Cheat meals and macros

[broza]

Recently started counting my macro, I thought I had a balanced diet, boy was I wrong. I was not eating enough protein, about half as much as I should have been eating. Twice as much fat as I should have been eating and about half as much carbs also. Also quit drinking, I used to be a daily drinker. Haven’t touched alcohol in about 2 months.

I lost about 17 pounds since doing this and sitting around 13/14% Bf according to calipers. 210 is my currently weight. I have hit a wall recently so I just started a cycle of 200 NPP and 200 primo on top of my TRT. Trying to do a little recomp, not the best drugs for a recomp but they’re two of the healthier AAS from what I’ve read and so that’s why I’m running them. First true cycle in about a decade.

My question is about cheat meals and cheat days. M-f and usually 6 days a week I’m right on my macros. But my GF and I love to eat out on the weekends… a single meal at a restaurant can EASILY fuck up your macros for the whole day.

I was wondering how y’all approach cheat meals and days… and what advice y’all have. Obviously hitting your macros 7 days a week is ideal but I want to live a little lol. Do y’all think it’s ok to go over calories once a week as long as you hit your protein? Do any of y’all fast all day on your cheat day and just splurge that one meal? Any advice and strategies would be appreciated

 

[livinlean]

The line "go over calories once a week as long as you hit your protein" is pretty much my rule of thumb.

On Saturday's I go out and have breakfast and at night I have another cheat meal. This falls on my second leg day of the week so thats how I can justify the excess calories to myself.

As long as you're seeing results week to week, you can do it however you'd like. If you're going too crazy on your cheat day, you can always lower your cals during the week to make up for it. Personally I don't like restricting healthy food for a cheat so I would just add in some light cardio if needed but you do have a few options to work with.

 

[broza]

Great advice especially from someone so peeled. Legs on the cheat day, maybe add in some more light cardio. Easy modifications I’ll definitely add.

 

[buck]

When i was worried about my macros and planning to got out to eat. I would take in very few carbs and less fat during the day before i went out. But ate my protein like usual.

 

[juggy38]

Just eat like a sane person. A cheat of two sushi rolls is a hell of a lot different than a whole meat lovers pizza by yourself.

Steak and a big potato, sushi, fajitas…I don’t even worry about it. If it’s pizza, wings, fried shit, I usually just match what my old lady eats then call it quits.

She’s my governor lol

 

[broza]

Just eat like a sane person. A cheat of two sushi rolls is a hell of a lot different than a whole meat lovers pizza by yourself.

Steak and a big potato, sushi, fajitas…I don’t even worry about it. If it’s pizza, wings, fried shit, I usually just match what my old lady eats then call it quits.

She’s my governor lol

that the thing... most people in society believe they're eating "sane"...

Long gone are the days of eating a whole pizza and drinking a pitcher of beer.... good advice though. My GF is also doing the macros so thats super helpful and we've been seeking out more restaurants with "healthier" options. Its Still a challenge though.

 

[juggy38]

that the thing... most people in society believe they're eating "sane"...

Long gone are the days of eating a whole pizza and drinking a pitcher of beer.... good advice though. My GF is also doing the macros so thats super helpful and we've been seeking out more restaurants with "healthier" options. Its Still a challenge though.

Yea but sane people don’t eat 4 plates of Chinese food then 1/2 a dozen donuts like some meatheads that’s Been on zero carbs for 2 weeks straight. They eat 1 plate of Chinese food and 2 donuts every day lol.


It is a challenge. Basically just choose the “least shitty” shit food and don’t stuff yourself. You’ll be fine unless your trying to get below 10-11% BF, then things have to get pretty strict.

Or you can make cheat food at home. A burger and fries from a restaurant is a lot more calories than say if you made a 90/10 burger, reduced fat mozzarella, and air fryer potatoes.

