Are cheat/spike days a mistake? Scared to try it

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  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    So you "cheating" experts - if my BMR is around 1450, would I have one day where I could log up to 2900 calories, given I hit the gym with a fury the next day? I don't want my metabolism to crap out on me. I have a sedentary job now and I'm turning 32 in a few months!

    Yes, and that's exactly what I do. Day after spiking is an awesome gym day. My metabolism is better than ever and I'm 35 now.
  • rjbrowne
    rjbrowne Posts: 28
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    I love this thread! I think I will be trying this to keep me on track.
  • erinpj
    erinpj Posts: 12
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    Apparently cheat meals NOT days are good for your metabolism. It shocks your metabolism and turns it into hyper speed to burn the calories and fat and sugars and carbs from it. In the begining your body is shocked from all the healthy food and youll see a loss but then it gets used to it and plateaus and thats where you need to change up DIFFERENT healthy foods, stuff you never eat to kinda trick your body and different workouts as well - If you do the same workout your body pretty much molds to that routine. So i was told ONCE A WEEK take one of your meals NOT DAY for a cheat meal. So say wednesday do wings for DINNER. OR sunday BREAKFAST have some bacon and all that sunday morning goodies.
  • Echo17121
    Echo17121 Posts: 111 Member
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    So you "cheating" experts - if my BMR is around 1450, would I have one day where I could log up to 2900 calories, given I hit the gym with a fury the next day? I don't want my metabolism to crap out on me. I have a sedentary job now and I'm turning 32 in a few months!

    Yes, and that's exactly what I do. Day after spiking is an awesome gym day. My metabolism is better than ever and I'm 35 now.

    So I questioned you in another thread but I just read your book and I have totally changed my mind. I have been stuck on a plateau since before Christmas, maybe even Thanksgiving. Everything you wrote was totally me. I am gaining weight now because I think my metabolism is slowed and just because it is frustrating to not see progress. I am going to try out your plan this week and see how it goes. It was a great read and I learned a lot outside of just spike days as well!
  • Nikkiray32
    Nikkiray32 Posts: 123
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    The truth is everyone's body is going to react diffferently to different types of foods. I do give myself a cheat day and I am steadliy losing. I have lost lots in the pass too, using cheat days. When I was with weight watchers they don't tell you it's a cheat day, but you get extra points a week and extrra points for exercsising. You didn't have to use them, but they were there.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    Apparently cheat meals NOT days are good for your metabolism. It shocks your metabolism and turns it into hyper speed to burn the calories and fat and sugars and carbs from it. In the begining your body is shocked from all the healthy food and youll see a loss but then it gets used to it and plateaus and thats where you need to change up DIFFERENT healthy foods, stuff you never eat to kinda trick your body and different workouts as well - If you do the same workout your body pretty much molds to that routine. So i was told ONCE A WEEK take one of your meals NOT DAY for a cheat meal. So say wednesday do wings for DINNER. OR sunday BREAKFAST have some bacon and all that sunday morning goodies.

    No it's the opposite. Cheat meals are good for head so you don't feel as deprived. The issue is the hormone leptin, and it drops when we have consecutive days of calorie restriction, but it also spikes up with 12 hours of calorie surplus. Unless your meal is 12 hours it wouldn't be enough.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    So you "cheating" experts - if my BMR is around 1450, would I have one day where I could log up to 2900 calories, given I hit the gym with a fury the next day? I don't want my metabolism to crap out on me. I have a sedentary job now and I'm turning 32 in a few months!

    Yes, and that's exactly what I do. Day after spiking is an awesome gym day. My metabolism is better than ever and I'm 35 now.

    So I questioned you in another thread but I just read your book and I have totally changed my mind. I have been stuck on a plateau since before Christmas, maybe even Thanksgiving. Everything you wrote was totally me. I am gaining weight now because I think my metabolism is slowed and just because it is frustrating to not see progress. I am going to try out your plan this week and see how it goes. It was a great read and I learned a lot outside of just spike days as well!

    Thanks Echo,

    Before spiking I felt I was just destined to be overweight. I always had good intentions but then I'd plateau and I after awhile I just wanted to give up. 8 years ago spiking changed my life, it's nice to see now that studies and research are also backing up this theory, and celebrity health professionals like Dr. Oz are also now advocating weekly cheat/spike days.
  • Echo17121
    Echo17121 Posts: 111 Member
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    I do have a question though. You mention not eating white carbs and hfcs but do you avoid them on your spike day? It seems like it would be a bit harder especially if you are eating out.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I do have a question though. You mention not eating white carbs and hfcs but do you avoid them on your spike day? It seems like it would be a bit harder especially if you are eating out.

