What's the right approach to a clean refeed?

Hi, I've searched through the forums and couldn't find any concrete thread discussing on how to deal with a clean refeed. I guess I'll ask a few questions backed with what I have read through some threads.

Hopefully this will help not only myself but others... would be awesome if there was a sticky.

I'm 5'6 / 134lbs / male, 27yrs / 14% BF (had it measured today) , 40/40/20 cutting to ~10-11%. AM Cardio (6 days) + Weight Train (4 day split)

- my diet was posted here : http://67.18.108.244/showthread.php?t=193086
- taking in on training days about ~ 1650 calories, non-training a few hundred less (dropped some low gi carbs)

Based on the Harris-Benedict calculations and my activity level (light x 1.375) , my maintenence calories is : 2138 Calories.

1. Should a clean refeed be multiplied by a certain factor and added to the maintencne calories? i.e. by 1.25 OR 25% OR 50% of maintence?

2. I undestand that a clean refeed isn't really a cheat meal, rather it is a day where one ingests higher amounts of mid-higher GI carbs throughout the day such as Whole Wheat-Grain Pasta/Bread. Breads, Cereals, Fat Free Sugar Free Ice Cream are ok too from what I read elsewhere.

** when eating these meals, do we treat it the same - i.e. CHO-PRO and not CHO-PRO-FAT?

** can all the meals be CHO-PRO for that day? or is it for a certain period i.e. 8-12 hours of the day.

3. Are refeeds ok for those using a 40/40/20 ratio since they are getting moderate amount of carbs, although they are low GI, our bodies after a while will have lower levels of thyroid hormone, insulin, and leptin. My PWO is also a low GI-PRO meal.

4. On refeed days, I assume nobody is training right?

** Can go back to normal routine diet and lifting the following day too correct?

5. So lastly, I might be mistaken when I read that refeed frequency NOT ENTIRELY proportional to decreased body fat. (i.e. lower BF, more refeeds)

** wish there guidelines as to when you do need one :)

Thanks again for your help .

bump - getting hungry :)

Refeeds are of benefit to any type of diet when one is hypocaloric for an extended period of time. The best way to get in a nice good clean refeed would be to comsume about 1,000 cals above maitnience over the course of a day eating primarily carbs. Of course its good to get some protein in there and best to keep fats to minimum, and make all the fats you get EFA's. You ca mix in some Hi-Gi carbs (Sugar etc..) as the effect they have on insulin is a positive thing on a refeed. I'd say 70-75% of your cals should come from carbs. Don't train on your refeed day, as you are trying to fill up glycogen stores amongst other things. Also typically refeeds need to be increases the further you get below you natural Body Fat setpoint. This is to try and manipulate the hormonal changes your body wil be making to fight to keep you fat.

One last note, it could be of benefit to do a full body depletion workout the morning of a refeed, which may allow greater glycogen storage.

Great stuff, thanks Giantz :) Excellent info - your advice has always helped me out towards a positve direction.


* So you just stick to something like 70% C / 20% P / 10% F ratio, 1000 cal over maintencer for you refeed day?

* So basically,
EFA fat meal : pro- EFA fat
refeed meals : pro-cho
cheat meal : fat-cho-pro

* meal timings on a refeed days are every 2-3 hours?

** I haven't had whole wheat pasta in ages - I can use this istead of consuming more brown rice and oats that I use every freaking day eh? I was thinking of sticking to the pasta and rice today. I've seen the list of other low-gi carbs you posted in other threads (i.e. sweet potato / yams / grits / cream of wheat / lentils / chick peas / garbanzo beans ... etc etc.)

I must read more up on the concept of setpoint, as this is crucial - but anyways, I am following the main points now as you put them.

Timing is not really a concern that day....You can use regualr pasta, scrwe the whole wheat stuff. Regular pasta is very Low-Gi anyways, which is a plus. Also don't be afraid to throw some Hi-Gi cabrs in there the effects on insulin will be positive for that day. Setpoint is where your body wants to be, the BF at which you are perfoming optimally, this is genetic. And the lower you get past you setpoint the more your bdy will try to get you back there.