Cheat meals and refeeds are powerful ways to promote weight loss without many of the negative side effects that go along with dieting. Prolonged calorie restriction can lead to many problems that affect your metabolism and make it harder for you to lose weight.
Benefits of Cheat Meals and Refeeds
- Increased Thyroid Function – refeeds produce prompt recovery of thyroid hormone (T3) after prolonged calorie restriction [1].
- Controlled Hunger – refeeds can boost levels of leptin, a hormone that manages appetite and satiety, which in return will reduce cravings and hunger [2].
- Maximized Glycogen Stores – improved insulin sensitivity from calorie restriction leads to a greater capacity for muscles to store glycogen during refeeds. The extra carbs are more likely to be stored as glycogen instead of fat.
- Improved Testosterone Levels – testosterone levels are drastically reduced with prolonged energy deficits of 1,000 calories/day. Refeeds cause a quick recovery of testosterone [3].
- Improved Adherence – cheat meals are psychologically pleasing. They loosen the feelings of restriction and deprivation, which in turn can improve adherence and consistency over time.
Cheat Day Case Study
The science looks promising, but how does the idea of having a cheat day play out in the real world?
Let’s take a look at a client of mine. We’ll call her Amanda since she asked to remain anonymous.
Amanda struggled to lose weight the first couple of months of her program even though we had reduced calories four different times. Over the course of 10 weeks we systematically reduced her weekly average calories from 1705 to 1495 calories per day. This resulted in no weight loss.
Her tape measurements showed improvements and her body composition was changing for the better but our goal was to still lose about 20lbs.
That’s when we decided to restructure her calories. While maintaining that weekly average of 1495 calories per day, we built in a refeed day on Sundays.
We dropped her calories Monday through Saturday calories and used the “savings” for Sunday. The results? She instantly started losing weight.
| Refeed Guidelines | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Weight | Mon-Sun Calories |
Mon-Sat Calories |
Sunday Calories |
| 1 | 162.2 | 1705 | * | * |
| 2 | 161.9 | 1705 | * | * |
| 3 | 161.7 | 1660 | * | * |
| 4 | 162 | 1660 | * | * |
| 5 | 162.1 | 1600 | * | * |
| 6 | 161.8 | 1600 | * | * |
| 7 | 161.7 | 1555 | * | * |
| 8 | 161.9 | 1555 | * | * |
| 9 | 162.3 | 1495 | * | * |
| 10 | 162 | 1495 | * | * |
| restructured calories – 1 refeed day/week | ||||
| 11 | 160.8 | * | 1415 | 1970 |
| 12 | 160.1 | * | 1415 | 1970 |
| 13 | 159.1 | * | 1415 | 1970 |
| 14 | 158.2 | * | 1415 | 1970 |
| 15 | 156.5 | * | 1415 | 1970 |
| 16 | 155.7 | * | 1415 | 1970 |
This was not an isolated case either. I’ve used cheat meals and refeeds time and time again as a means to break weight loss plateaus without having to further reduce calories.
And to further help you see how to implement an effective cheat day, “Amanda” has given me permission to share her complete program with you.
It has everything from her daily fat, carb, and protein intake, to her daily workout program, to her body measurements, to my personal notes. If you want a copy of her program to help you with planning yours, just click here to download it.
How Often Should You Have a Cheat Day
Cheat meals and refeeds and most beneficial the longer you spend in a calorie deficit. This gives your body a chance to deplete some of its glycogen stores.
When you first start a weight loss program there’s a good chance you’re coming from a period of reduced physical activity and eating at maintenance calories or above. That means the physiological impact of a cheat meal won’t be as dramatic.
When it comes time to implement a refeed I tend to use them in one of two different ways:
- cheat meal once a week – I recommend you pick a day that is socially beneficial to you. That way you can better mesh your social lifestyle and fitness goals. If that day also falls on a workout day, then that’s all the better. Cut your calories the other 6 days of the week and add them to your refeed day.
- cheat meal twice a week – I mostly use this for people who are a little leaner or for people who struggle to get back on track after a larger refeed. The refeeds are smaller in nature and weigh-ins the following morning actually tend to be lower more times than not. Anecdotally I find that adherence is better using this method.
As you start getting leaner, the frequency of your refeeds may actually need to increase. The lower your body fat levels, the more your body wants to hang on to the energy reserves (fat) it has.
Cheat Day or Cheat Meal?
So you’re all excited about this cheat day. You’re dreaming of eating pizza, ice cream, chips, and fast food all day. Let’s take a step back for a second.
