What is the science of "cheat day/meal"/refeed?

jehavin

Hi all,
I am not new to weight loss and have been pretty successful at logging food the past 21 months (maintenance mode for 9 of those months due to pregnancy but only eating half my exercise calories so an overall deficit and actively doing a food deficit for 6 months before my pregnancy and 6 months after). I have always allowed myself 1 cheat day a week to fulfill any cravings I have as well as to give myself a break from the tedium of logging everything. This has worked really well for me emotionally/socially and I have still been able to lose weight when I wanted to.
My question is: I know there is a physiological reason to "refeed" the body so that it is not in a constant deficit, especially when a person is exercising/lifting (I am currently at a 400cal/day diet deficit and consistently average about 2500 exercise calories burnt a week ---even when I was pregnant---and eat about half of those back), I also know it has something to do with leptin levels? but I am really not good at science. Could someone explain/dumb it down for me so that I have a good answer for myself and my friends of why a person should take a break from being in a perpetual deficit other than the social/emotional benefits?
Or, if any of my info is incorrect, (I am going off of what I have read from Lyle McDonald regarding refeeds and what I have heard from various friends about leptin levels/carb loading, which is what I do the night before my 1.5 hour weekly bike ride) could you explain to me where I have misunderstood?
Thanks in advance for your help/knowledge!

viglet

bump ... because I totally need a reason not to give up cheat days :sad:

STC1188

Basically, in a period of prolonged deficit, the body becomes more efficient at internal processes (or it decreases them or shuts them off completely). Leptin, which helps regulate many things, including oxidization of fat for energy, tends to wind down a little bit (to help preserve what energy it has for more essential functions). The body gets smarter and begins to focus its energy on more critical, life-preserving functions.

The refeed day (or period) is meant to reassure the body, in a sense, that all processes can be fueled, and it is like jump starting it to make sure everything is still on. The science is not exact, but in essence, refeeds (to maintenance, or a little over) give the signal that you still want everything running. Then, when you drop calories again, the body hums along at the same speed (for a while at least).

jehavin

Thank you so much for answering my question---in a very simple, understandable way! So, is once a week "cheat day"/refeed (mine is usually at maintenance or a little above, like you said, although it is on the day where I do my 900 cal bike ride,) sufficient or too often? I know that for extreme deficits, Lyle McDonald recommends at least one a week but since my deficit is so slight (400 cals/day) would that work, too?

STC1188

It depends on a few factors: the deficit, macros, body composition and exercise intensity. If you feel constantly burned out and are relatively low BF, then one day a week would work. If you are maintaining a large deficit and keeping activity high, then once a week would also work. However, if you have a higher BF and your macros are not in line, or you do not exercise too strenuously (relatively), then you probably don't need them. Honestly, if you want to do it, do it, and then see what happens.

I will say one thing: refeed days should be on days where the body is not stressed. Part of a refeed day is giving the body breathing room and taking the pressure off of it (as maintaining a deficit/exercising increases stress processes). I do not recommend you stress the body on a refeed day with a huge bike ride or strenuous exercise. A refeed day, in every sense of the word, should be a day off from the pressures of survival.

cwolfman13

Thank you so much for answering my question---in a very simple, understandable way! So, is once a week "cheat day"/refeed (mine is usually at maintenance or a little above, like you said, although it is on the day where I do my 900 cal bike ride,) sufficient or too often? I know that for extreme deficits, Lyle McDonald recommends at least one a week but since my deficit is so slight (400 cals/day) would that work, too?

Your re-feed should be well planned out and take place on a day where there isn't going to be excessive exercise. Excessive exercise on a re-feed kind of defeats the purpose. Re-feed generally involves a lot of carbs (carbs are what is going to get the leptin levels back up) and some protein...no need to re-feed with dietary fat, you can leave that macro goal static.

The science isn't really concrete IMHO...but essentially, the idea is to avoid having your metabolism make adjustments to lower levels of energy and keep your leptin levels up.

cwolfman13

bump ... because I totally need a reason not to give up cheat days :sad:

A re-feed isn't a random "cheat" day or binge...it is well planned out and you still meet certain macro and calorie goals...it's not a free for all.

Losingthedamnweight

bump ... because I totally need a reason not to give up cheat days :sad:

A re-feed isn't a random "cheat" day or binge...it is well planned out and you still meet certain macro and calorie goals...it's not a free for all.

