeah, the 'diet break' thing didn't exactly work out for me. But I've been maintaining 3-4 pounds from my goal for a year so it could be worse (and I've actually lost a couple inches since).
  • ScreeField
    ScreeField Posts: 180 Member
    edited August 2015
    Options
    Wtn_Gurl wrote: »
    Hi - Have you heard of eating a cheat meal that has the effect of shocking your body into losing weight

    Yes. I have heard of this theory. It was popular within the bodybuilding community a number of years ago (perhaps not all of them, but a group). One of the more well-known women bodybuilders was a big advocate and believed the cheat day, under specific guidelines, was (her theory not mine) beneficial for increasing metabolism and curbing cravings. The specific guidelines encompassed the entire competitive bodybuilding training regime: nutrition, exercise, supplements (and supplement stacking and timing), manipulating hormones, cycling, bulking/cutting, cheat days--with restrictions, etc.

    It's a theory that worked well for her (she has a bunch of titles to her name). Just like CICO is a theory. A theory can be thought of as a generalized explanation of how nature/biology works. As with any theory, "CICO" "Cheat Day" "Starvation Mode" "Low Carb" "High Fat" "Low Fat" etc., we'll see changes, additions, and improvements over time with additional research and understanding. We often see some go in favor, out of favor, and back in again (for example: how we as a society have viewed carbohydrates over time). There may be bits of truth to any of them, even if not fully understood or fleshed out.
  • Wtn_Gurl
    Wtn_Gurl Posts: 396 Member
    Options
    Ok then, I am understanding this more. Can you tell me about plateaus? Can you be on a pleateau and how do you best break one? I also think a plateau "might" be calories sneaking in where I am not recording it possibly, or unknown calories that we try our best to record, but we might really be underestimating portions or something to that affect.. but if we are literally calculating our calories 100% correctly, can a person plateau, and what is the best way to kill that plateau? Just wait it out and continue eating within macros? that's all the questions I have :) thank you.

Categories