Remember, a cheat day is a preplanned approach to help you lose fat. It’s about you staying in control of food. You don’t want to blow a whole week’s worth of weight loss by bingeing and eating an insane amount of calories.
I recommend that at first you limit your cheat day to a single cheat meal. This way you can gauge its effect on fat loss and adherence. If you see that you are losing weight at a good pace, you can be a little looser with food quality and overall quantity.
If you struggle to get back on track after a cheat meal, consider opting for a refeed instead. A refeed is basically a day of increased calories coming mostly from whole foods, but in higher quantity.
Using Cheat Meals Most Effectively
Most of the physiological benefits of refeeds come from the increased calories and carbohydrate intake. In a perfect world you’d hold fat and protein constant and implement the calorie bump by increasing your carbohydrates.
Refeeds and cheat meals are best used when conventional healthy eating methods have stopped working for you. Improve the quality of your diet first. When the natural calorie restriction effect of simply changing the quality of your diet is no longer getting you results, start paying closer attention to your calorie intake. Then if purposeful calorie cuts don’t get your weight trending down, refeeds can be implemented to keep your progress moving forward.
Finally, it’s not unusual to gain weight the day after a refeed. Many people can step on the scale and see a 2-5lb gain, and that can lead to a spinning out of control.
Just remember that weight and fat are not the same and that it’s common to add some weight from both intracellullar (within the muscle) and extracellular (under the skin) water retention following a refeed. If this concerns you I’d recommend you stay off the scale for a couple of days.
Stay consistent and the extra water retention will be gone in a matter of days. While that’s happening fat loss will continue in the background, and your average weight week to week should be decreasing.
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Hey Tony – Personally I prefer having cheat meals rather than an entire cheat day. The reason for this is that a cheat day is so definitive. I might wake up on that day and not be craving healthy foods but eat them anyway because it’s my cheat day. Plus, there might be times during the week where I go out for dinner and I cannot really enjoy the meal because there are no healthy options I like eating. Not only does this affect my enjoyment but as you say it turns me into a bit of a social outcast.
If I have cheat meals I can eat healthy most of the time but when I fancy a pizza or a burger I can still have it. If I end up eating out 2 or 3 times in 1 week I can go to the restaurant without worrying about what they have on the menu. I find this method much easier to incorporate into my lifestyle.
As for the amount of cheat meals, I generally go with an 80/20 approach so a maximum of 1 in 5 of my meals can be a cheat meal (approximately 4 meals per week). I generally slot them in when I am eating out but sometimes I will also use a cheat meal to have a pizza night.
Good points Tom. Sometimes an unplanned cheat meal is best. That way when one of life’s unplanned moments comes up, you can let go a little and enjoy yourself. I’ve found plenty of times that I’ve had a planned cheat meal, only to wish I would have saved it for the social event I was at just a day or two later.
I eat clean all week and have a cheat meal (usually a Saturday evening) where I kick back and have loads of home-made bread and a few beers as a reward. It works for me. I would thoroughly recommend it. I believe it’s good for your mind & metabolism. I might also add it will NOT affect your waistline…in fact I would make it mandatory for anyone thinking of making regular diet & exercise part of their lifestyle. Another great article.
Very true Matt. It won’t affect your waistline so long as you maintain an energy deficit over time.
Fortunately my cheat day is today. This is usually my most intense workout day which makes me feel like I earned my cheat meals. Plus, today happens to be a holiday party so I try to time my cheat days on the weekends when events like this are more likely. One thing I’m curious about..you said to limit fat intake, but I thought a combination of carbs and fat was what resulted in increased leptin levels, not just carbs?
Hey Dave, while mixing fat and carbohydrates can improve leptin levels, fat has much less of an effect [4].
As I’ve said in a previous post my cheat day is usually a Saturday but next week it’ll be Sunday (for obvious reasons) But what will everyone else be doing for Christmas? Will some of you still be watching what you eat or just saying to yourself ‘ah, what the heck…it’s Christmas!’ It is only once a year I suppose but I personally can’t be bothered with having to shift a load of weight after the new year so I’ll be training & eating clean as usual. Nice to hear others thoughts on how they handle the holiday season temptations.
I personally don’t worry about holidays. I just try to stay mindful, eat what I want, but stop at 80% full. If I go over some it won’t be the end of the world.
There are around a dozen holidays every year. There are 350 days of non-holidays. It’s what you do the other 350+ days that makes you who you are.
