My Experience with THREE Consecutive Cheat Days

TheBigLebowski2012

For all you folks out there who are in a calorie deficit, don't let a binge (or in my case, three cheat days) get you down. Before reading, please note that I'm a relatively active male in my early twenties and I lift about four times a week.

So, after being on a 600-calorie deficit for a month, I decided I'd have a solid cheat day. Well, this snowballed into THREE cheat days. I was visiting family, and we all know you don't always have an ideal level of control over your diet when you're visiting the fam. In those three days, I ate about 4000 calories over my total maintenance calories (not my deficit calories) for those three days. The next day (day four), I felt like complete garbage. – bloated, not hungry in the least, really regretting my last 72 hours. I weighed myself and was 4+ pounds heavier. I knew it was mostly water weight, so I drank about a gallon of water that day to flush it out and ate only one meal (although it was large at 1300 calories). The next morning (day five), I weighed myself and, shockingly, was right back at the weight I was before my three-day bonanza. My physique looked virtually the same as it had five days earlier.

I share this story in hopes that it will help those of you who are on a diet (or who are "cutting" like myself) to not beat yourselves up when you fall off the wagon. Whether you eat an extra 300 calories, 2,000 calories, or 10,000 calories, your body will adjust. Sure, you might gain a pound or two, but your metabolism will get a nice boost and will start humming again, allowing you to burn off that pound or two with relative ease.

L1zardQueen

I'm having 12 consecutive cheat days, also known as, vacation. Booyah!

kellyfeb78

I'm on day 3 of eating everything in reach and I feel bloated, sluggish and just crap in general! Need to get my butt back on here and in the gym to get back to my healthy self

Iheartrunning36

I just posted about this! Great read I am dieting and had two cheat days.....so drinking wTer will help flush out that extra water weight it sounds like, right?

JeromeBarry1

A solid monthly over-maintenance day is good for a healthy NEAT. My months are really short, it seems.

LivingtheLeanDream

If you were only eating 600 calories any wonder you needed a cheat day or three! you're setting yourself up for failure and ill health eating that low.

inertiastrength

leptin gains

JaydedMiss

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

If you were only eating 600 calories any wonder you needed a cheat day or three! you're setting yourself up for failure and ill health eating that low.

Op said 600 defecit, Not 600 total

Kimblesnbits13

This is a good reminder for today being July 4th and going to 3 bbqs lol. Thanks for this!

MelanieCN77

Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »

I'm having 12 consecutive cheat days, also known as, vacation. Booyah!

Same. I just got back from a trip home to the UK to see my family for the first time in some years. I'm giving myself a week to reset before I go near the scale again.