spike days?

susie3g

How many of you have spike days or purposeful cheat days? How often and how much over usual caloric intake do you consume on these days? And can someone explain how this can be beneficial and at what point it becomes not-so beneficial?

susie3g

Bump

michael300891

It's not beneficial metabolically. You don't go into starvation mode or plateau or anything else as your body is exceptionally efficient at using energy. If you eat over your energy requirements, you will store as fat.

Having said that:

- Some people benefit psychologically from a planned 'spike' or 'cheat' day, and are able to control food cravings better on other days

- The excess calorie intake can be useful for physical recovery especially if you are doing intensive physical activity regularly.

- Someone on an extremely restrictive nutritional diet may benefit from the additional food intake for micronutrients (female gymnasts, dancers etc).


For the vast majority of people however, it is simply the first option (a psychological thing to boost motivation).

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Doctoral Researcher in Exercise Adaptation and Metabolism:

susie3g

It's not beneficial metabolically. You don't go into starvation mode or plateau or anything else as your body is exceptionally efficient at using energy. If you eat over your energy requirements, you will store as fat.

Having said that:

- Some people benefit psychologically from a planned 'spike' or 'cheat' day, and are able to control food cravings better on other days

- The excess calorie intake can be useful for physical recovery especially if you are doing intensive physical activity regularly.

- Someone on an extremely restrictive nutritional diet may benefit from the additional food intake for micronutrients (female gymnasts, dancers etc).


For the vast majority of people however, it is simply the first option (a psychological thing to boost motivation).

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Doctoral Researcher in Exercise Adaptation and Metabolism:

Thanks for your detailed response! I can see how some might benefit psychologically from a spike day, but I think it might make me feel more guilt than anything else. My boyfriend thinks I need a cheat day sometimes to "fool my metabolism", he says. So I was wondering if there was any actual physical benefits from doing that.

michael300891

Yeh that's his excuse for ordering a dominos pizza :P

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Doctoral Researcher in Exercise Adaptation and Metabolism:

MelodyandBarbells

If you're watching a weekly deficit rather than a daily one , some days you may go over on your calories and some days under. Other than lower calorie options, this is the main thing that allows me to have treats and not feel like I have to avoid eating certain things. No , there's no metabolism fooling involved here. In fact if you go overboard with cheat meals or days , you will undo your weight loss efforts. It's strictly about preference and how you want to structure your weight loss journey.

susie3g

Anyone else care to weigh in on this?

baileyang33

I do it. It's a mental thing for me to keep focus. I usually do it on Fridays to have a few beers! Even when I reach maintenance I need to know how to have these extra cheats in my life without going crazy. Helps me feel less & less like a diet I guess.

susie3g

Bump