I love the idea of a cheat day (it will probably keep me more motivated in my weight loss goals)…500+ calories extra that day gives a lot of leeway too! I find that having a break from dieting not only makes it more tolerable, but breaking it down over a week (500 extra calories one day is only 80 something extra calories a day)…it’s not really any damage.
Good point Penelope. 500 calories one day isn’t much, especially considering the fact you’ve been eating 500-1000 calories below maintenance the rest of the week.
In the case study above we dropped about 75 calories each day to “make room” for the cheat day. That way overall calories remained unchanged.
I am going to incorporate Cheat Day into my dieting. I feel so deprived most times as I am a chip eater by nature (genetics I swear)…lol. So to know that one day a week I can eat a small bag of chips and not feel guilty to so help me be good the other 6 days1
Hi Deb, an individual size bag of chips is 100-300 calories or so. In reality, that could be worked into your regular diet. If you eat 80/20 (whole foods / fun foods) and maintain a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. And it can help reduce feelings of restriction and improve adherence.
i have a daily cheat but it’s almost always dark chocolate so even that i dont feel very bad about having. I eat a couple pieces of at least 70% dark chocolate with a handful of almonds and a cup of decaf coffee. I think eating the chocolate with the almonds makes it last longer and taste more like i’m eating a candy bar and having with the coffee helps me unwind. I wouldn’t want to go without my chocolate fix!
I do the same Anna. Works very well for me too! Gotta have my Choc fix…
I’ve incorporated cheats into my diet but I probably do it more often than I realize since I don’t have a formal system. I think I’ll try yours 🙂 thanks for sharing!
Yeah you want to control the food and not let the food control you. They to doing that is in the planning.
I love this article. Cheating as a motivation will certainly help a lot of people stick to a good diet and fitness plan.
It definitely can. I try to frame them as “refeeds” nowadays so it doesn’t feel like I’m doing something wrong (cheating).
Once a week after my regular swim I’ll stop and get a small dish of ice cream. Makes me happy.
Sounds satisfying, and the fact you did it after a workout means the nutrient partitioning effects are in your favor.
I saw a piece on Dr. Oz on this very topic late last week. I did like that he advocated cheating in moderation and not using it to totally pig out. I find as I’ve cleaned up my diet, my cravings for the bad stuff have really plummeted and when I do cheat, my old favorites taste disgusting. I just wish I’d done this a lot sooner!
That’s pretty common. The more you consistently eat whole foods the less appetizing your old fun foods taste. You don’t need your treats to be as “rich” to be satisfying.
This is music to my ears, I have been working out solidly since October and have hit a major ’emotional’ plateau, don’t worry I’m not freaking out or in need of therapy! I have lost 5 inches off my waist and 3 off my leg but my scales hasn’t moved. I know what you are going to say but it has become a ‘thing’ with me so I keep tightening up my diet further, pushing myself in the gym more and nothing is making that scales move! I do 2 kettlebell classes a week and 2/3 other weight / cardio sessions (all given to be my an instructor so I have good guidance). I know I shouldn’t care about the scales and yes my figure is changing but until I see that scales move I know I won’t be happy. I’m 133lbs and have had 4 little boys in 5 years so I shouldn’t complain! I’m loving your articles by the way!
Thanks Anne-Marie, and congrats on the progress so far. I’d definitely try to restructure your calories and add a refeed day in there to see if it makes a difference for you.
I LOVE your ideas about a cheat day, Sunday are my hubby and my cheat day. Hubby has a hard time on this day he wants to eat everything like popcorn, donuts and chocolate cake. If I tell him that he should choose one he gets mad and tells me he know what he is doing. We have been on a diet since the first of the year. He has only lose 1 to 2 lbs. I that it’s because of our Sunday cheat day and him going hog wild on those days.
I wouldn’t doubt it. Cheat days aren’t free-for-alls. They are controlled refeedings where you lower the bar some on the quality of food, but you still control the quantity.
He’ll do what he wants though. 😉
I love cheat day! Whenever I am trying to lose some weight, I have incorporated cheat day into my regiment. It gives me something to look forward to, and keeps me from straying the other days. And I believe it really does work – I think it helps shock your metabolism into gear. Great article!
It definitely works for my clients. I actually include about 200 free calories each day into my clients’ meal plans. Their reported happiness, consistency, and adherence remains high as a result.