In my ignorance, I kinda figured a refeed day was more like a cheat day. Can you give me an example of what you eat on a refeed day? And how many calories do you try to hit? Maintenance?

viglet

I know I know... :frown:

I learned my lesson after this weekend

jehavin

totally get what you're saying. My cheat/refeed days take place on Fridays, (which, like I said, is when I load up on carbs before a 20 mile bike ride) and then the rest of the day is trying to hit a protein goal of 150-175g (normal 115) and carbs of around 300g (my normal is 150g daily). How I get to those goals (via my hubby and my lunch date) depends, but I definitely plan it out and follow a weekly routine, although whether I choose to have brownies or donuts may vary However, I was doing the refeed day on my high exercise day b/c I considered "maintenance" on those days to be right around 2600 (my normal 1850 maintenance +900 for the exercise done) and I definitely hit that calorie goal or a little above.

So, in reference to the body not being stressed, would you recommend changing my refeed/cheat day to the day *before* my big ride so that it simultaneously serves as a refeed and a carb load for my ride?

Thank you for all the info/feedback!

viglet

bump ... because I totally need a reason not to give up cheat days :sad:

A re-feed isn't a random "cheat" day or binge...it is well planned out and you still meet certain macro and calorie goals...it's not a free for all.

In my ignorance, I kinda figured a refeed day was more like a cheat day. Can you give me an example of what you eat on a refeed day? And how many calories do you try to hit? Maintenance?

I'd also like to know how often these refuel days should be happening...

STC1188

totally get what you're saying. My cheat/refeed days take place on Fridays, (which, like I said, is when I load up on carbs before a 20 mile bike ride) and then the rest of the day is trying to hit a protein goal of 150-175g (normal 115) and carbs of around 300g (my normal is 150g daily). How I get to those goals (via my hubby and my lunch date) depends, but I definitely plan it out and follow a weekly routine, although whether I choose to have brownies or donuts may vary However, I was doing the refeed day on my high exercise day b/c I considered "maintenance" on those days to be right around 2600 (my normal 1850 maintenance +900 for the exercise done) and I definitely hit that calorie goal or a little above.
Thank you for all the info!

Again, I would not do the refeed day on the day of strenuous exercise (absolute numbers are not what are important here). However, a higher carb refeed period will definitely be awesome fuel for a day (or two) after, which would make the following days ideal to do some serious activity. In fact, many bodybuilders and powerlifters up their carbs on the weekends from very little during the week and then tends to help with performance throughout the week.

tmpecus78

WHAT IS A RE-FEED DAY?

A Re-Feed day is a day where you increase your carbohydrate intake by 100% or more, increasing your calories up to maintenance level or slightly above. (everyones maintenance calorie level is different depending upon many factors such as: height, weight, age, gender, daily activity levels etc..)


WHO NEEDS A RE-FEED DAY?

A re-feed day is only needed to be included in your diet if you are cutting and in a calorie deficit which means consuming less calories than your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) In other words less calories than what your body needs/burns on a daily basis which is required in order to lose fat. However when dieting and in a calorie deficit (especially if you have been in a calorie deficit for a long time) then including a re-feed into your diet will really benefit you in your fat loss goals.

The importance of including re-feeds in your diet is a factor of a few things such as:

- Leanness (the leaner you are, the more important)
- Calorie deficit (the greater deficit you are in, the more important)
- Length or dieting (the longer you have been dieting the more important)
- Carbohydrate intake (the lower, the more important)
- Exercise (type/amount/etc.. The more aerobic in nature, the more important)
- Genetics


WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A RE-FEED DAY?

The purpose of a re-feed day his is to help boost your metabolism and help restore your Leptin hormone levels. (Leptin is the king of all fat burning hormones!) When dieting and on a low calorie diet, your metabolism will drop (meaning you will be burning less calories) plus your leptin hormone levels will drop in attempt by the body to spare body fat. (safety mechanism for the human body).

The body does not want to lose fat, the body just wants to survive, and when you change your calorie intake to less calories than your TDEE your body is going to adjust, your metabolic rate and metabolism will slow down and soon your TDEE will be a lot lower than what it originally was, resulting in you needing a lower calorie intake to continue to burn body fat.

With a slow metabolism and low leptin levels it becomes much harder to burn body fat. So including a re-feed day into your cutting diet will be really beneficial and allow you to continue to burn body fat at an optimal rate. A re-feed is basically taking 1 step back, but 2 steps forward.



HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO HAVE A RE-FEED DAY?

Everyone is different and will require different amounts of re-feeding.

Here are my guidelines for you to follow and when to include a re-feed day into your diet.

