“Cheating on weekends means you’re willing to be 5/7ths healthy.” – Jim Mullanaphy
A carb refeed is a technique quite often used by athletes, bodybuilders and gym warriors.
It is a component of carb cycling. An individual will eat low-carb for a certain amount of days, then change things up for one day and switch from low-carb/high-fat to low-fat/high carb.
This serves various purposes, such as filling up muscle glycogen stores, adding variety to the diet and spiking levels of satiety and fat burning hormones like leptin.
A cheat meal, or cheat day, is different.
It involves one meal or one day where you can eat whatever you want. Pizza, cakes, ice cream… you name it.
A cheat meal, in my opinion at least, is different from a carb refeed. Instead of being a strategic method of increasing performance or body composition, it is a “break” from the diet and often involves eating crap.
Cheat Meals vs. Carb Refeeds
In my opinion, carb refeeds are absolutely fine from time to time as long as they contain healthy foods.
They don’t have to involve sugar- and wheat-laden garbage. They can include healthier starches like potatoes, sweet potatoes, maybe even some rice and oats.
The cyclical ketogenic diet is based around these and many people have lost a ton of weight doing it.
However, cheat meals are bad, at least for those of us who are prone to food addiction because that one cheat meal can turn into a binge and a full-blown relapse.
What do you think? Do you include carb re-feeds or cheat meals in your routine? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.
Does this explain why runners often carb-up before/after running? I help a friend w/ a benefit 5K run she puts together. They serve a spaghetti supper the night before and a pancake breakfast after the run. There is no proteins or veggies offered at the breakfast, just some apples and oranges and juice. Not a runner at all and just curious.
That’s called “carb loading” and is similar. The main purpose is to make sure muscle glycogen stores are packed full in order to supply energy for the endurance event.
And quite pointless as you can store very little glycogen, (certainly not enough for an endurance event lasting several hours), as opposed to the almost limitless energy from fat stores.
Tried cheat meals on various occasions. You know – just the once, etc. It doesn’t work for me as the cheat meal tends to last two or even three days. I then have to rein myself in again. I always feel like s..t for a few days after it too.
I don’t intend to ever cheat…but Christmas is coming and we usually go to my stepdaughter’s house. I should be able to behave, and will try really hard! Hopefully I will still find what and how I’m eating satisfying. I think for real athletes (not me) that its fine to do the carb re-feed, as long as you say, they eat healthy foods. When I have lost all my excess baggage, I will try having a bit of potato or carrot and see how it goes. But till then I am not taking a chance! I am firm on not having wheat ever again!
I don’t do cheat days, or, to be more precise, I don’t stress about it. My usual caloric intake is bellow 1400 calories, and on occasion, maybe once every few months, it does happen that I get to around 2000. Even at that level, I’m still at a deficit, and I’m still losing, though. I find that this approach of trying not to stress about it made me less of a food addict.
I think actual, planned cheat meals would only emphasize and strengthen my issues with food. It’s further unhealthy relationship with food on top of an already unhealthy relationship.
As for carb refills, I’m never that low carb to begin with, so I don’t see it as an issue. On most days, carbs still make up about 30% of my calories, sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more. Compared to my levels pre-diet, which were probably at around 80-90%, this is much, much lower, so my cravings are down and not an issue. Also, while most of my calories used to come from bread, now it’s mostly vegetables and fruit. I only occasionally, once every few days eat a couple of those crispbread crackers, which are mostly whole grain and fiber, making them still a far superior option to my old white bread habits.
Forgot to mention, using this approach, I got from 200+kg to my current 111kg in less than a year, so we can safely say it’s working, at least for me :D
Amazing! Congrats on those results!