I don’t have ‘cheat days’, but instead a cheat meal is enough for me. I usually order something that’s not too bad (it’s usually chicken & a kid’s portion of fries) and I’m happy for (most of) the week after that. My cheat meal is actually tonight, I enjoy getting back from work, going to the gym and then I order something and watch a movie. A great way to start the weekend, in my opinion 🙂 I eat clean most of the week, so I don’t feel bad or guilty about this meal. I don’t binge, either.
I don’t go overboard (with cake, alchohol, etc) just because my body doesn’t take it so well anyways. I usually end up feeling sick (literally) the next day.
Sounds like you’re doing it right, Karine. A cheat meal is usually enough for most people. If you feel the need to eat everything in site all day there might be other issues at play – overrestriction in both the quality and quantity of your food during the week being a big one.
So happy to have read this article. I’ve been going out to dinner once a week with my friends and feeling totally puzzled with what to get. I’ve been sticking to a pretty strict vegetable/lean protein/healthy fat diet for the past couple months and it makes going out pretty tough. Glad to know I can add in some carbohydrates so I don’t have to feel awkward and explain why I can’t share an appetizer or have a beer!
You can definitely eat carbs. What I have my clients do when they go out to eat is to have what they want, but to eat it slowly, mindfully, and stop at 80% full.
Upcoming Cheat Days 🙂
05/06 – International No Diet Day
05/11 – Eat What You Want Day
Let’s all celebrate!
is brown bread good for you?
I try not to view food as either bad or good. Instead, all food exists on a spectrum – some foods are healthier for you than others.
There’s nothing wrong with bread, but there are more nutritious options out there. Regardless, you can lose weight eating bread if you maintain an energy deficit.
Hey dude, I have just recently put myself on a low calorie diet, I have three meals a day which consists of salad and a small portion of fresh meat, with one or two snacks inbetween of 50 to 100 grams of fresh meat. Today is my cheat day, can I eat whatever I want and drink beer? And does my diet sound okay? Oh, I also exercise moderately everyday. I weigh 100 kilograms and I’m 6 foot 3. Just looking for tips. Thank you.
Hi Richard, I would not go crazy on your cheat days. It’s not difficult for a cheat day to erase all your gains from the past week. Cheat days serve a purpose and should be controlled. Aim for calories about 50% higher than normal and try to keep it as clean as possible with maybe 1 single “dirty” meal.
I just love this article its really helpful.
I have been dieting since 4months and have lost 12kgs.
My diet contains of fruits,oats,meat eggs,salads.
I have a goal but i cheat just because of weakness!
I hate cheat days bcoz it makes me guilty.
But i have to cheat in order to avoid weakness.
My skin is dull and i have hairfall problems.
Please help.
Hi Angel, congrats on the weight loss! I would consider moving from a single cheat day to just eating a more moderate diet day to day trying to keep it 80-90% whole foods. That way you don’t create that spring loaded effect and want to binge.
Hey! I’ve been changing my eating life style since may, and i’ve lost a total of 15 pounds! but this week i’ve been eating like a hungry bear!!! Im hungry all the time, and I’ll eat everything you put in front of me! Im scared this crazy behavior will continue on and on! what can I do to stop this?!?! HELP!!
I forgot to mention something, I was prohibited to do any exercise for a month (this past week was my 3rd one), could that be a reason?? :O
Tita, make sure you’re eating enough calories. Extreme hunger is almost a sure sign that your calories are too low.
I have been trying to lose weight for so long and I feel like I’am getting no where
I’m not over weight. My current weight is 49kg (well now 50kg because I just cheated)
I feel terrible when I get on the scale and see no progress
my goal is to be 46kg
can you please provide me with a few tips and tricks to help me stay on my diet ! This constant cycle of working out and dieting and then flipping back is making me quite depressed
thanks
Priya, in your case I would get rid of the cheats. They don’t sound beneficial to you at the moment.
Instead, focus on improving the quality of your diet and being consistent day to day. Then adjust your overall food intake.
Once you feel comfortable with how you’re eating you can start considering structured cheat meals. But right now those cheats are taking control of you.
There is some repairing that needs to be done with your relationship with food.
Hey there! I have been dieting for 3 months now, lost just over 60lbs 😀 I’ve got about 5lbs to go, I’ve never taken a cheat day before and to be honest I’ve had enough of this dieting… I tend to eat about 1100-1400 calories a day, plus I walk 7miles there and back to the gym every other day, I do (Insanity) HIIT cardio in between. I’m 5ft 11in 165.5lbs during the week I always tell myself I’ll have a cheat day but I never do, will splurging one day really hurt me? Thanks in advance
Can you live the way you do the rest of your life? If no, then yes, use a cheat day.
