Cheat days are important!
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clhenderson2
Posts: 107 Member
Cheat days are actually important when dieting because it increases your leptin which is the master hormone for regulating fat and weight loss. Leptin tends to decrease when we reduce our caloric intake causing the body to store on to our fat as if our body is going into survival mode because of the reduction in calories. By periodically increasing your caloric intake it raises your leptin causing the body to maximize its weight loss potential.
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Cheating implies you are doing something 'wrong'. Why cheat yourself? If you want something, have it and fit it into your calorie limit or do some more exercise. Don't cheat.0
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clhenderson2 wrote: »Cheat days are actually important when dieting because it increases your leptin which is the master hormone for regulating fat and weight loss. Leptin tends to decrease when we reduce our caloric intake causing the body to store on to our fat as if our body is going into survival mode because of the reduction in calories. By periodically increasing your caloric intake it raises your leptin causing the body to maximize its weight loss potential.
You have mistaken "cheat day" for a "re-feed day." Re-feeds are typically only recommended for those who are trying to get stage ready and are at a very low body fat percentage as it is. Men - 10% or under and Woman 18% or under....
Re-feeds are also very structured and macro specific.....it's not "cheating" when you are adhering to a specific macro total.........
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1592984904984984089984980 wrote: »Cheat days are stupid...you can eat anything you want daily as long as you don't go over your limit. It's all about portion control.
That's true too. But people like to reduce their caloric intake perhaps for psychological reasons. It's the comfort of knowing if consume less calories, we'll weigh less. However, if you insists of calorie reduction it's good to plan those "cheat days" where you consume more calories. Weight loss experts suggests up to 1,000 more calories than your suggested intake. I personally do exactly as you mentioned so I can control my weight and still enjoy my favorite foods.
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Personally I am leery of the idea of 'cheating' in relation to meals or days and I just try to have what I want every day within my goals. But hey. If you are seeing results with doing it and you're happy with it, excellent! Rock on.0
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clhenderson2 wrote: »1592984904984984089984980 wrote: »Cheat days are stupid...you can eat anything you want daily as long as you don't go over your limit. It's all about portion control.
That's true too. But people like to reduce their caloric intake perhaps for psychological reasons. It's the comfort of knowing if consume less calories, we'll weigh less. However, if you insists of calorie reduction it's good to plan those "cheat days" where you consume more calories. Weight loss experts suggests up to 1,000 more calories than your suggested intake. I personally do exactly as you mentioned so I can control my weight and still enjoy my favorite foods.
I don't "cheat". I just know that in the natural course of life most days I'll eat according to plan, but some days will include more indulgences. A dinner out, a celebration, whatever. To me, this seems like a healthier approach.0 -
76 pounds down, no cheat days.0
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"When copy and pasting goes wrong" vol. II0
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There's really no need to "cheat" if you're correctly counting calories.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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TheVirgoddess wrote: »76 pounds down, no cheat days.
Same (well, only 63 down)0 -
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If I had a cheat day where I ate up to 1000 calories over my recommended intake, I'd negate all the calories I saved the rest of the week. I don't disagree with staggering calories from day to day, but I don't believe that it's making me lose any better. I do it because some days I'm really busy and it's easy to eat less, and some days I want a big cheeseburger.0
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The comfort of if I consume less, I will weigh less... That's not a comforting feeling, that's a scientific fact.
You do not need cheat days if you are eating at a healthy deficit. If you are crash dieting, cheat days will give you the opportunity to eat like a normal person. On my less restrictive days, I still stay under maintenance0 -
clhenderson2 wrote: »1592984904984984089984980 wrote: »Cheat days are stupid...you can eat anything you want daily as long as you don't go over your limit. It's all about portion control.
That's true too. But people like to reduce their caloric intake perhaps for psychological reasons. It's the comfort of knowing if consume less calories, we'll weigh less. However, if you insists of calorie reduction it's good to plan those "cheat days" where you consume more calories. Weight loss experts suggests up to 1,000 more calories than your suggested intake. I personally do exactly as you mentioned so I can control my weight and still enjoy my favorite foods.
You can easily kill a deficit with a "cheat day". If I have a 250 calorie deficit per day, over six days I've created a 1,500 calorie deficit. It is very easy to eat over that deficit on top of your normal intake on a "cheat" day.
I prefer to fit what I want to eat into my intake. So I can regularly enjoy the foods I want, while maintaining my deficit. I don't need to "cheat" do it.0 -
Omg this again! I can't take it anymore. Some ppl are successful with cheat days especially if they have rules for their day. Personally I would never eat more than my maintanence on a cheat day. I call it a cheat day and I will continue to call that til I don't do them anymore. I never feel deprived even through the week but, sometimes 2 ounces of pasta is not goinG to cut it and I don't feel the need nor can I workout for 2 hrs to make up the difference.I always track my cals for the week to make up the difference. Now if you eat 40,000 cals on a cheat day then you are being stupid. Find what works for you and do it. No one needs to agree with you or even like it. What works for you may not work for me and vice versa. Everyones journey is different.I have lost 26 lbs in 70 days so my cheat days are obviously not causing a problem.0
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clhenderson2 wrote: »Cheat days are actually important when dieting because it increases your leptin which is the master hormone for regulating fat and weight loss. Leptin tends to decrease when we reduce our caloric intake causing the body to store on to our fat as if our body is going into survival mode because of the reduction in calories. By periodically increasing your caloric intake it raises your leptin causing the body to maximize its weight loss potential.
No cheat days here.
And losing weight just fine
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Treat Day MIRITE?0
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I call them treat days too. Calorific deficit over the week = weightloss.0
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Do what works for you! Just don't over do it.0
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I went Over by at least 2700 today. Kid had a tournament out of state, we had lunch and team meal at Texas Roadhouse. I am now eating cheesecake and drinking a daquiri,
I'll just divide that 2700 by 10 days and eat at a deficit. ( I'm in maintenace) it's all good. And it was all good!!0
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