Cheat meals

[joos23]

Are cheat meals good once a week when cutting? What your guy's thoughts and opinions

 

[tenny]

depends on what your definition of "cutting" is......

AND....where you currently stand condition wise...

 

[joos23]

I'm starting to hit calorie deficient stage

 

[thebigbus]

good for psychology, as long as you don't turn it into a day that ruins your deficit. doesn't really do squat as far as reversing any metabolic changes the diet has caused.

I stopped doing them and just stick with the same daily intake when cutting. I would end up eating 5-6k calories and ruining the weekly deficit.

Just embrace the deficit

 

[farm77]

If your diet is on point and your only having a cheat meal once a week you will be fine. It's good for a mental break or to take your girl out etc.. gives you something to look forward to and it's best done as one of your last meals that way you had gotten all your other meals in for the day. However I would not start off with cheat meals once a week and give you some time to really get the body going to get metab up and already in the fat burning mood before you incorporate a once weekly cheat meal not cheat day but 1 meal.

 

[OutToLunch]

One meal or refeed day?

 

[digbick]

rule of thumb is if your diet includes carbs then no cheat meal needed..unless u do zero carbs then a refeed day or cheat meal or 2 might be beneficial

 

[11111]

I think (in general) people indulge in cheat meals WAY more often than they should and would make much better progress if they waited until they were at least somewhat decently lean to have a "cheat meal" or re-feed.

I'm sorry, but if you're 20% bodyfat, you don't need a cheat meal after 2 weeks of dieting... Don't worry, your metabolism isn't going to "slow down" after a few weeks of dieting when you're 20% bodyfat, lol.

So many people just look for any excuse to have a "cheat meal" which slows down their progress..

 

[thebigbus]

rule of thumb is if your diet includes carbs then no cheat meal needed..unless u do zero carbs then a refeed day or cheat meal or 2 might be beneficial

Yep, agree. I think refeeds are beneficial to add some carbs back to make workouts better.

But again, the research is now pointing that they really do nothing for "undoing" metabolic issues seen with dieting. That takes 10-14 days, more likely, which is where diet breaks come in to play.

 

[buck]

In the 80's and 90's BB'ers didn't use cheat meals and they got leaner then what we see on stage now. And there was any tail of crashing your metabolism. That seems to be a newer trend.

 

[S3mik]

Are cheat meals good once a week when cutting? What your guy's thoughts and opinions

Wasted large energy to balance the body , gained the nutrition from the cheat meal .

 

[XstarchildX]

Cheat meals are never needed, however that can be helpful when implemented properly, in the correct scenario.

If you follow a meal plan and are getting tired of the same old foods, and this in turn makes adherence to the diet an issue, a cheat meal may help. This is psychologically helpful in adherence to the diet protocol.

If you're like me and fit some "treats" into your macros during the week, you're less likely to want a cheat meal. Do I still have one? You bet. Would I if I were in prep mode? Nope. I'd opt for a weekly refeed once I hit that "starting to get nasty and can't hold fullness" phase.

 

[beastmode121]

I do it if I'm losing weight too fast or if I'm deep into something prep and need a mental break to keep me going

Sometimes I do it if I'm so flat and can't feel contractions during my workouts

 

[natrol]

I think they are beneficial only if you are losing weight too fast. Other than that, they can increase Leptin and make you more psychologically capable of withstanding another full week of hard dieting, but as far as body composition benefits directly I don't think they necessarily "help" your cut.

 

[cujolaverga21]

It really depends on what you consider a cheats meal. My last coach recommended a 45 minute free for all once per week. However, when I stopped dropping fat, he removed them from my diet altogether and I started losing again. Some people can pack it in during a meal..others cannot

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[rmtt]

Cheat meals are never needed, however that can be helpful when implemented properly, in the correct scenario.

If you follow a meal plan and are getting tired of the same old foods, and this in turn makes adherence to the diet an issue, a cheat meal may help. This is psychologically helpful in adherence to the diet protocol.

If you're like me and fit some "treats" into your macros during the week, you're less likely to want a cheat meal. Do I still have one? You bet. Would I if I were in prep mode? Nope. I'd opt for a weekly refeed once I hit that "starting to get nasty and can't hold fullness" phase.

Same with me. I try to keep enough carbs in my diet to train effectively. But I find that after 4-6 days of hard workouts that I have to add a so called cheat meal in. But it's typically the same stuff I always eat But with a few tweaks. Moderate protein, low fat, and an extremely high amount of carbs.

God.....for some reason I love plain white rice. I will eat a ton of it on this day...then I'm good for another 4-6 days.

Then usually about once every 3 weeks, I will have one meal that is just plain nasty. No sweets or anything like that as I don't care for them.....but give me a Chinese/Japanese/Mexican buffet and I will destroy it for that one meal.

I guess it's psychological as after that, I'm good for another month or so!

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[pahlevan]

Cheat meals yes, cheat days no. Also, Most people load up on carbs on cheat days. Some say its better to keep the fat lower while stuffing your face with carbs, but you have to try and see what works better for you.

 

[XstarchildX]

Typically the leaner you are the more you can get away with cheat meals. The more frequent they can be, the larger they can be, etc. This is true for true lean conditioning. Not "Dad bod" lean .