You may be able to eat 1100 – 1400 kcal for 6 days, but you might need one day where you eat 3kcal worth of junk food to sustain it long term.
You might lose weight slower but it’s better than gaining the weight back.
I eat 1400 cals a day and 3k cals one day a week. I just finished my cheat today, part of it was cake,icecream and condensed milk yum:) anyhow, I’ve lost 6 pounds in three weeks. So yes you can have a cheat day so you won’t tire of diets. Also, I’m only 5’4. At your height, your calories are much too low and you could damage your metabolism and body by eating that low calories especially without a break. You don’t need to lose any weight either. I’m 5’4 155. That is actually 10 lbs overweight so my goal is those 10 lbs. But your height weight is perfectly fine. Don’t go crazy w it. Good luck:)
i did a cheat day after losing 4 lbs and dieting for almost 3 weeks – afterwards the scale said I gained 3 pounds back – is this possible??! I only had about 8 lbs to lose total and now I think the cheat day isn’t worth it at all if all my progress will be thrown out the window!
Yes, that is possible, but it is mostly water weight. Don’t worry about it, it will be gone again after a couple of days of normal eating. I have an article coming out on Tuesday about that very subject. Keep an eye out for it.
I dont understand how you can gain 2-3 pounds overnight and then take days if ever to lose if it is water weight? What proteins do you recommend that do not have lots of fat as if I am going to eat some might as well eat my favorite peanut butter than meat help
Carbs are stored as muscle glycogen and you actually need to use the glycogen to drop that water. It can take time.
The subcutaneous water retention can happen faster and is more a function of electrolyte balance.
Hi, Coach Calorie
I have a couple of questions for you. I’m a 13 year old teenager, and I have recently lost 10lb over the course of 3 months, mostly by cutting bad food out and eventually starting to count calories. Right now, I have increased my diet from 1700 (weight loss), to 2000 (maintenance), because I reached my goal, and I am now trying to just keep getting faster and more muscular by starting to do push-ups and sit ups. But, ever since I have increased my calories per day and started learning way more about calories and nutritional facts and stuff like that, I have noticed that I have found it harder to control myself from binging (I used to be overweight, sedentary, and binge on chips and crackers that I now know have trans fat.) and screwing my whole week and efforts over. So, I have been introducing cheat days, where I eat around 500-1000 calories over my average. However, I usually don’t plan the day as a specific day of the week, but it rather ends up happening on a day that I started out badly on. I also usually end up taking a break from running and strength training on the chest day, because I end up feeling tired and worn out. I’ll run/do strength and eat well for 6 days a week, and one day of the week, I’ll eat unhealthily or healthily but stil go over my limit. My chest day is usually a Wednesday or Thursday, even though I plan it out to be over the weekend. I was wondering if it is okay to do this once a week, and if it will hurt my muscle building/speed increase training? I usually end up eating foods with a lot of sugar on my chest days, not fat. Thanks in advance!
I don’t see a problem with it, but you can also just include these “fun” foods into your diet everyday, keeping them to 10-20% of total calories. If you do this I think you’ll notice your bingeing tendencies decreasing.
What do you think about alcohol on a cheat day ( ie a couple glasses of good red wine with Home made roast vegetable and feta cheese pizza) aka my fave meal in the universe! Sigh…
I have no problem with wine in moderation. I make it part of my “nutrition”, and not necessarily a cheat.
I absolutely enjoyed this post! “Cheat days” are definitely mental challenges I find hard to overcome and master. Your post are awesome Tony! Never stop writing so I continue to be motivated 🙂
Will do Jess!
I absolutely love all the advice you give! I have been working hard on getting ready for a fitness competition and have a very hard time losing weight. I have a personal trainer who is amazing and gives me my diet and exercises for 2 weeks then switches it up. It is a high protein lower carb diet and I find that once a week my body seems to tell me to load up on either more calories or carbs. Whenever I do this I do tend to see an increase in weight loss and never feel guilty about my “cheat meal”. So glad to see that isn’t a bad thing:)
would love to hear what you do eat as I have gained 10 pounds and can not lose it and work out 2-3 hours plus weights 3 times a week (triathlete)
Thank you for the kind words, Kim. It sounds a little like your trainer has you on a cyclical ketogenic diet. You deplete glycogen via workouts all week and then replenish those stores with a refeed.
