Taking a Cheat Week

**dIeSeL_225** · 01-08-2004, 08:10 AM

I was just wondering do any of you guy after (3-4)months of strict deiting do you take a cheat week or do you stay consitantly on the strict deit.

**SwoleCat** · 01-08-2004, 08:37 AM

A week??????? Oh hell no........

Why? To totally nullify all the dieting one just did?

Ummmm, no thanks.

~SC~

**Brazy** · 01-08-2004, 08:41 AM

eathing healthy should be a way of life..

a cheat day, sure.. anymore... definatly a no

***BIG TEXAN*** · 01-08-2004, 08:59 AM

A cheat week!?!?!?!?! I think Swole summed it up nicely. I eat strict year round wether bulking or dieting. I allow myself a cheat day every 6-7 days. This usually keeps ya pretty sane. A cheat week is just unthinkable. You can expectto throw out all the results of busting your rear if ya do that.

**usualsuspect** · 01-08-2004, 09:04 AM

Yeah I'll pass too. Taking a week off of the gym is my only form of a cheat week. The diet always remains the same regardless. The cheat meals one a week should help to avoid any temptations to let lose.

~US~

**tatertoos** · 01-08-2004, 05:26 PM

I cheated for about 23yrs. Result: 23 year old, 5'11", 360lb VIRGIN!!!

**RoNNy THe BuLL** · 01-08-2004, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by tatertoos

I cheated for about 23yrs. Result: 23 year old, 5'11", 360lb VIRGIN!!!

I don't know if I should laugh or not bro, but point well made.

**bigsd67** · 01-09-2004, 12:21 PM

well i may get crucified, but when i went away to cancun last spring and then bahamas this past october i indulged during the vacation....it took about two weeks of super strict dieting and training, but i felt like myself again.

**Kim2884** · 01-10-2004, 10:20 AM

I gotta say, I don't think the cheat week should be totally ruled out. If you feel the need to take a whole week (say for a vacation or something), just don't take any other cheat days for a while before or after...and during the week, don't go too crazy and still try to get in some workouts. I did it in october..I don't think i looked too different afterwards, and a week or so later, i was back to where i started. I mean, I paid for an all-inclusive hotel (meals AND alcoholic drinks included) in a country where it's actually legal for me to drink...how was i not gonna take advantage of that?

**The TooL** · 01-10-2004, 11:19 AM

a cheat week thats nothin i just did a cheat month !!!! after a crashed my motorcycle and then i got the flu i was outta the gym for a month and i tried to maintain my diet but as soon as xmas and newyears came around i ate nothing but garbage and drank everynight. So this is my first week back at the gym and im going back to strict dieting and boy lemme tell ya its rough to back into my old routine again. but ill be back to tip top shape in no time

**beenie** · 01-10-2004, 08:57 PM

Personally, I say why stop at a week? You can make it a cheat month, or perhaps a cheat year. Wow, in no time at all you can hace a cheat decade or score. Hey, thats what most of America is doing, why not join the party? Of couse, most of America is fat, but why let that stand in the way of fun!

**Kim2884** · 01-11-2004, 10:30 AM

Ok, let's not be ridiculous. I don't think an otherwise nutritionally conscious person taking a week off is going to lead to a lifetime of obesity. Maybe you have a willpower of steel, but most people need to take a break every once in a while.

**usualsuspect** · 01-11-2004, 12:38 PM

If your living the lifestyle and not just one of those yo-yo dieters then a cheat week is fine. Yes we make sacrifices that the majority of people don't make but thats not to say you can't enjoy yourself every so often and indulge in the finer foods in life.

~US~

**beenie** · 01-11-2004, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Kim2884

Ok, let's not be ridiculous. I don't think an otherwise nutritionally conscious person taking a week off is going to lead to a lifetime of obesity. Maybe you have a willpower of steel, but most people need to take a break every once in a while.

I guess the problem I have with it is that I look at diet as a way of life. Once in a while you go off because of something out of your control. But I don't understand actually planning it. I am sure that every person reading this is going to yell at me, but to me it represents a lack of control and a lack of sticking to obtaining an objective.

