Importance of cheating (for me)

[JohnnyVegas]

I dialed in my diet (finally) and started with great results. The plan is to cut fat, not "weight." I lost seven pounds the first week (lots of water I think) and then two pounds for the next four weeks.

Then I completely stalled. Nothing changed for a week and a half. I was being completely faithful to the diet, and doing my cardio 3 - 5 days a week.

Finally I got frustrated, took a break and ate what I wanted for four days. I kept it reasonable calorie wise, but had some pizza, cereal and other things I had been missing.

I hit the diet again this monday, lost the little weight I had gained, and this morning was lower than my sticking point. I had been doing one cheat meal a week during the diet, but it was steak and a loaded potato. Maybe that wasn't enough to shock the system?

I know this is completely anecdotal, but has anyone else had the same experience?

[gbrice75]

It all depends on the diet you run. If you were severely restricting calories, then it would make perfect sense... basically a refeed. It's needed to give a boost to your metabolism, not to mention the hormones that are affected.

I hate to call it 'cheating' though. Cheating has a negative connotation. I'd rather call it a planned/controlled refeed.

[JohnnyVegas]

I started at just under 2,000 calories and eventually moved to just over 1,800. It was working great, but I was getting burned out. I can eat the same thing every day with no problem, but after around six weeks I couldn't stand the thought of eating, and I stopped losing. I just needed a break.

Mine wasn't planned or controlled. Heh. But, next time it will be. We will see how things are going in four weeks. Maybe I will go to dinner with my wife every three or five weeks. She misses that.

[gbrice75]

If you're consistently eating around 1800 calories/day, i'd definitely suggest a refeed, or 1 big meal at the end of the week. Not necessarily a cheat in terms of junky foods, but a good over abundance of calories in that sitting.

Go out to dinner with your wife every 2 week! Your body will love you, and she'll love you even more!

[zaggahamma]

glad you got to have your cake and eat it too...interested thread...subscribed

[JohnnyVegas]

I think my one big meal a week wasn't big enough. Usually 8oz steak, a loaded potato and broccoli or asparagus.

Moving forward with the new refeed/dinner with wife plan.

[SlimmerMe]

Happened to me once. Went off my program for a few days and when went back on lost more weight and was shocked.....thrilled actually!

[JohnnyVegas]

glad you got to have your cake and eat it too...interested thread...subscribed

Maybe I can incorporate cake into my refeed! Mmmmmmm, cake.

[JohnnyVegas]

Happened to me once. Went off my program for a few days and when went back on lost more weight and was shocked.....thrilled actually!

See, I should have just asked about this a week ago. Sure, I stumbled into success accidentally, but l am just lucky I am the kind of person that can go off diet for four days and then snap right back to it...only to find the weight loss continuing. Maybe if I had asked for advice I wouldn't need to depend on luck.

[SlimmerMe]

Well I confess I tried it again a couple weeks later and it didn't work. I was hoping I could pull it off again! I got lucky the first time. Perhaps it is necessary to be "good" for an extended amount of time for it to work.

[zaggahamma]

well i "cheat" just to maintain

[Buddhabody]

"cheating" works but I dont recommend it be the basis for "bad" eating. A burger and fries once a week would be fine but oreo cookies, ice cream, candy all in one or two days is counter productive.

[JohnnyVegas]

^^^^ Agreed. I cannot remember the last time I had candy or ice cream. But, having two slices of pizza was nice. And a bowl of Raisin Bran....Mmmmmmm.

I see from your avatar how your contest prep turned out...nice! You look awesome man.

[SlimmerMe]

^^^ and before coming here? I thought raisin brand was eating clean.....

[Buddhabody]

Thanks Vegas, I did alright next time I will nail my conditioning but to make it easier I'm actually undertaking a really clean bulk right now. So far so good.

[zaggahamma]

^^^ and before coming here? I thought raisin brand was eating clean.....

lol....was thinking same...although knew raisin bran had a lot of sugar albeit most from the raisins...i couldnt imagine raisin bran being a cheat meal..thats dedication!

[SlimmerMe]

Had a cheat yesterday (first one in about 10 days if I recall correctly maybe even longer) and had a hot dog with chile and baked beans and potato salad and beer.....and......woke up 1.5 pounds lighter!

[JohnnyVegas]

I only say Raisin Bran is a cheat meal because it isn't on my diet. I always consider anything not on my list as a cheat, but I realize there is a big difference between a bowl of cereal and a steady diet of chips, mac-n-cheese and ice cream.

I don't have a hard time sticking to a diet. I can eat the same meals every day for a long time. Hell, I was a vegetarian for years while still eating out and doing things with all my meat-eating friends. Never had a single bite of meat. Ironic that I now eat pounds of meat a day.

[zaggahamma]

I only say Raisin Bran is a cheat meal because it isn't on my diet. I always consider anything not on my list as a cheat, but I realize there is a big difference between a bowl of cereal and a steady diet of chips, mac-n-cheese and ice cream.

I don't have a hard time sticking to a diet. I can eat the same meals every day for a long time. Hell, I was a vegetarian for years while still eating out and doing things with all my meat-eating friends. Never had a single bite of meat. Ironic that I now eat pounds of meat a day.

your right...life is like that...