- If you are above 20% body fat: Re-feed one every month.

- If you are between 15% and 20% body fat: Re-feed once every 2 weeks.

- If you are between 8% and %15 body fat: Re-feed once every week.

- If you are below 8% body fat - Re-feed twice per week.

The leaner you are the lower your leptin levels will be so the more frequent you should include re-feeds into your diet.


HOW MUCH CARBS DO I NEED TO CONSUME ON A RE-FEED DAY?

Again this is different for everyone, but here we will use "Bob" as an example:

Bob's TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) = 2500 calories

Bobs current calorie intake (cutting) = 1995 calories (500 calorie deficit)

Bobs current macronutrient split = 170g protein, 160g carbohydrates and 75g fat which = 1995 calories

Now this is what Bob's re-feed day would look like:

Protein = 170g

Carbohydrates = 365g

Fat = 75g

Total calories = 2815 (which is 315 calories over Bob's TDEE, putting him into a slight calorie surplus for this day)

Now I usually recommend that you leave protein and fat intake the same as what they are throughout the diet, but you can drop protein and also drop fat down to consume more calorie from carbohydrates if you wish. However this is not needed and I don't usually do this my self unless doing an "aggressive re-feed" which comes in much later on down the track.


WHAT CARBS SHOULD I CONSUME ON MY RE-FEED DAY?

Any carbs of your choice are fine, low G.I complex carbohydrates and also high G.I simple carbohydrates it does not matter, just consume carbs! Some suggest to try and avoid fructose as it has less of an impact on leptin (which is true), but fructose is still fine to consume in all honestly. Some of the carb choices for me which I like to include in my re-feed days are:

- Rice
- Oats
- Sorbet ice-cream
- Weetbix bites
- Cerials
- Pancakes
- Bananas
- Pasta
- Popcorn
- ANYTHING THAT IS HIGH IN CARBOHYDRATES!

pittsjg

I go 10% over maintenance, make sure to hit my protein and also have some fun stuff too. I get good results and feel great, no complaints

jehavin

Re: what I eat on refeed days, we usually go to a chinese buffet (gross, right? but so delicious and protein full!) and I get lots of salmon, sushi, pork roast, potatoes, etc (I have trouble digesting gluten and lactose, though, so I skip the noodles and have only one or two chinese donuts and rice flour brownies,) and that helps me hit my macros without having to painstakingly track. I might have a burger/steak/fatty pork for dinner, too, since I'm not tracking my fat (usually under 50g) so I consider that a "cheat." I would be interested if doing the above is the right method or if I am *totally* off track, lol

jehavin

Great link, thanks!!!!

WHAT IS A RE-FEED DAY?

A Re-Feed day is a day where you increase your carbohydrate intake by 100% or more, increasing your calories up to maintenance level or slightly above. (everyones maintenance calorie level is different depending upon many factors such as: height, weight, age, gender, daily activity levels etc..)


WHO NEEDS A RE-FEED DAY?

A re-feed day is only needed to be included in your diet if you are cutting and in a calorie deficit which means consuming less calories than your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) In other words less calories than what your body needs/burns on a daily basis which is required in order to lose fat. However when dieting and in a calorie deficit (especially if you have been in a calorie deficit for a long time) then including a re-feed into your diet will really benefit you in your fat loss goals.

The importance of including re-feeds in your diet is a factor of a few things such as:

- Leanness (the leaner you are, the more important)
- Calorie deficit (the greater deficit you are in, the more important)
- Length or dieting (the longer you have been dieting the more important)
- Carbohydrate intake (the lower, the more important)
- Exercise (type/amount/etc.. The more aerobic in nature, the more important)
- Genetics


WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A RE-FEED DAY?

The purpose of a re-feed day his is to help boost your metabolism and help restore your Leptin hormone levels. (Leptin is the king of all fat burning hormones!) When dieting and on a low calorie diet, your metabolism will drop (meaning you will be burning less calories) plus your leptin hormone levels will drop in attempt by the body to spare body fat. (safety mechanism for the human body).

The body does not want to lose fat, the body just wants to survive, and when you change your calorie intake to less calories than your TDEE your body is going to adjust, your metabolic rate and metabolism will slow down and soon your TDEE will be a lot lower than what it originally was, resulting in you needing a lower calorie intake to continue to burn body fat.

With a slow metabolism and low leptin levels it becomes much harder to burn body fat. So including a re-feed day into your cutting diet will be really beneficial and allow you to continue to burn body fat at an optimal rate. A re-feed is basically taking 1 step back, but 2 steps forward.



HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO HAVE A RE-FEED DAY?

Everyone is different and will require different amounts of re-feeding.

Here are my guidelines for you to follow and when to include a re-feed day into your diet.

- If you are above 20% body fat: Re-feed one every month.

- If you are between 15% and 20% body fat: Re-feed once every 2 weeks.

- If you are between 8% and %15 body fat: Re-feed once every week.

- If you are below 8% body fat - Re-feed twice per week.

The leaner you are the lower your leptin levels will be so the more frequent you should include re-feeds into your diet.


HOW MUCH CARBS DO I NEED TO CONSUME ON A RE-FEED DAY?

Again this is different for everyone, but here we will use "Bob" as an example:

Bob's TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) = 2500 calories

Bobs current calorie intake (cutting) = 1995 calories (500 calorie deficit)

Bobs current macronutrient split = 170g protein, 160g carbohydrates and 75g fat which = 1995 calories

Now this is what Bob's re-feed day would look like:

Protein = 170g

Carbohydrates = 365g

Fat = 75g

Total calories = 2815 (which is 315 calories over Bob's TDEE, putting him into a slight calorie surplus for this day)

Now I usually recommend that you leave protein and fat intake the same as what they are throughout the diet, but you can drop protein and also drop fat down to consume more calorie from carbohydrates if you wish. However this is not needed and I don't usually do this my self unless doing an "aggressive re-feed" which comes in much later on down the track.


WHAT CARBS SHOULD I CONSUME ON MY RE-FEED DAY?

Any carbs of your choice are fine, low G.I complex carbohydrates and also high G.I simple carbohydrates it does not matter, just consume carbs! Some suggest to try and avoid fructose as it has less of an impact on leptin (which is true), but fructose is still fine to consume in all honestly. Some of the carb choices for me which I like to include in my re-feed days are:

- Rice
- Oats
- Sorbet ice-cream
- Weetbix bites
- Cerials
- Pancakes
- Bananas
- Pasta
- Popcorn
- ANYTHING THAT IS HIGH IN CARBOHYDRATES!

jehavin

So, if I did a refeed day on Thursdays, (essentially carb loading) and took my ride on Fridays, with a 900 cal expenditure, would you skip eating the exercise calories back since I just chowed down heavy the day before or meet somewhere in the middle and eat half the cals back?

totally get what you're saying. My cheat/refeed days take place on Fridays, (which, like I said, is when I load up on carbs before a 20 mile bike ride) and then the rest of the day is trying to hit a protein goal of 150-175g (normal 115) and carbs of around 300g (my normal is 150g daily). How I get to those goals (via my hubby and my lunch date) depends, but I definitely plan it out and follow a weekly routine, although whether I choose to have brownies or donuts may vary However, I was doing the refeed day on my high exercise day b/c I considered "maintenance" on those days to be right around 2600 (my normal 1850 maintenance +900 for the exercise done) and I definitely hit that calorie goal or a little above.
Thank you for all the info!

Again, I would not do the refeed day on the day of strenuous exercise (absolute numbers are not what are important here). However, a higher carb refeed period will definitely be awesome fuel for a day (or two) after, which would make the following days ideal to do some serious activity. In fact, many bodybuilders and powerlifters up their carbs on the weekends from very little during the week and then tends to help with performance throughout the week.

viglet

This really helps put things at perspective for me!!!

In the begining I would eat really good for a whole month and then I would just feel the need to eat at a "normal" level for a weekend. I always found that it would boost things up for me and I would drop 1 to 2lbs the following week.

Now, as I have gotten further along, I guess I have taken advantage of these "eat normal" days and have been doing them every weekend which is why my loss has become slower. My own fault.

This is interesting and I think I might try the once a month eating at TDEE (I'm WAAAY under what my tdee says on most days).

Thanks for the info!

cwolfman13

bump ... because I totally need a reason not to give up cheat days :sad:

A re-feed isn't a random "cheat" day or binge...it is well planned out and you still meet certain macro and calorie goals...it's not a free for all.

In my ignorance, I kinda figured a refeed day was more like a cheat day. Can you give me an example of what you eat on a refeed day? And how many calories do you try to hit? Maintenance?