Glad it’s working for you. 🙂
I like to drink Guinness on my cheat days (the cans have 4.2% alcohol).
Love this article: another great 1
Sadly I don’t know what diet to go on am fed up tried so many but I keep going back to cheats..I tried the cambridge diet loads of times please help What can I do hv got 10kg to loose.i dont know how to coubr calories or how much I nid to loose weight.i cnt control not eating
I’d recommend you stop going on diets and work on making small but lasting positive changes to your eating habits. Be patient and work on consistency. 🙂
Thanks for a great article! One thing I find that keeps me motivated to not indulge in a cheat meal is to actually have a picture of someone who looks the way I am working towards looking..in my case googled a pic of great abs. When I start thinking about cheat meals I just focus my attention on the picture(s) of the great looking abs and suddenly my mind is back in line with the healthy eating.
Another thing I also tend to do is think before I act. Many times in the past I acted and then thought only to end up questioning why did I do this to myself if I know this is not what I want!
Anyway, Thanks again for this (and all the other) great articles!!
Cheers
Can you give a few examples of a good cheat day or meal? I think I tend to over do it. Please post on Facebook! thanks 🙂
Anything you enjoy eating, but pay attention to portion sizes.
I eat 1250 calories a day and have one or two cheat days which consist of 2,000 to 2,800 calories. I work out 4 to 6 days a week for 1 to 2 hours. This seems weird but its working. I use coffee to supress my appetite on the low calorie days. Im 5’4. 147lbs down from 206. My goal is 140 since i have a large frame and i already have a flat belly. Dont wanna lose my kardashian like figure lol.
Congrats on the 60lbs lost so far! That large of a swing in calories is probably too much for my taste, but if it’s working for you then keep at it.
Hello! I love your site. Its so informative! I have one cheat meal a week. I have changed my diet using Ayurveda mainly because I had bloating problems. Im better now and I have seen many good results. I don’t intent to lose much weight, but the baby fat that I gained during pregnancy and after almost 5 years I can’t get rid of (Im heavier by 15 lbs. I’m 5’3″ current weight is 146 lbs). But with this new diet I found that one cheat meal a week, just after excercising has helpmed me a lot by not depleting the “bad carbs” that I don’t eat all week. I crave for lean meat and tortillas during my cheat day and it usualy is on wednesday late afternoon. This only cheat meal gives me a lot of energy for the whole week to keep on doing my jillian workouts and ashtanga yoga.
Glad it’s working for you. Lean meat and tortillas sounds like a regular dinner to me. 😉
Your articles are very informative and inspiring…. I really enjoy reading and learning from them and always feel motivated by them. Thank you!!!
Glad they help, Liz. Thank you for the kind words. 🙂
I have been taught — via an amazing hospital weight loss clinic program — that calling it “cheating” is self-defeating. That once in while It’s not a big deal to have a “treat”. Of course some people — like food addicts — can’t do this, but in general, most of us can. Labelling it “cheating” attaches guilt and negativity to the simple act of eating. Which can in turn cause more negative effects.
Completely agree, Maxie. I’ve moved to calling them refeeds now, and I actually eat a more 80/20 (whole foods / fun foods) diet on a daily basis.
i will soon have my first cheatmeal. You said that it is the best to eat the cheat right after my workout but I think I don`t need that much carbs after my workout. Usually I only eat like two apples after my workout but my cheat meals almost has 100 gramms of carbs and also 60 grams of fat. I also do my workouts in the evening, so my cheat meal would be 2 hours before I go to sleep. Woud it be better if I take my cheat meal for breakfast? My goal currenty is to lose weight
You can eat it whenever, but your insulin sensitivity is highest, and thus the partitioning effect most in your favor, post-workout.
10 piece dry rub buffalo wings and a Michelob at Buffalo Wild Wings! Best cheat meal ever! <3
I’m 5’6″ 122 lbs. I lift weights 4 days a week, run and/or spin 3-4 times a week. I eat wayyyy more than most of you here. I think many of you are undereating, I can’t imagine eating only 1200 calories with my level of activity. I lose weight easily at 1800 cals a day and I maintain at about 2300. You guys are wrecking your metabolisms.
I would agree that 1200 calories/day is likely too low for 90% of people who are eating there. Very rarely do I have to bring a client that low to lose weight, and if I do, it’s only at the end stages of their transformation.
