"Trick" your metabolism with the DIRTY REFEED

[HerveDuchemin]

Well, after 14 days of eating extremely clean (and flattening out quite a bit), I finally cracked. I’m pretty lean now though, so I think I’m ready to do it once every 7 days. Yesterday night, I had General Tso’s Shrimp from the Chinese restaurant, then a whole chocolate bar, half a chocolate cake, and a little natural peanut butter. Whew. It was what I call the DIRTY REFEED. I woke up this morning, and DAMN do I look sick!! Veins everywhere, cuts, wow. But I do feel it in my stomach. So this morning I woke up and did 45 mins of cardio in a sweatshirt as soon as I woke up. I also know I have a bunch of preservatives in me, that’s why I was sweating more than usual. I am also very hot today because of the "trick" I pulled on my metabolism with the blast of calories and non-diet food. My muscles are full, and I will back off on the carbs today (getting them mostly from cucumber, and broccoli). I will drink a lot of water today, and eat only protein with my meals until later on if I feel I need some carbs. This day is the "quick flush" day to rid my body of the preservatives after the dirty refeed. Then tomorrow, it’s right back to my regular day filled with complex carbs for another 7-14 days, until the next refeed day! We all have our own ways, but this is how I like to do it!! If you are at a sticking point with your fat loss, and have been clean for like 2 weeks, give the dirty refeed a try for one day.

[Darkwatcher758]

you know its funny you saying this..

I went for 2 weeks eating clean, mostly proteins and fat very little complex carbs.

I ended up crashing after 2 weeks, and ordered 2 large pizza's and ate them all within 2 days. Of course I took (BSN cheaters relief) even though if it didn't do anything, I take it to give my mind pure satisfaction that I tried. No biggie.

I thought for sure I was going to gain weight, well I did gain water weight 8lbs or so, but then2 days late if anything I lost the 8lbs water weight + 2 more lbs. So I was confused at why, but I work out hard and I keep myself active so 2 days of cheating didn't mess it up for me, made me relax to and not burn out as fast.

I still don't know how I managed to lose 2lbs in the whole process, because usually all that happens is I maintain the weight but whatever no complaints. *knock on wood

[Finnegan Bell]

Cheat day has also good psychological effect,it gives u motivation and a pump for the next week.

[abercrombie3f]

Great post!

[RoAR]

perfect! now i dont feel so bad after downing KFC's mega meal last night and bunch of brownies

fantastic post

[Odin]

That may work when you are carrying as much muscle mass and as lean as you are Herve. A dirty refeed is still a cheat and I still don't reccomend cheating for obese people or those that can never seem to get cut. Planned refeeds are one thing but many just can't get it right or take it as an excuse to binge. Many still have a problem with food and if you still want to binge all the time you have a problem. (Not you, Herve obviously LOL, nice avatar dude.)

Darkwatcher, you may just not be eating enough calories? Ahh who knows. You know I have tried to help you in other threads but you never seem to respond to me. Here is an article on cheat meals that suggests one meal is not going to raise your metabolism contrary to popular opinion:

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/...ion/damage.htm

[imcrazy]

dont go overboard just eat those "cheat foods" moderately

[Darkwatcher758]

Hey Odin,

I do listen to you man, I work 14 hours a day now so I been really busy and my 2nd job I can't even go on the pc. by the time I get home I'm tired, but trust me I read them.

I agree with you, I might not be eating too many calories, but Im not really complaining, I'm losing weight and building stregth so far the progress has been alright. But the theory itself doesn't make sense.

for instance, say I had 1200 calories a day, and for me to maintain I remember is 3200 I think. Well 6 slices of pizza plus what I ate that day pass 3200, yet I didn't gain weight and lost it.

so how is that possible?

I think my calorie intake is low yes, but I'm not losing muscle yet since most of everything I eat is protein or fat. Sometimes I'll do complex carbs and I do time to time in the days. It what gives me energy and helps me think.

I eat nuts time to time while on breaks with coffee keeps me awake (no homo) lol :P and I get a good enough energy to lift when I get home after 14 hours.

[HerveDuchemin]

Originally Posted by Odin

That may work when you are carrying as much muscle mass and as lean as you are Herve. A dirty refeed is still a cheat and I still don't reccomend cheating for obese people or those that can never seem to get cut. Planned refeeds are one thing but many just can't get it right or take it as an excuse to binge. Many still have a problem with food and if you still want to binge all the time you have a problem. (Not you, Herve obviously LOL, nice avatar dude.)

