Chris Powell cheat day?

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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    if you have 1000 calorie cheat day that means you just wiped out two days of your deficit, assuming a 500 calorie per day deficit…

    stop view food as "cheats" and eat what you like, hit macros/micros/calorie goal, and if you go over some days then realize that is OK and get back on track the next day ….
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
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    If I know an event is coming up where I might want to eat more or splurge a little, I "bank" calories by eating less than my regular goal each day. Then, when I do eat over, I still log my food and watch my net calories for the week to make sure I'm still within my goal calories. Cheat meals can be dangerous when you don't log because it's so easy to slip back into what made you gain the weight in the first place. Plus, you're only hurting yourself by having full fledged cheat days!
  • GingerNoelle22
    GingerNoelle22 Posts: 3 Member
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    I am doing the turbo cycle and I am following the extra allowed 1000 calories on my 7th day. Chris Powell has a solid record of helping people lose a ton of weight over the years, some very obese. I trust he knows what he was doing when putting this program together. And although I agree it is about calories in and out... I only agree to a point because it is also about your metabolism. If you give it the same exact thing everyday, you will hit a major plateau. The free days on Sundays, that allow for the extra 1000 calories, push through the possibility of a plateau and in turn you lose weight because it shifts the metabolism into high gear. In fact, every 4th week all your days are high carb days for this reason. BTW, I lost 6 lbs this week.. I am sticking to this plan. It works.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    edited May 2015
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    GingerNoelle22 wrote: »
    I am doing the turbo cycle and I am following the extra allowed 1000 calories on my 7th day. Chris Powell has a solid record of helping people lose a ton of weight over the years, some very obese. I trust he knows what he was doing when putting this program together. And although I agree it is about calories in and out... I only agree to a point because it is also about your metabolism. If you give it the same exact thing everyday, you will hit a major plateau. The free days on Sundays, that allow for the extra 1000 calories, push through the possibility of a plateau and in turn you lose weight because it shifts the metabolism into high gear. In fact, every 4th week all your days are high carb days for this reason. BTW, I lost 6 lbs this week.. I am sticking to this plan. It works.

    How many calories are you consuming on your non-cheat days, and how long have you been doing this? Six lbs of fat in one week is just about metabolically impossible, it's more likely to be water weight getting shed, and you'd fall back to < 2 lbs / wk pretty quickly. I don't want to knock Chris Powell, don't know him...but it sounds like he's weaving a lot of broscience in there.
  • Gwen7121
    Gwen7121 Posts: 126 Member
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    He alternates - for women, it's 1200 on low carb days, and 1500 on high carb days. He has four different plans but most use the guilt free 'cheat' day for no more than a 1000 extra calories.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    I don't do cheat days in general, but I also never maintained a huge deficit. For someone who has a 1000 calorie deficit, I can see eating at maintenance once per week, if you are succeeding in losing weight at your expected rate.
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
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    Hi! I eat 2100 on my cheat or free day typically or below but its a challenge to get that high cause I typically still s5ay within the diet treating it as a hc day. I eat 12 to 1300 on lc days and 15 to 1600 on hc days. I am on turbo cycle for awhile now since march. But took a little duet break abd will be back on mon. So I have lost 20 lbs with it as long as I stick to the plan:)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Cheating implies doing something wrong, I'm not. If I happen to go over on occasion, I log it and move forward.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Cheating implies doing something wrong, I'm not. If I happen to go over on occasion, I log it and move forward.

    +1
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
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    Well I call it my free day. No guilt involved! :)
  • goofyrick24
    goofyrick24 Posts: 125 Member
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    if you read and look at the carb cycling Chris Powell plan. the so called "cheat Day" is a higher carb calorie day, which actually helps keep your metabolism in check and burning better.. the plans they provide have higher and lower calorie and carb days that keep your metabolism guessing and working harder.. the cheat day is a higher calorie/carb day in the cycle.. sometimes with approx. 1000-1200 more calories. than other days..
  • cassiemorris85
    cassiemorris85 Posts: 45 Member
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    With Chris Powell's method of carb cycling, women are supposed to eat 1200 calories a day on LC days and 1500 calories a day on HC days and then 1000 extra calories on your free day....1000 extra on top of the 1500 you would eat on a HC day. So that's a total of 2500 calories for your free day. It's meant to be controlled, as in when most people have their free day they don't count their calories and end up going so far over their caloric limit that it's hard to come back from. If you follow one of the carb cycling plans, it does keep your body guessing and ONCE IT STOPS WORKING, then you do the slingshot week, and then you being carb cycling again. He also mentions in his book that if you don't want a whole day for a free day, then you can have ONE CHEAT MEAL on each HC day it just can't be dinner. His methods have proved effective for many people. I have done it before and am planning to do it again. Everyone believe differently. Some people think cheat days/free days/cheat meals are just a way to mess you up and set you back...but some people really need them. Do what works for you.
  • LilannB
    LilannB Posts: 99 Member
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    Chris Powell calls this a "reward day". His theory is that the high calories one day a week keep your metabolism from adjusting to a low calorie routine and slowing down. I give myself a reward day on Sunday. I usually don't eat all the calories I'm allowed during the week. I "bank" those calories along with exercise calories and give myself 500 extra calories on my reward day. I look forward to this reward for being disciplined and staying within my calorie count for six days. Its also nice to have some of my favorite foods once a week. Since I'm using "banked" calories my average over the seven days puts me within my allowed calories on MFP.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
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    cassiemorris85 wrote: »
    With Chris Powell's method of carb cycling, women are supposed to eat 1200 calories a day on LC days and 1500 calories a day on HC days and then 1000 extra calories on your free day....1000 extra on top of the 1500 you would eat on a HC day. So that's a total of 2500 calories for your free day. It's meant to be controlled, as in when most people have their free day they don't count their calories and end up going so far over their caloric limit that it's hard to come back from. If you follow one of the carb cycling plans, it does keep your body guessing and ONCE IT STOPS WORKING, then you do the slingshot week, and then you being carb cycling again. He also mentions in his book that if you don't want a whole day for a free day, then you can have ONE CHEAT MEAL on each HC day it just can't be dinner. His methods have proved effective for many people. I have done it before and am planning to do it again. Everyone believe differently. Some people think cheat days/free days/cheat meals are just a way to mess you up and set you back...but some people really need them. Do what works for you.

    I am not familiar with him, but if he truly states that women, as a generality, are supposed to all eat a particular calorie number, and doesn't take into consideration age, height, weight, and activity level, then he is a gigantic fool and his book is less valuable to helping people understand how to lose weight effectively than a roll of toilet paper.
  • Quinn_Baker
    Quinn_Baker Posts: 292 Member
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    Honestly, a cheat day or meal REALLY works for me. I never gain from it, I always continue to lose at a good rate, and I dont feel deprived.

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