Cheat meal in cutting

[Ahmed Yasser]

Can i eat cheat meal every weekend in cutting ?
e.g. { fried chicken , piece of chocolate cake and cola } !!!

[gbrice75]

Can i eat cheat meal every weekend in cutting ?
e.g. { fried chicken , piece of chocolate cake and cola } !!!

Personally I wouldn't cheat just for the sake of cheating, but if it helps you psychologically, I say go for it. I'd recommend the cheat meal as your last meal of the day. This will ensure you don't 'get the taste' and then spend the rest of the day bingeing, if you had the cheat meal early in the day for example. Further, you can offset this somewhat by doing more cardio the following day, and/or your most intense workout (e.g. legs).

I like that you're asking about a cheat MEAL though, vs. a cheat DAY.

[sjamal1023]

I would say it depends on just how hard you're cutting. If you earned it, you earned it. Also, i think it also depends on how your body is at the moment. I personally like to go with full diet breaks for 10 days every 6-8 weeks. Look up full diet breaks Lyle McDonald. Works wonders. And I'm not sure anyone here would say go for a cola

[sjamal1023]

Personally I wouldn't cheat just for the sake of cheating, but if it helps you psychologically, I say go for it. Personally, I'd recommend the cheat meal as your last meal of the day. This will ensure you don't 'get the taste' and then spend the rest of the day bingeing, if you had the cheat meal early in the day for example. Further, you can offset this somewhat by doing more cardio the following day, and/or your most intense workout (e.g. legs).

I like that you're asking about a cheat MEAL though, vs. a cheat DAY.

Listen to the man!

[gbrice75]

I would say it depends on just how hard you're cutting. If you earned it, you earned it.

I have to respectfully disagree with this mindset. I used to think like this too - re: 'earning' a cheat meal. But then Nark enlightened me: "Rewarding good eating with bad eating creates a negative relationship with food".

The majority of people who are/have been overweight already have a negative relationship with food (i'm one of them), something that should be improved upon in tandem with the physical aspect. It's the same reason full blown cheat days will never be a good idea for guys like me, while they may be ok for other types (mesomorphs, ectomorphs, or people who simply don't have food issues).

But again, this doesn't mean don't have a cheat meal. It simply means approaching it differently in terms of how you think about it. It's not a reward, it's a break.

Also, i think it also depends on how your body is at the moment. I personally like to go with full diet breaks for 10 days every 6-8 weeks. Look up full diet breaks Lyle McDonald. Works wonders. And I'm not sure anyone here would say go for a cola

Agree with this. I've been trying to keep my 'cheats' relatively clean. Sushi, etc.

[Ahmed Yasser]

Look guys to phil heath ha ha ha

[krugerr]

Look guys to phil heath ha ha ha

Unfortunately these guys dont count. They're genetically gifted in every possible sense. I wish I could just sit and eat a box of donuts.

Damn, I watched the video of Kai Greene the other day after Mr Olympia, he must of eaten 250$ worth of food at a diner, she just kept bringing him pancakes, milkshakes, steak, ribs, burgers, chips... I havent competed so I guess after you step off stage you're just in the state where you can eat anything!

Listen to GB though, dont setup preplanned cheat days, just have it if you NEED it, and when it happens, dont gorge, just satisfy the cravings and stop.

[951thompson]

I think it is good to have a cheat every so often, to keep you sane,not on set days tho, have one on days you really crave one, some weeks you might not have one, some weeks you might. I also agree with the dude who suggests having a break from your diet once every 6-8 week's, this will boost (recharge) your metabolism. Sometimes if your metabolism slows you can go though all the pain of cutting without making any progress, having a scheduled break eating at maintenance for a week or two, once every 6-8 week's will do you more good then harm.

[Tx89]

Whats your bf% OP?

I'd say optimum refeed frequency (where you could incorporate a cheat) depends quite a lot on how lean you already are. Besides the other points the guys already made of course.

Personally I make a lot better cutting progress if I refeed only every 10-14 days and unfortunately held myself back quite a bit by doing it weekly for too long.

[gbrice75]

Whats your bf% OP?

I'd say optimum refeed frequency (where you could incorporate a cheat) depends quite a lot on how lean you already are. Besides the other points the guys already made of course.

Personally I make a lot better cutting progress if I refeed only every 10-14 days and unfortunately held myself back quite a bit by doing it weekly for too long.

On that note, we should also point out what should be the obvious difference between a refeed and a cheat. Too many people use their 'refeed' day as an excuse to have a full blown cheat day.

I've been approaching my refeed days with an IIFYM type mindset, and throwing in a cheat meal to boot. As I've said in other posts though, my idea of IIFYM seems to differ greatly from the widely accepted interpretation of the philosophy.

[Tron3219]

On that note, we should also point out what should be the obvious difference between a refeed and a cheat. Too many people use their 'refeed' day as an excuse to have a full blown cheat day.

I've been approaching my refeed days with an IIFYM type mindset, and throwing in a cheat meal to boot. As I've said in other posts though, my idea of IIFYM seems to differ greatly from the widely accepted interpretation of the philosophy.

Gb...I sent u a pm

-Chomp Chomp Chomp-Clink Clink Clink-

[baseline_9]

It depends....

It depends on what you class as a cheat meal....

Can you fit it into your macros for the day? If so then I wouldn't stress it too much and if it helps you to keep on track all week then one scheduled meal per week that fits ur macros is fine.... I'd actually encourage it to keep u from going insane....

If your cheat is going to be 3 tubs of ice cream, burgers and chips then ur not gonna fit it in ur macros and ur progress will be slower..... If u go over ur daily calories by 2000 because of a crazy cheat meal then u have just put 2000 calories back into the pot....

Structured re-feeds would be a much better option if your the type of person to get carried away with cheat meals..... Structure ur weekly macronutrient intake to allow for a few more flexible meals at the weekend or whatever....

Maybe hold back 5g of fat each day and 30g of carbs... After 6 days that's 30g of fat and 180g of carbs..... You could then add that back in for a re-feed meal.....

Just keep an eye on your macros and you can be much more flexible.....

[Tx89]

On that note, we should also point out what should be the obvious difference between a refeed and a cheat. Too many people use their 'refeed' day as an excuse to have a full blown cheat day.

I've been approaching my refeed days with an IIFYM type mindset, and throwing in a cheat meal to boot. As I've said in other posts though, my idea of IIFYM seems to differ greatly from the widely accepted interpretation of the philosophy.

X2

My approach is exactly the same. Using IIFYM this way actually helps me stay sane while dieting without having a full blown cheat day like I used to (which obviously hindered progress big time)

[gbrice75]

Structured re-feeds would be a much better option if your the type of person to get carried away with cheat meals..... Structure ur weekly macronutrient intake to allow for a few more flexible meals at the weekend or whatever....

^^ this