Cheat Day / Meal Help

Nitefly · 4 May 2011 at 22:06

Hello all,

I've been following a routine at the moment for fat loss (6,2", 12st6lbs, 2000kcals a day, +150g protein, ~100g carbs towards the start of the day, 5 days of exercise per rest day, 3 days of weights, no naughty foods). I would say I stick to it pretty strictly.

I've had results but I'm finding myself going absolutely bat**** mad craving for tasty treats. Last week, god himself could not have stopped me from marching to the shop to buy a kitkat - boy it was good! I decided to have a cheat day last week that was a rather excessive binge that involved drinking, which I really enjoyed. I've also been reading about the benefits of cheat days in the sense that it stops your body entering starvation mode.

I'm also finding that my diet is making me reluctant to partake in going out (much to icecold's disgust

) in the evenings due to drinking. I'm not ashamed to say that enjoy a good drink and I like drinking myself into a silly drunk buzz on occation.

I'm not sure what's more suited to me, a cheat day or cheat meals? I find conflicting advice on how often to have them, or how much to have. Also, what about drinking? I know that it's not good for you by any means but should / could it be combined with my cheat day? I'm not training for any event, but I don't want to ruin my progress which has been slow, but steady (average of around 1.25lb a week lost, just shy of 2 stone total - strength has generally improved particuarly on my legs and back).

Any advice would be great, many thanks

Clum · 4 May 2011 at 22:16

I'd have a cheat meal once per week (one meal, not a 5 hour binge), and a full on boozy, anything goes cheat day maybe once a month. life's a balance and there's no point in becoming a social outcast/depriving yourself of fun over the sake of losing those extra pounds, that would probably be invisible under clothes anyway.

I'm not really cutting or anything, but find that looking forward to my monthly **** up really helps me focus on keeping diet and training in line for the rest of the month. One night isn't going to make you fat and weak. In all honestly due to a few big things going on in my life, I've been destroyed the last 6 weekends (booze/eating out/little sleep) and all my lifts have kept going up in the gym during that time. I do time nights out so that any inevitable hangover is on a rest day though, as the gym would be a bit pointless. Aim for cheat meals on gym days to make the most of them.

Chris1712 · 4 May 2011 at 22:18

Just get on with your life. I have cheat meals and go out on the booze once in a while, is it really worth missing out on hanging with your mates & having a good time when it might set you back one week in what will hopefully be the rest of your life as a healthier person.

Yeah, it sucks weighing in with 3kg of water weight from 10 pints and a massive kebab. But it'll be gone in a week (assuming you go back to strict) and you had some good times with your mates aswell!

Clum said:
I'm not really cutting or anything, but find that looking forward to my monthly **** up really helps me focus on keeping diet and training in line for the rest of the month.

This, my weekly Maccy D's helps keep everything in line. Have cheat meals, but know when your having them. Don't just decide randomly "Meh today will be cheat day" make it ALWAYS Friday night or similar.

p4radox · 4 May 2011 at 22:26

Nitefly said:
6,2", 11st6lbs

That's not very heavy, I can't imagine there being that much fat on you to lose!

Nitefly · 4 May 2011 at 22:31

p4radox said:
That's not very heavy, I can't imagine there being that much fat on you to lose!

Ah, 12 stone 6 pounds, my bad! OP edited

Thankfully there isn't much fat. However, I used to be fairly obese as a child and like my dad I store a fair bit of fat on my chest, which I've decided has to go. Progress is being made

kai · 5 May 2011 at 11:04

It seems to me you are getting to wrapped up in it all; i use to crave a cheat day but there comes a point where you don’t need it or you can make some compromises. With a good diet and plenty of cardio you will lose the weight, regardless of the odd cheat meal weekly/monthly.

On my cutting diet i went as low as 900ish Calories a day with around 30 minutes cardio a day and i would seriously crave some junk as my stomach was shrinking, but just drink water and your body will start to adapt and get past the hunger pains for rubbish

In terms of compromises for drinking, I tend to drink something like Vodka & Diet coke but yet again a few pints is not going to rock the boat, provided you put the time in with some cardio.

Russinating · 5 May 2011 at 12:20

6ft 2"?! I always pictured you as a shorty.

Steedie · 5 May 2011 at 12:25

Please please please do not be so strict as to put yourself through torture when you don't need too

Unless you are competing or have medical reasons to lose the weight asap, enjoy life. As mentioned earlier if you stick a good diet and exercise plan for the majority of the time, a cheat meal or even cheat day is going to do much harm

Eat and drink as you please mate, as long as you put the work in when you're not "cheating", you'll still see the results you want

smit101 · 5 May 2011 at 13:57

The cravings are probably because your not eating enough fats! I know, intake of dietry fat and weight loss doesn't seem logical, truth is it is because fats will provide satiety and reduce or eliminate cravings, they will also slow the absorption of foods thus keeping blood sugar more stable by minimizing insulin release.

You'll still lose weight if you introduce butter and other animal fats, (Virgin coconut oil is also a great option) as long as you keep carbs relatively low. Also butter and coconut oil are constructed from short and medium-chain triglycerides which are utilised as energy rather than being stored as body fat.

