Refeed - How too know if it was a success?

[Ell V]

I just ran my first refeed this weekend. How will I know if it’s been a success?
Don’t get me wrong I loved eating 500g of carbs but I’m what way will I know if it worked or not.

Thank is advance with your help.

 

[FrenchBench22]

I just ran my first refeed this weekend. How will I know if it’s been a success?
Don’t get me wrong I loved eating 500g of carbs but I’m what way will I know if it worked or not.

Thank is advance with your help.

Welcome to the forum.

This has been discussed before, be sure to use the search function to find previous discussions, keyword "refeed" or "high day."

Coaches Andrew Berry, Chris Tuttle, and Kyle Wilkes recently discussed this exact topic in great detail on the "Unwracked Podcast" on YouTube.
They discuss what a high day is, how much to increase the carbs/calories, the purpose of the high day, how to determine if it was a success or not, how many refeed/high days you need, etc.
The discussion begins at 28:12.

 

[Ell V]

Thank you for your reply and I apologise for not checking the search function. Forums are new to me.
Thanks for the YouTube video I will definitely take a look

 

[TheOtherOne55]

I just ran my first refeed this weekend. How will I know if it’s been a success?
Don’t get me wrong I loved eating 500g of carbs but I’m what way will I know if it worked or not.

Thank is advance with your help.

Are you working with a coach? If so, this is a him question.

There’s too much info we don’t have. How many weeks out are you? How lean are you? Pics? How much about baseline weight did the refeed put you? How many days post refeed do you drop below baseline? Tons of stuff.

 

[professionaldyel]

Not being an ass, but you should quite literally look significantly better if you had an "actual" refeed because you were flat and depleted

If it was a diet break or training type of refeed you should just simply feel better and your next training session or two should be mega productive

can't really help beyond that because theres no before or after pictures in a visual hobby lol.

 

[need4tren]

If your asking this question you REALLY need a coach or your gonna spin your wheels for years

 

[AllOkJumpmaster]

depending on how lean you are, how depleted you were, and low food is, you should have noticed filling out, better pump, better vascularity, feeling great in the gym, and in day to day activities. Probably slept better at least for a night or two afterward.

did it work? did you notice those

 

[Brocksamson2.0]

take before and after pics for comparison

 

[hawkmoon]

I just ran my first refeed this weekend. How will I know if it’s been a success?
Don’t get me wrong I loved eating 500g of carbs but I’m what way will I know if it worked or not.

Thank is advance with your help.

Lot of good info here already but I think I'd start from a different agle.

If a refeed was the solution, what was the problem?

• Excessive fatigue?
• Poor training performance?
• Poor sleep?
• All of the above?

Without knowing the question, we cannot determine what's the correct answer.
It's like "42" being the answer to everything.

 

[NeonCypher]

A successful refeed usually shows up over the next few days, not immediately after the meal.

Things I'd look for to confirm success...

Better gym performance (strength, endurance, pumps). Fuller muscles and improved muscle roundness. Increased energy levels and reduced fatigue. Improved mood and less diet fatigue/cravings. Stable or decreasing weekly average weight after the temporary carb/water increase drops off. Reduced hunger compared to before the refeed.

Don't judge it by the scale the next morning. 500g of carbs can pull several pounds of water into the muscles along with glycogen, so a temporary weight spike is completely normal and expected.

The real test is whether your training, recovery, and adherence to the diet improve over the following week while fat loss continues at the expected rate.

If you come back stronger, fuller, more energized, and your weekly trend is still moving in the right direction, the refeed would appear successful.