Diesel_225 doesnt say what kind of shape he is in now and doesnt give many personal statistics. If he is 6% body fat, you are right, it woun't make much difference. If he is 30% bf it woun't make much difference either. But If he is at 9% he could easily go to 13% in a week. Know how long that takes to get back? My guess is that most of the members here don't - a few do, but most never see it. My experience has been that most people who are really dedicated do not cheat, and that cheaters rarely stick to a plan, but maybe each of you who says "no prob" are either in such great shape that you have no idea what its like for those of us who must strugle to stay in great shape is like OR are in average or below shape and have no isea what it takes to be truely lean. I maybe wrong, but that's just what I think.

**dIeSeL_225** · 01-11-2004, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by beenie

Diesel_225 doesnt say what kind of shape he is in now and doesnt give many personal statistics. If he is 6% body fat, you are right, it woun't make much difference. If he is 30% bf it woun't make much difference either. But If he is at 9% he could easily go to 13% in a week. Know how long that takes to get back? My guess is that most of the members here don't - a few do, but most never see it. My experience has been that most people who are really dedicated do not cheat, and that cheaters rarely stick to a plan, but maybe each of you who says "no prob" are either in such great shape that you have no idea what its like for those of us who must strugle to stay in great shape is like OR are in average or below shape and have no isea what it takes to be truely lean. I maybe wrong, but that's just what I think.

Im in decent shape at 210 at about 11%BF 5'11 and about 5 weeks ago I was at 225 at 15%BF, I've have been eaten healthy for the past 2 years but never really strict and within the past 5 weeks I have been really strict with my deit and I took the approach of not mixing my carbs and fats and only having carbs post workout and I'm seeing amazing results, I never plan on taking a cheat week Im very dedicated to what I want to do(my goal is to be at 5% BF), I was just wondering what all you other guys do if you take a break from deiting or not.

**beenie** · 01-11-2004, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by dIeSeL_225

Im in decent shape at 210 at about 11%BF 5'11 and about 5 weeks ago I was at 225 at 15%BF, I've have been eaten healthy for the past 2 years but never really strict and within the past 5 weeks I have been really strict with my deit and I took the approach of not mixing my carbs and fats and only having carbs post workout and I'm seeing amazing results, I never plan on taking a cheat week Im very dedicated to what I want to do(my goal is to be at 5% BF), I was just wondering what all you other guys do if you take a break from deiting or not.

First of all, I think it is really amazing that you could go from 15% to 11% in five weeks. I don't know if you can get to 5%. Most bodies need some level of fat to survive and people often get sick when they go much below 6% (or so I am told).

At 210 and 11% bf at yer height, you must be really big - obviously. So maybe your body reacts differently from mine.

So tell me when you say cheat, what exactly do you have in mind? Are you talking about having a cupcake one day or do you mean gourging yourself on pizza, beer, and potato chips for a week?

Again, my initial reaction was based on my experiance with other people, and I just haven't seen very many peoiple that can drop body fat percentage that quickly. By the way, are you SURE that both readings were correct, because I can easily see dropping 15 lbs in 5 weeks - that part is easy, but usually as the body gets closer to single digits it becomes more resistent.

**dIeSeL_225** · 01-11-2004, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by beenie

First of all, I think it is really amazing that you could go from 15% to 11% in five weeks. I don't know if you can get to 5%. Most bodies need some level of fat to survive and people often get sick when they go much below 6% (or so I am told).

At 210 and 11% bf at yer height, you must be really big - obviously. So maybe your body reacts differently from mine.

So tell me when you say cheat, what exactly do you have in mind? Are you talking about having a cupcake one day or do you mean gourging yourself on pizza, beer, and potato chips for a week?

Again, my initial reaction was based on my experiance with other people, and I just haven't seen very many peoiple that can drop body fat percentage that quickly. By the way, are you SURE that both readings were correct, because I can easily see dropping 15 lbs in 5 weeks - that part is easy, but usually as the body gets closer to single digits it becomes more resistent.

I did the readings myself maybe they were not exact but should have been pretty close, I know definitely had to drop a least 3%(I can see it as well as many others can) and that 15%BF was taken at the begining of November, I didnt get strict with my deit til December I dont know if my bodyfat had drop much between that time as I would have noticed.
What I meant by a cheat week was just not being as strict with your meals and maybe mixing your carbs and fats stuff like that and maybe having some junk food(unhealthy foods) for a meal, but nothing like eating like total **** for every meal all week.