Darkwatcher, you may just not be eating enough calories? Ahh who knows. You know I have tried to help you in other threads but you never seem to respond to me. Here is an article on cheat meals that suggests one meal is not going to raise your metabolism contrary to popular opinion:

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/...ion/damage.htm

No believe me, I have my bouts with binges. The key to the dirty refeed, I should have made clearer, is do not do it two days in a row, and to only do it after a bunch of days of being very clean and strict with your diet. I also made it clear in my post that I'm pretty lean now...and you're right, the leaner you are, the more this kind of thing works because you can "see" the results better on your muscles. If you aren't lean enough, you have nothing to gauge, except the way the muscle "feels". Even so, I recommend it to get past sticking points when you're pretty lean.

[Odin]

Originally Posted by Darkwatcher758

for instance, say I had 1200 calories a day, and for me to maintain I remember is 3200 I think. Well 6 slices of pizza plus what I ate that day pass 3200, yet I didn't gain weight and lost it.

so how is that possible?

You took in more calories than you normally do and you lost more weight than you normally do. What does that suggest to you?

[Darkwatcher758]

then how come when I do eat 2100 calories, and my macro says I need 3800 to maintain I just maintain weight instead of lose?

[matthor]

right on herve - after i cheat and pack in the sodium+fat+carbs my veins EXPLODE! and im very veiny already, like full stomach vascularity ALL the time, and after a cheat, my whole torso is like an anatomy chart - assuming i dont overdo it too much and pack on too much water weight, the next day is pretty crazy for me.

i dont often 'cheat' tho, generally i just clean refeed and get slightly less dramatic results, but im thinking about easing up a bit on my strictness - i've been avoiding life a little due to concerns about 'what will i eat' so im thinking from now on i'll go with the flow, eat as clean as i can in the circumstances i find myself and keep training like a demon.

Having a really low BF does give us a little more leeway than most so i guess hte moral is work hard to get low, work harder to stay low, then have a treat every now and then and it wont kill your progress - it may even help u out

[HerveDuchemin]

Originally Posted by matthor

work hard to get low, work harder to stay low, then have a treat every now and then and it wont kill your progress - it may even help u out

Couldn't have said it any better than that! well said

[abercrombie3f]

I'm considering doing a "cheat/free" meal once a week. Do a lot of people do em??

[Scott~]

Join us in the "cheat contest" thread Herve.

[BymerM3]

Originally Posted by HerveDuchemin

Well, after 14 days of eating extremely clean (and flattening out quite a bit), I finally cracked. I’m pretty lean now though, so I think I’m ready to do it once every 7 days. Yesterday night, I had General Tso’s Shrimp from the Chinese restaurant, then a whole chocolate bar, half a chocolate cake, and a little natural peanut butter. Whew. It was what I call the DIRTY REFEED. I woke up this morning, and DAMN do I look sick!! Veins everywhere, cuts, wow. But I do feel it in my stomach. So this morning I woke up and did 45 mins of cardio in a sweatshirt as soon as I woke up. I also know I have a bunch of preservatives in me, that’s why I was sweating more than usual. I am also very hot today because of the "trick" I pulled on my metabolism with the blast of calories and non-diet food. My muscles are full, and I will back off on the carbs today (getting them mostly from cucumber, and broccoli). I will drink a lot of water today, and eat only protein with my meals until later on if I feel I need some carbs. This day is the "quick flush" day to rid my body of the preservatives after the dirty refeed. Then tomorrow, it’s right back to my regular day filled with complex carbs for another 7-14 days, until the next refeed day! We all have our own ways, but this is how I like to do it!! If you are at a sticking point with your fat loss, and have been clean for like 2 weeks, give the dirty refeed a try for one day.

peanut butter? this is one of my foods and I am on a diet. I thought peanut butter is good? whats your diet plan ??? and whatever it is its working for you great man judging by the pix whats you BF%?

[HerveDuchemin]

Originally Posted by BymerM3

peanut butter? this is one of my foods and I am on a diet. I thought peanut butter is good? whats your diet plan ??? and whatever it is its working for you great man judging by the pix whats you BF%?

Sorry, when I said a little natural peanut butter, I meant half the jar. Oops. Had half the jar in combination with a spoon, AND spread over an entire bar of dark chocolate. It's a great diet food, but should be limited to 1-2 tblspoons per serving (especially late night, when dieting on a normal day I just take 1 tblspoon and suck on it like a little kid sucking on a lollipop, or else it's easy to go crazy with it because its so good).

[HerveDuchemin]

Originally Posted by Scott~

Join us in the "cheat contest" thread Herve.

Ugh, I've been looking at that thread for a while now, and am scared to unleash it upon myself lol. Next time I do some damage, I'll post it up in there so y'all can laugh at my binge-eating ass.

[vein5]

When I started dieting 14 weeks ago I never cheated, but now that my abs have come out I cheat once a week, not b/c I want to but b/c my body demands me to. But man after that cheat I can diet with out any temptations for another week, I can train more intensly. HerveDuchemin: Why are you dieting? From your picture you look like your b/f is around 5%.