    No actually I have quite a bit of the white carbs on Spike Day, but I attempt to avoid HFCS. I'm not 100%, and I don't care if I have some. Elite athletes that follow this type of plan actually have very high amounts of carbs, it's a called carb depletion/carb reload, or refeed. I Spike for both the benefit of my body and my mind, so I just focus on the foods I love and the foods I love also happen to be high in carbs.

    If you have an issue with blood sugar then you I would recommend that you have some fiber with every high carb meal to slow digestion. If your body runs normal than one day a week is not an issue.
  • Echo17121
    Echo17121 Posts: 111 Member
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    Ok awesome! I just wanted to make sure because that would be hard to avoid in the foods I am thinking of having! I don't have any blood sugar issues so I should be good. Thanks!
  • lilsassymom
    lilsassymom Posts: 407 Member
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    Still trying to figure this out. If I eat 1410 a day + exercise calories to lose .5 lb a week and my BMR according to MFP is 1229 wouldn't I be maintaining my weight if I ate BMR x 2?

    And what if I am at maintenance for 1540 calories a day and still feel deprived of food? Would I still eat BMR x 2 and just workout more? Yeah, I am confused but very interested in this...

    Do you 'bank' exercise calories for your spike day OR do you eat your exercise calories and STiLL have a spike day too?
  • crimsontech
    crimsontech Posts: 234 Member
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    I didn't read this entire thread (but I bookmarked it because I want to see other people's experiences). I have been operating on a 1000-1500 calorie/day deficit including exercise calories and losing about 3-4 pounds a week. Last week, a death in the family meant going out of town to a place I'd never been for a week. I was really good at first, but I didn't want to regret not enjoying the local cuisine so I indulged a little. (Not overboard, I know what that feels like and I don't want to go back to that)

    I got back in town on Sunday and on Monday, I was back into the full swing of my diet. I ate my restricted calories and went for a hike up a local mountain. I had been taking anywhere from 53-60 minutes to reach the top over the last month and a half, but on my first day back on the trail, I felt awesome and needed far less breaks and ended up making it up in 45 minutes!

    I strongly believe going back to even calories after weeks of a sustained deficit made a huge difference and I plan on "cheating" once every 7-10 days going forward. I can tell when the deficit gets to be too much and I feel less energetic, but a higher calorie day boosts me right back up.

    I've also been very carefully monitoring my body fat percentage and keeping an eye on my lean mass (thank you Withings scale) so that the deficit doesn't lead to muscle loss, and only fat loss.

    Just don't let the food control you! It takes practice and willpower, but it's totally do-able.
  • acwatters
    acwatters Posts: 9 Member
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    bump
  • capp138
    capp138 Posts: 3 Member
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    bump
  • lease1981
    lease1981 Posts: 57
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    If I desperately want something i will just have it it moderation, if i want chocolate then i try to keep it in my calorie goal for the day. I want this to be a lifestyle change not just a strict diet cause if it's just a diet i'm sure to fail because i cut out everything i love.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
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    Yeeeeeeesssssss on weekends I have cheat days and can easily eat 3000 calories which is almost a pound.... Do not do them unless you exercise that day, do not do them too often or know you can afford it. Btw I don't count anything up to 2,500 calories as a cheat day, just a meh day. Anything above that is like blarrrrgggghhhh cheaatttiiiinnng
  • Graciekinz97
    Graciekinz97 Posts: 1
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    The program I made for myself is where you eat a strict, no-starches and lean protein diet for 5 days, and then have your crazy cheat day followed by a fasting day. This seems unhealthy but I have researched it and fasting forces your body to burn off stored fat in the body (ie your 'trouble-spots'), and controls your fat-burning leptin combined with a calorie spike day.I lost 8 pounds in one month NO EXCERSISE, all while cheating 1x a week.

    Please note that I ate absolutely NO carbs or anything during the week and ate between 12 noon and 9pm (mostly raw foods), but by my cheat day I went nuts (dairy queen, five guys,starbucks, and more) from when I got up until 8pm. My fasting day was tough the first few times (I suggest using fiber if you feel hungry), but by the end of the fast I lost all the cravings from my cheat day and you almost dont WANT to eat bad until next cheat day!

    By the way, I made my program a spin-off of Fatloss Factor, where i eat raw foods 5x a week between noon and 9pm then a cheat wakeup until 8pm then a fast day.
  • ZakBell
    ZakBell Posts: 1
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    I think cheat days are awesome. This is how I do them. Every day I have an almost zero fat, 400 calorie consumption. I keep this VERY strict, (which gets easier with time). Once a month however, for a whole day, I eat as much as I want. BUT I eat healthy foods. Maybe a nice hearty spaghetti, or a roast, or quiche and salad. The next day I eat nothing at all, and the day after, I go back to my normal 400 calorie routine. For me this is perfect, but you have to find what's right for your body and your mind. Some people can't have cheat days because they find it more difficult to stop.

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