**beenie** · 01-11-2004, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by dIeSeL_225

I did the readings myself maybe they were not exact but should have been pretty close, I know definitely had to drop a least 3%(I can see it as well as many others can) and that 15%BF was taken at the begining of November, I didnt get strict with my deit til December I dont know if my bodyfat had drop much between that time as I would have noticed.
What I meant by a cheat week was just not being as strict with your meals and maybe mixing your carbs and fats stuff like that and maybe having some junk food(unhealthy foods) for a meal, but nothing like eating like total **** for every meal all week.

Well you know your body better than I do. If I have half a cup of nuts, I consider it a cheat day. I'll do it too, now and again, and I didn't for years. I find I that cheat takes me about 3 or 4 days to work off.

Mixing carbs and fats isn't even an issue for my diet, so I can't respond specifically.

At any rate, I am glad that you, are not going to pig out, but just relax a bit. Whatevery you do, best of luck. If the modications are minor for convenience, I suspect the negative effects will be minor too.

**ectogainer** · 01-11-2004, 09:59 PM

I personally feel like if someone is having serious motivation problems or vacation it can't hurt to take a small break. But on the other hand I decided to take a break over christmas holidays (about a week and a half) and it turned into 3 weeks. HARD to get back but starting tomorow back hardcore for all year!

**bigsd67** · 01-11-2004, 10:09 PM

Well like i said, i went to the bahamas this past october and although i wanted to control myself during the time i did indulge a ****load more than i planned...however i did also workout 3 out of the 5 days and then i didnt cheat for a month after i got back...yes a month is quite some time, but i wasnt in bad shape before i left and after that month i felt 100%. Now for me that 5 days of paradise was worth not cheating for a month after.

**Jackman** · 01-11-2004, 10:19 PM

From Beenie"Well you know your body better than I do. If I have
half a cup of nuts, I consider it a cheat day. I'll do it too, now and again, and I didn't for years. I find I that cheat takes me about 3 or 4 days to work off."

doesnt a cheat day once a week actually help you so you dont get used to your diet?

**beenie** · 01-11-2004, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by Jackman

From Beenie"Well you know your body better than I do. If I have
half a cup of nuts, I consider it a cheat day. I'll do it too, now and again, and I didn't for years. I find I that cheat takes me about 3 or 4 days to work off."

doesnt a cheat day once a week actually help you so you dont get used to your diet?

Personally, I try to avoid cheat days.

**bigsd67** · 01-11-2004, 10:23 PM

doesnt a cheat day once a week actually help you so you dont get used to your diet?

for the most part yes it does help you by not letting your body get accustomed to lowered calories...depends also on how much $hit you eat during that day.

**ADAWG** · 01-11-2004, 10:24 PM

Take your breaks if you need them because every one is different whether it be your personal potential or your very own goals. What we do and the life we live is not an easy task and a break can keep us sane as well as give our body time to rest, heal, and start over fresh with a new motivation. I'm not saying anyone is wrong on this forum because you all know your selves and I have the up most respect for all of you.

**Jackman** · 01-11-2004, 10:41 PM

im just talking about going to my favorite food place applebees and ordering any meal i want once a week and keeping on track the rest of the day. Up the calories but not to much and def keeps me on track with my diet knowing im still loosing fat and still can have my fav meal at the end of the week....

**beenie** · 01-11-2004, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by bigsd67

doesnt a cheat day once a week actually help you so you dont get used to your diet?

for the most part yes it does help you by not letting your body get accustomed to lowered calories...depends also on how much $hit you eat during that day.

A lot of people say that the cheat day helps. I can't respond first hand on that one. Also I don't watch calories, just carbs. I am pretty lean, so what I am doing basically works for me.

A few people on the board have commented about the benefits of dextrose post -work out and I think I will try it in a couple weeks.

I have been working out for a few years and i can get bf% down fairly low, but for what I lift I really should have a lot more size. I used to be fat, and my fear of going back is so great, thats why I haven't done the dextrose thing so far and why I don't cheat. It may not be rational, its just how I feel. Low carb got me from 30% bf to 10%. I am currently a tab bit over that but not much.

But I don't really have much mass, especially for the weights I can lift. I dont know how much of this is routine based and how much is diet based. For years, people were telling me that I was overtraining and doing too much cardio. I actually cut back on cardio a couple months ago after doing lots for years. No weight increase, and I seem to be adding mass for the first time, so maybe I should have listened all along. In the final analysis, I would sacrifice size for lean any day - but maybe doesn't have to be a trade off. So, the cario thing is one thing and the cheat day probably won't happen with me.