I am doing a protein diet from last 4 months now. I also do light weight training and little cardio 4 times a week. I was 87 kgs but now I am 76 kgs. I want to drop off to 65 kgs as that’s a requirement of healthy. I’ve started taking cheat meals recently which works for me and later i was told to do a cheat day but that wasn’t a good idea to do that on weekly basis. Once a month cheat day and once a week cheat meal is fine. Can you please help me that what and how much am I allowed to eat in a cheat meal. For example I usually go for a 1burger meal or a pizza + chocolate cookies + custard pie + mocha coffee with sugar. Please can you help me if its right to do so. Thanks so much.
I can’t really give you a guideline to follow, as the most important thing is that you maintain a calorie deficit. Average your calories together over the week and see if that number is below your maintenance levels. If it is you’ll do just fine with your burger or pizza meal.
Please help – I’ve become so frustrated. I’m 5’4″ and started at 153 two years ago. Lost 15lbs in 1 year by eating 1200 and minimal exercise. Then I plateaued and 1200 didn’t work anymore. So I dropped calories, but gained instead of lost! Then I researched a lot and tried to eat more calories…and also gained! I gained 5 lbs in 5 weeks by going up to my BMR (1400) over that time. I do some kettlebell and eat very cleanly. I haven’t been able to lose those pounds and it’s been a year! I can only maintain now on 1200. I don’t know what to do! 🙁
Really hard to say. I can only tell you what I’d do if I were coaching you. And that’s start you off with much higher calories and have you take weekly averages with your weight. Then I’d cut your calories 50-100 per week until your weight is trending down.
1200 calories is too low for someone your size unless you’re a couch potato. The numbers you’ve shown me don’t make sense. Adding 5lbs of fat over 5 weeks requires a caloric surplus of around 17,500 calories, but you’ve only eaten 200 calories over for those 5 weeks, which is only 7,000 calories, or 2lbs. So something is off – either in your calorie tracking or elsewhere.
Need advice. Ive just started a diet through my fitness pal ap and in order for me to lose 2lb weekly im aloud 1200 cal a day. If in 6 of those days i eat less than the 1200cal mark does that mean 1 day a week i can have a cheat day so long as it doesnt go over my weekly allowance and still lose weight?
On paper that would work, but that’s rarely my experience in the real world. Eating 1200 calories/day does bad things to your metabolism. I would eat more and go for a more sustainable weight loss pace.
Hi Tony! I really like reading what you have to say, but I was wondering if you’d ever be interested in making a post that’s geared toward us plant-based folks? if that already exists, please link me! I’m sure i’m not the only one here that would super appreciate that!
thanks for what you do!
Hi Charlie, I’ll definitely consider it. Most of what I write can be adapted to any eating style, but I’ll see what I can come up with. Did you have something in particular in mind?
Fantastic article, thank you so much. I’m currently on a “diet” averaging around 1100 calories a day and exercise 7 days a week for 90 minutes or so. My Apple Watch says I’m burning around 3400 calories a day (I’m 5’11, 225 currently), which puts me at a deficit of 2300 calories a day. I’m losing weight fast but have been advised by several people to have periodic refeeds (they called them cheats) to keep my metabolism from being destroyed. It’s worth mentioning that this has worked for me before 15 years ago (and I kept the weight off for 14 years until a severe back injury)… my question is, am I doing irreparable harm to myself with this program and if so, how should I modify it yet still allow myself to lose weight as quickly as possible?
Hi Jeff, personally, I’d bump up my calories before messing with refeeds.
When looking at the question of “how to lose weight as fast as possible” you have to also consider your weight loss after 6 months or 1 year.
While you might be losing weight very fast right now I suspect at some point the large energy deficit will fight back and overeating will ensue. So consider the weight gain over time from that cause/effect relationship.
For a male your size I wouldn’t be dropping below 1800/day at this point.
This week I have decided to start a new healthy lifestyle of eating clean and trying to lose weight. I am trying to decide if including a weekly free meal is a good idea right away or if I should wait and just eat clean every day for a while? What is your recommendation? What will produce the best and fastest results? Thank you!
What will produce the best results is eating in a way that allows you to be consistently in a calorie deficit for an extended period of time.