Buffman · 5 May 2011 at 14:08

Steedie said:
Eat and drink as you please mate, as long as you put the work in when you're not "cheating", you'll still see the results you want

This. It will hamper progress, but it's not worth sacrificing real life to lower your bodyfat% small amounts.

However at 6'2 12st6 I can't imagine you even the need to lose much fat, that's pretty light!

Nitefly · 5 May 2011 at 14:11

kai said:
On my cutting diet i went as low as 900ish Calories a day with around 30 minutes cardio a day and i would seriously crave some junk as my stomach was shrinking, but just drink water and your body will start to adapt and get past the hunger pains for rubbish

900 calories?! That can't be safe surely?

Russinating said:
6ft 2"?! I always pictured you as a shorty.

I'm hurt

smit101 said:
The cravings are probably because your not eating enough fats! I know, intake of dietry fat and weight loss doesn't seem logical, truth is it is because fats will provide satiety and reduce or eliminate cravings, they will also slow the absorption of foods thus keeping blood sugar more stable by minimizing insulin release.

You'll still lose weight if you introduce butter and other animal fats, (Virgin coconut oil is also a great option) as long as you keep carbs relatively low. Also butter and coconut oil are constructed from short and medium-chain triglycerides which are utilised as energy rather than being stored as body fat.

I have a rather large amount of fat in my diet as I eat a lot of chicken thighs / high meat content burgers. Fat is probably my highest source of calories

My weigh-in in the OP was 2 weeks ago (I've taken to weighing myself every 2 weeks) and today I came in at 12st1lb, which I'm sure is due to fluctuations (plus a low 12.6 and a high 12.1). Either way, seems like a fair amount.... and it included my cheat day!

Any more advice welcome, thanks for all the replies

Nitefly · 5 May 2011 at 14:14

The Craig said:
However at 6'2 12st6 I can't imagine you even the need to lose much fat, that's pretty light!

It is fairly light, I don't have huge amounts of fat on me but I do have isolated pockets that are stopping me from looking athletic - I really want to bust them before I start looking at gaining again.

Oh, I managed to kill my cravings yesterday with 2 cups of black tea with cinnamon, which seems to be a good idea.

icecold · 5 May 2011 at 15:42

Nitefly said:
I'm also finding that my diet is making me reluctant to partake in going out (much to icecold's disgust ) in the evenings due to drinking.

indeed

In my opinion there are two manageable ways of sustaining a diet for long-ish term fat loss. The first is to be BRUTALLY strict most of the time and have a cheat day. The second is to be slightly more relaxed while sticking to some basic rules (no junk, sweets etc.), but here you generally try to avoid a huge splurge.

And all the shades of grey in between. Of course you can be stricter but you can end up making yourself miserable.

You possibly just need some more variety in your meals. Something like a stew with meat and beans can be a nice change and is great for satiety (I'm sure you've made some before...). Or a chilli with a small potato.

Something good to remember is that if you associate exercise with some slightly naughtier meals you reduce the tendency for the calories to be stored as fat. I think it's something like a minimum of 2 minutes of muscle contractions 30 minutes before and after a meal causes the expression of a protein (glut-4 if memory serves) onto muscle cell membranes.

You don't need to martyr yourself to lose fat

Chris1712 · 5 May 2011 at 16:41

Just noticed you both are in Bristol, where do you guys train?

'Wes · 5 May 2011 at 16:43

I rarely drink or go out drinking as me and my friends are usually busy/tried after a week at work, so i'm okay in the alcohol section, plus, i'm not a big fan of alcohol either, i have enough of it after an hour so.

icecold · 5 May 2011 at 17:13

We don't train together any more :'( but I usually go to the uni gym. A recent equipment change has made it fairly useless though, so I'm going to try going to Empire.

Danfoss2011 · 5 May 2011 at 17:20

2000 caliros is way too much!!! When i go for wine session 2 weeks i dump down to 500 and drink 6L of water. Flush most crap out of me.

Normaly i just take in 1200 cals

Nitefly · 5 May 2011 at 17:25

Danfoss2011 said:
2000 caliros is way too much!!! When i go for wine session 2 weeks i dump down to 500 and drink 6L of water. Flush most crap out of me.

Normaly i just take in 1200 cals

It doesn't seem like too much, any less and I'd just be starving myself with the exercise I am doing.

Chris1712 said:
Just noticed you both are in Bristol, where do you guys train?

I go to Anytime Fitness on the triangle, which has limited equipment in the sense that it only has one Olympic barbell. However waiting is really rare because most people there just stand around and do dumbell curls or use the smith machine. It's also 24 hours, which is a bonus.

The_Judge · 5 May 2011 at 19:22

Let yourself go on cheat days, 10 pints, pizza, ice cream, scoff it all

1 day every 7-10 days isnt going to make much difference.

Clum · 6 May 2011 at 01:14

Danfoss2011 said:
2000 caliros is way too much!!! When i go for wine session 2 weeks i dump down to 500 and drink 6L of water. Flush most crap out of me.

Normaly i just take in 1200 cals

Are you a catwalk model? That is an eating disorder. 500 per day is dangerously low for a human, even if only for two weeks. You're malnourishing yourself to the extent that it may pose a very real danger to your life. Living on 1200 is still ridiculously low for a small woman, let alone a man. Rethink your diet man; you must feel like crap day in, day out.