 

[Skins]

OP: You’re at 13-14% BF. Cool, and the weekly cheat isn’t offsetting you, since you’ve lost weight (assuming water and bodfat). Great job stopping drinking. Your metabolism is probably rocking for this, hence the weight loss.

soon, I’ll bet you’re going to want to lower body fat to 8-9 %

~ that’s when you‘ll likely Rethink “cheat meals/days” as an option

 

[blmcgee81]

Don’t cheat. Plan it in your diet. Hitting macros daily is great but hitting your macros consistently on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis creates results. Add all your macros up for the week. Trim down fat a few days and keep carbs a little lower on off days. To make up for the “cheat” meal.

I always take a day off after legs but I keep carbs higher the day after to aid in recovery so I may trim carbs back on another training day like arms that don’t need as much fuel for recovery.

If you make wise decisions no food is going to throw you off course. Plan it, don’t over indulge.

 

[broza]

random up date. I'm week 5 of a cycle and I've peeled off 2% bf while gaining 6 pounds. My single site caliper calculation gave me pretty much the same bf reading as a three site caliper method so I've been sticking with the single site. The single site and the three site both had me at about 9% pre cycle and the single site has me around 7% currently. Its harder to hit the macros while on cycle, my apatite is going nuts but I'm doing pretty well.

another random update... I was reading my calipers wrong... my bf wasn't 13/14 percent... it was 9/10% lol. I watched a tutorial on how to read my body fat calipers and I was doing it wrong, lol.

my GF and I have been doing a little bit of everything recommended... doing a heavy leg day on our "cheat day" I started making our "cheat meals" at home, I'm a pretty decent cook so we don't feel like we r missing out on too much. Protein pancakes with blue berries/strawberries and banannas in the batter with sugar free syrup is my GF fave. Increasing cardio, carb cycling, threw in a little cjc with dac and ghrp and thats also helping. We have a couples retreat this weekend and theres a hot tub so we both wanna look lean for pictures. lol

I appreciate all the feed back and ideas

Sincerly,
Thank yall

 

[broza]

Progress pic

 

[Hammer4]

Looking sick bro. Guessing your trt is right around 200 along with the npp and primo?

 

[broza]

I was running 200 test with 200 primo and 200 npp during my blast. Talked to my Dr and we moved the TRT down to 154mg per week of test. The HDL and LDL were a little out of range. That blood draw was before my last blast. I did keep the test higher than what was prescribed during the last blast. I’ve been off for a few weeks now. Gonna do a blood draw in two week, if things look good, might do another 6 week blast.

It’s weird, But I’ve continued growing… significantly after my blast. I don’t know if it’s because of the increased estrogen that was being suppressed from the primo but I’ve gains 4 pounds in the three weeks that I’ve been off. BF still around 7%, sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower.

 

[Green Miles]

I get one happy(cheat) meal a week on Saturday nights and eat a lot of fruits during the day! Come Sunday, back on track till next Saturday! It works great for me!

 

[nmk85roll]

looking good! When i planned cheat meals out, I tended to eat more. When i just listened to my body and when I was actually hungry, I noticed my cheat meals weren't nearly as bad.

 

[GreenEarth]

Definitely agree with what most people say here...I think a weekly "cheat" meal is good both for progress (not sure if there's any hard evidence out there to prove it) and ESPECIALLY for mental health. Something to still make you feel like a normal person and also something to look forward to.

The poster that said eat like a sane person is spot on. When I was younger, I would go all-out on cheat day...pizza, ice cream, just stuffing myself because it was the day that kind of "didn't count" in my mind. Big mistake. Don't obsess over it and think of it as being the day you can go crazy. Eat something tasty you've been craving, but do so in moderation.

I think you're right on track since you do it with your girlfriend. I used to do it by myself and pig out in secret lol. When I do it with others, I'm way more moderate because I don't want to seem like such a glutton. Make it an occasion not just for having tasty food, but good company. My favorite is a family meal...go see my parents. My mom is a hell of a cook and always makes delicious foods. Maybe a slice of cake with dessert and a nice wine (my brother and dad are big wine lovers) with the meal. Again, in moderation, and enjoy yourself.

Assuming you're not competing, try and enjoy your life while meeting your goals. 6 days of perfection and one day with a slight variation won't make a huge difference in the long-run, especially if you're just doing it for personal fitness. You're looking good!