[vein5]

HerveDuchemin- also what does your diet and training look like while cutting? I am nervous I am over doing the cardio.

[HerveDuchemin]

Originally Posted by vein5

When I started dieting 14 weeks ago I never cheated, but now that my abs have come out I cheat once a week, not b/c I want to but b/c my body demands me to. But man after that cheat I can diet with out any temptations for another week, I can train more intensly. HerveDuchemin: Why are you dieting? From your picture you look like your b/f is around 5%.

A lot of people have pictures at 5% Doesnt mean we stay there! My body goes through all sorts of changes throughout the year depending on what I have going on. It's funny that a lot of people see photos of fitness models and bodybuilders and think like they look like that all the time. We are all human and all go through the same changes

[arlowf]

Originally Posted by HerveDuchemin

No believe me, I have my bouts with binges. The key to the dirty refeed, I should have made clearer, is do not do it two days in a row, and to only do it after a bunch of days of being very clean and strict with your diet. I also made it clear in my post that I'm pretty lean now...and you're right, the leaner you are, the more this kind of thing works because you can "see" the results better on your muscles. If you aren't lean enough, you have nothing to gauge, except the way the muscle "feels". Even so, I recommend it to get past sticking points when you're pretty lean.

Not trying to be rude, but do you use AAS at all? Ever?

[HerveDuchemin]

Originally Posted by arlowf

Not trying to be rude, but do you use AAS at all? Ever?

Once, but not again. I'm 26 now, and did a single cycle once when I was overweight and fat at 20 years old (messed with D-bol and Testosterone, then Equipoise/Tren/Winstrol), and it just made me look worse, because I didn't have the discipline on my diet...I just wanted to be big. When I got cut, I did it naturally, and I got way more cut than the guys at the gym who were doing steroids! I dieted with a military-type discipline, and didn't ask questions. I ate that way "because thats just how it had to be". Period. I didn't worry about how the food tasted. I knew I wanted abs, so if it meant that I had to eat raw brown rice and just throw it down because I was on the run and didn't have time...that's what HAD to be done. You can look like you are on anabolic steroids, if you eat cleaner than everyone else. Everyone will think you are, when you achieve a look leaner than most people ever see in real life. I am pretty honest about everything, and have no problem admitting that I dabbled when I was young. Had I chosen to go pro NPC, I might have done more cycles. But I didn't need it, so 1 was enough. Health and a nice physique is more important to me, and knowing that I have dedication to stick to a caveman-type diet.

[The Brotherhood]

thats why you incorporate refeeds. Scientifically, a single meal with massive calories isnt sufficient to "boost your metabolism", aka the habitual cheaters retort.

Dont worry about once in awhile though. If you want to keep your muscles full, refeed periodically.

[HerveDuchemin]

Originally Posted by The Brotherhood

thats why you incorporate refeeds. Scientifically, a single meal with massive calories isnt sufficient to "boost your metabolism", aka the habitual cheaters retort.

Dont worry about once in awhile though. If you want to keep your muscles full, refeed periodically.

This I know. There's just a difference between the clean refeed, and the dirty refeed. Sometimes you just need to all out "cheat", whereas 2 meals consisting of 2 big gigantic yams isn't really a "cheat" to me. There's something about going clean for a long time and then just eating all that junk that makes you look awesome if you're already lean enough.

[zangetsu]

this is a old thead but very interesting..maybe some more opinions would be good

[quest55720]

I have noticed the same thing my weight loss would slow untill I would plateau it would take around 12-15 weeks. I would then take a week off and when I came back I would be losing again. Some of my best 15 week loss cycles came after week long roadies were I ate like crap.

[snitz]

As far as actual physical changes, cheat days of any kind always seem to hinder my progress =/ But I do know that they provide the best motivation to keep working harder the following week. I still feel bloated from the HUGE bowl of penne pasta + cap'n crunch last night! But i havent the slightest desire to have any carbs at all today =D

[nithos]

Originally Posted by The Brotherhood

thats why you incorporate refeeds. Scientifically, a single meal with massive calories isnt sufficient to "boost your metabolism", aka the habitual cheaters retort.

Agreed. But it can help keep the thyroid happy.

Herve sounds like you were already on a pretty low carb diet. Nothing does a body good like filling out the muscles and replentishing the glycogen stores.

[nithos]

Originally Posted by snitz

I still feel bloated from the HUGE bowl of penne pasta + cap'n crunch last night! But i havent the slightest desire to have any carbs at all today =D

Try to avoid liquids 45 minutes before and after a carb load. It will make a worlds of difference.