Post cut cheating

DannehBoyy
DannehBoyy Posts: 546 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just finished my cut dropped down to around 10-12 % body fat. Took about 5 months.

Would like to have a "cheat evening" where I just eat what I want. (I've got a big appetite)

Should I have this cheat and then carry on cutting for a couple of days to drop water weight? And then start upping my calories?

The reason I did this cut was to improve nutrient partitioning as I have always tended to gain fat easily when bulking (probably because I've never gotten lean enough to start a proper clean bulk). So I'm a bit weary as I don't want to risk ruining hard work.

I guess I just feel bad for cheating and need some reassurance or another person's advice.

Really appreciate any advice, thanks.

Replies

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    You could work on your weekly cal goals, instead of daily, a lot of us do that.

    Eat at 50-200 cals under your daily goal 5-6 days a week and donate them to a higher cal day. You still get in your weekly cals, you have just moved them around a little to suit your needs. Do log your high cal day though.

    Decide how many calories you need day to day to be satisfied, perform well, and meet your nutritional goals per day for those lower cal days.

    Cheers, h.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    You have my permission to eat what you want without feeling guilt. ;)

    That help? B)
  • DannehBoyy
    DannehBoyy Posts: 546 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    You have my permission to eat what you want without feeling guilt. ;)

    That help? B)

    Not at all to be honest lol
  • wmd1979
    wmd1979 Posts: 469 Member
    DannehBoyy wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    You have my permission to eat what you want without feeling guilt. ;)

    That help? B)

    Not at all to be honest lol

    In that case, do what makes you feel comfortable. Only you are going to be able to know what that is.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    I swear someone is following me post by post and hitting disagree. 😁
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    As you are probably aware the "cheat" night will not amount to much fat gain. The only thing about worrying about water weight gain if you are ready to exit your cut your scale may go back up again when you enter maintenance. You might stabilize a few pounds heavier than your lightest weight.

    My advice is not to get too hung up on water weight. That might not have been what you are looking for but your "cheat" night is fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I prefer to have limits and rules but you do you.
  • DannehBoyy
    DannehBoyy Posts: 546 Member
    Thanks, this is exactly the answer I was looking for. What you said about the water weight is very true.

    Oh yeah I'm the same, I'm super strict with my diet. Had just one cheat meal this whole 5 month cut because I had no choice 😅.

  • DannehBoyy
    DannehBoyy Posts: 546 Member
    edited October 2019
    wmd1979 wrote: »
    DannehBoyy wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    You have my permission to eat what you want without feeling guilt. ;)

    That help? B)

    Not at all to be honest lol

    In that case, do what makes you feel comfortable. Only you are going to be able to know what that is.

    That's not what I was asking though lol. I know that cheat meals can affect your progress, but I also know that there are ways around it doing so.

    I'd love to have a cheat meal, if Its not a good idea to though then I won't bother just yet. It may not sound like such a big deal to some people, but I plan on competing. So to me, I need to learn as much as I can, and put it into practice whether I am comfortable with it or not.

    Thanks for taking time to answer
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,744 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    I swear someone is following me post by post and hitting disagree. 😁

    I've noticed that! And, it's not just one "disagree", either. The thing is I've only seen you post about your personal experiences so why would anyone "disagree"? Silly.
  • TAYmfp2019
    TAYmfp2019 Posts: 6 Member
    Limit your amout, still keep everything within your normal calorie range and get right back to it. 🙌👍
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    DannehBoyy wrote: »
    wmd1979 wrote: »
    DannehBoyy wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    You have my permission to eat what you want without feeling guilt. ;)

    That help? B)

    Not at all to be honest lol

    In that case, do what makes you feel comfortable. Only you are going to be able to know what that is.

    That's not what I was asking though lol. I know that cheat meals can affect your progress, but I also know that there are ways around it doing so.

    I'd love to have a cheat meal, if Its not a good idea to though then I won't bother just yet. It may not sound like such a big deal to some people, but I plan on competing. So to me, I need to learn as much as I can, and put it into practice whether I am comfortable with it or not.

    Thanks for taking time to answer

    You plan on competing or you have something upcoming? If you have one in the works that will change the answers.
  • Lolalikeslolagets
    Lolalikeslolagets Posts: 142 Member
    Post cut hunger is the worst! Your body is primed for gaining and is trying to get you to eat to bring things back to the way they were (layman’s terms here.. ) .. if you can stick it out (the hunger I mean) it will be worth it but I’m right here with you. Just finished up and I’m so hungry and want to eat everything but .. mind over matter.. (also writing this to take my own advice). If you do slip up, consistency is key - one day over the course of a month or two is no big deal.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,724 Member
    If I cheat I know me, and it would be twice as hard not to go on the decline from there. If you think it won't affect your motivation to get right back to it, I don't think 1 cheat day is going to make or break your journey.
  • DannehBoyy
    DannehBoyy Posts: 546 Member
    I appreciate all of the replies. Thanks for taking time to offer advice.

    It's been a hard 5 months of dieting. Especially the last couple, being at such an extreme deficit. My goal was to see if I had the mindset to complete a 'tester' competition prep. Which I did, so I feel I deserve a cheat.

    Anyway, I managed to come up with an answer to my question and heres what I'm gonna do for anyone that's interested...

    My plan is to have the cheat meal and then increase my calories by 500 afterwards for the week. I will still be in a slight deficit, but a not so agressive one, as my maintinence is different now from when I started the cut due to metabolic changes. Doing this will allow for me to drop the water weight gained from the big cheat meal, but will also give my body a chance to adapt to the increase in calories instead of jumping straight into a surplus. Therefore I'll be at a great starting point
    to rebound into a muscle gaining phase. It'll also give me time to get my head straight and focus on the new training program I'll be doing.

    Just thought I'd let you know anyway, incase you were losing sleep, worrying about me and the cheat meal 😄😉

  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,158 Member
    DannehBoyy wrote: »
    I appreciate all of the replies. Thanks for taking time to offer advice.

    It's been a hard 5 months of dieting. Especially the last couple, being at such an extreme deficit. My goal was to see if I had the mindset to complete a 'tester' competition prep. Which I did, so I feel I deserve a cheat.

    Anyway, I managed to come up with an answer to my question and heres what I'm gonna do for anyone that's interested...

    My plan is to have the cheat meal and then increase my calories by 500 afterwards for the week. I will still be in a slight deficit, but a not so agressive one, as my maintinence is different now from when I started the cut due to metabolic changes. Doing this will allow for me to drop the water weight gained from the big cheat meal, but will also give my body a chance to adapt to the increase in calories instead of jumping straight into a surplus. Therefore I'll be at a great starting point
    to rebound into a muscle gaining phase. It'll also give me time to get my head straight and focus on the new training program I'll be doing.

    Just thought I'd let you know anyway, incase you were losing sleep, worrying about me and the cheat meal 😄😉

    If you have cut to competition levels of leanness then there are some really useful resources on the 3D muscle journey website. There’s a podcast called the recovery diet. Also there’s a series of free videos on off season diets in their video vault.

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