I’d personally include 200ish calories each and every day for the foods I truly enjoy. Think of them as free calories. So long as you maintain an energy deficit during this time you will lose weight.
hello there. I’ve been following the Keto diet to a T since Jan 1st. So 23 days today. I have lost 1 pound….. I work out 5-6 days a week. Strength training 4-5 days and cardio 1-2 days. I eat about 1400 cals a day and my carbs are 20g or less daily.. My healthy fat is 70-75% and my protein is at 20%.. I have cut out dairy as of 4 days ago thinking that would help and haven’t seen a change. My urine keto strips tell me daily ive been in ketosis for 19 days now. Do you think a cheat meal and or day would be what maybe my body is missing here? I just don’t get it. With eating 1400 cals a day and working out daily how am i NOT losing any weight? I drink a ton of water daily… I’m 5’3″ and current weight is 138. I’m trying to lose 10 pounds and tone up. Please help i’m at my end here…..
Hi Bobbie, it is unusual for you to not lose any weight eating keto. Even if you didn’t lose any fat you should have still lost a lot of water weight from the removal of carbs.
Based on the info you provided I can’t really say what’s going on. But I will say it sounds like your eating approach is very restrictive. Transformation is all about consistency and adherence over a lifetime. So ask yourself if you think you can eat like this forever. If so, great! But if not, you might want to consider a more moderate approach.
Hi Tony
I am 56 days into a rigorous workout program of 6 days a week..with workouts in duratiin of 40 to 60 minutes. 4 days strength 2 days cardio. I started out at eating about 1300 to 1400 calories with very luttle energy. Bumped up to closer to 1800 for a coyole of weeks..si no results and now back to about 1400 caliries a day. All whole foods..no added sugar..with macros at 40 30 30. I have had no weight loss or inch loss..but have gained strength when lifting. Any suggestions? Am I still eating too little? I am 48 female. 141 lbs and 5 ‘1″. I am beyond frustrated. I do incorporate one cheat meal a week..which normally shows up with a 2 to 3 pound water gain. I would like to lose 15 lbs
Hi Terri, I’d take a more systematic approach as opposed to your “throw darts at a number and see if it works” strategy. By that I mean start high with your calories – 1800 is fine. Stay there for a couple weeks. If your weight in the second week isn’t less than the first then cut 100 calories and repeat the process until your weight is trending down.
Thanks Tony! I will be more systematic.
Hi, my name is Francesca and i’m 5’8”x 114 pounds. I am a female and i’m 24 years old. I usually eat 2000/2100 calories a day, I workout every day, for 1 hour/1:30 hours. I workout at the gym doing some lightweight circuit, some cardio (bike, elliptical) and once a week I go out to run for 20/30 minutes. It been almost one year that I started to think about cheat days. I don’t want to gain weight and honestly I can’t increase my activity level because I’m pretty busy with university and work and I don’t want to eat lsss during the week either. I always listen people talking about cheat days and how important those meals are for your metabolism etc. I am a little bit scared that if I do one cheat day every two weeks i’m Going to gain weight. Can be a good idea to add a cheat days into my diets or it’s not necessary ?
Hi Francesca, is there a reason you want to implement them? What are you trying to accomplish? If things are going well for you and you have solid habits in place then don’t mess with them.
We naturally want to fiddle with our programs to feel like we’re doing something, but if it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it. 😉
I participated in several 12 step food programs and I just find that I just do not have the heart or the stomach for participation with these programs that work very well yet are very strict.
My weight has increased a lot since making this choice but I can not entirely say that it is because I have left the support of these groups. I believe that the stringentness of adhering so 100% to anything that is black and white around food creates imbalance. Currently I view my weight gain as two things, one, rebellion of what I was keeping myself from, and change in my lifestyle where I have a job that limits my movement and takes more of my day. I can add a third , my spouse has a weight problem and really does not do anything to himself, its easy to go along …
With that said, we have both embarked on a weight loss plan that speaks my spouses language and I like that we are both on the same page. For now I want to focus on the plan we are both on and keep to my no sugar/flour/ grain plan.
Reading about a cheat meal once a week may serve me in the sense of having that piece of cake and a burger that I love so well from a local restaurant, and sticking with my weighed and measured meals.
Hi Cheryl, if a weekly cheat meal doesn’t work out for you might I recommend that you simply look for more balance in your eating on a daily basis. With my clients we do 200-300 calories per day of “free calories”, and that’s exactly what it sounds like.
just curious if your trying to maintain a good weight, is it necesary to have high fructose corn syrup on a cheat day/cheat meal. its been buggin me ever since. help me out
Hi Alex, no it’s not necessary. If you can eat all whole foods then more power to you.
If you are on a flexible diet (any foods but in calorie deficit, around 1500 cal/day) is a refeed day still a good idea?
Hi Lauralyn, are you losing weight without one? If so, don’t change anything. Refeeds aren’t necessary. But they can be a valuable tool when needed.