I've been in maintenance now for about 6-7 months, but when I was losing I would do a re-feed either on a Saturday or Sunday depending on my workout schedule. I always made it a day where I would be getting plenty of rest...no major stress on the body. I would try to get, at minimum, maintenance (2700ish calories)...but ideally I'd try to hit about 250 calories or so over that and make my metabolism deal with it. Basically I'd make sure I was still getting my 1 g protein per Lb of LBM and getting about 50 - 60% of my calories from carbs and then round out the rest with healthy fats.

Again, I can't speak for the actual science behind it...I know it increased my leptin levels because instead of being "full" I was stomach grumbling starving the next morning when I'd wake up...but I can't speak to whether or not it actually kept my metabolism up...other than the fact that I never really had a plateau or anything and lost on average 1 - 1.5 Lbs per week (faster earlier on). It did help me immensely in my workouts though.

Francl27

I should really do that too. I mean it makes sense. I just have a hard time with it (except that big cheat meal last Saturday). Although I guess I have two refeed days coming in the next 2 months anyway, right?

jehavin

Like I said, I'm not 100% sure that I'm doing a refeed correctly, but what struck me about your post is the word "normally," which, in my case makes me think of how I used to eat so carb heavy and protein low. That's why I try to plan my protein on my refeed days (especially fatty protein that normally wouldn't fit my macros) and then fill the rest with carbs. For me, it was important that I not sacrifice protein just to gorge on carbs. I try to do both, lol.
So glad that my silly question was able to help reassure/remotivate you!

This really helps put things at perspective for me!!!

In the begining I would eat really good for a whole month and then I would just feel the need to eat at a "normal" level for a weekend. I always found that it would boost things up for me and I would drop 1 to 2lbs the following week.

Now, as I have gotten further along, I guess I have taken advantage of these "eat normal" days and have been doing them every weekend which is why my loss has become slower. My own fault.

This is interesting and I think I might try the once a month eating at TDEE (I'm WAAAY under what my tdee says on most days).

Thanks for the info!

jehavin

This makes sense! I was wondering why I was STARVING the day after a refeed!

Again, I can't speak for the actual science behind it...I know it increased my leptin levels because instead of being "full" I was stomach grumbling starving the next morning when I'd wake up...but I can't speak to whether or not it actually kept my metabolism up...other than the fact that I never really had a plateau or anything and lost on average 1 - 1.5 Lbs per week (faster earlier on). It did help me immensely in my workouts though.

Alissakae

Thanks for all the info here! My weight loss slowed to a glacial pace after my first 75 pounds came off, even after I added in teaching water aerobics three days per week. Now I think maybe this is what I need to try to kick start myself again, I may have been "too good" with working out 6 days per week and eating at a deficit every day.

arnolv98

Bump

eazy_

.

tigersword

Refeeds are 99% purely for psychological reasons. Leptin is a very fast responding hormone, and even when you refeed to boost lepton levels, it's right back down to the lower levels within 24 hours of returning to deficit. They are useful for glycogen replenishment if you carb cycle or low carb, but metabolically, minimal effect. It's mostly for maintaining sanity.

skydiveD30571

So, if I did a refeed day on Thursdays, (essentially carb loading) and took my ride on Fridays, with a 900 cal expenditure, would you skip eating the exercise calories back since I just chowed down heavy the day before or meet somewhere in the middle and eat half the cals back?

After your refeed day is over, it's over. No need to adjust Friday based on Thursday. Just go about your usual Friday.

twooliver

Timothy Ferriss talks about the science in his book:

The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss

I think he talked about this on Dr. Oz...not sure....although Dr. Oz addresses this also (google it)...

Ferriss' methods are extreme... so it's no surprise he includes a cheat day...only it's with intention.

cwolfman13

So, if I did a refeed day on Thursdays, (essentially carb loading) and took my ride on Fridays, with a 900 cal expenditure, would you skip eating the exercise calories back since I just chowed down heavy the day before or meet somewhere in the middle and eat half the cals back?

You just go about business as usual. A re-feed is essentially going to shrink your overall weekly calorie deficit.

jehavin

Thanks. You're right about it not affecting the day after. I think what I'm coming to understand is that I wasn't doing a true refeed/cheat day, just upping my exercise to still stay in a deficit despite eating way more calories. I will try a true refeed (around 2000 calories (which is 150cal more than maintenance) this Thursday and then do my long ride on Friday and eat back half the calories like I do with my other workouts. I appreciate everyone defining what a true refeed is (versus just a spontaneous cheat day) and explaining the science so that even I could understand it and I will reread "The 4 Hour Body" to see if maybe I can understand his terminology this time!

kristen2713

bumping..extremely well explained and interesting!