Logic behind Cheat Meals ?

[Flexz0r]

I dont really understand the logic here, i basically have a low calorie intake mon-fri (1300/day), plus gym 2 or 3 times a week, but then on the friday and the saturday evenings i'l head out and end up eating and drinking easily in excess of 5000kcals each evening.

Though, with this said, it's been my routine for the last couple of months and iv lost a steady 1-2 lbs a week since the start of summer.

Where are these calories going ? - i assumed all the drink/junk food would be converted to fat ?

oh, hello btw - long time lurker around the forums, finally made an acc lol

[th3pwn3r]

I dont really understand the logic here, i basically have a low calorie intake mon-fri (1300/day), plus gym 2 or 3 times a week, but then on the friday and the saturday evenings i'l head out and end up eating and drinking easily in excess of 5000kcals each evening.

Though, with this said, it's been my routine for the last couple of months and iv lost a steady 1-2 lbs a week since the start of summer.

Where are these calories going ? - i assumed all the drink/junk food would be converted to fat ?

oh, hello btw - long time lurker around the forums, finally made an acc lol

You're just slowing your progress with these binges. Either way your deficit must be good enough on the days you actually adhere to your non-cheating days. If it works you can keep doing it but down the road you may need to tighten up on that cheating.

[naija2atl]

I dont really understand the logic here, i basically have a low calorie intake mon-fri (1300/day), plus gym 2 or 3 times a week, but then on the friday and the saturday evenings i'l head out and end up eating and drinking easily in excess of 5000kcals each evening.

Though, with this said, it's been my routine for the last couple of months and iv lost a steady 1-2 lbs a week since the start of summer.

Where are these calories going ? - i assumed all the drink/junk food would be converted to fat ?

oh, hello btw - long time lurker around the forums, finally made an acc lol

Your body can only absorb so much calories in a given time frame. My guess, half of your 5000 cals got ****ted out the craper. Your cant absorb 100 % of your caloric intake

[th3pwn3r]

Your body can only absorb so much calories in a given time frame. My guess, half of your 5000 cals got ****ted out the craper. Your cant absorb 100 % of your caloric intake

This isn't supported by science. The body can absorb every damn calorie you give it over time. If you want you can believe that within an hour your body simply gets rid of what it can use within that hour it's up to you. That's not how the body works, it never has and never will. If the opposite were true nobody would store fat period, the body would just say "I'm only using what I need. I'll throw out the rest."

[msm00b]

Not entirely true. You can saturate your body's ability to absorb it all ... is why with a bad diet your sh*t will float -> fat content not absorbed ends up in your stool.

I consider cheat meals (within reason) to be useful in replenishing your glycogen stores and bolstering your morale. I try to time my cheat meals on the evenings before heavy lift days or long run days to make sure I'm tanked up on energy to flog my muscles to the max.

The harder you push your muscles the stronger they repair themselves. If you time your cheat meals right you safeguard against becoming demotivated and use it as a tool to augment your workout and prevent premature fatigue in the gym.

[TuffNoogies]

This isn't supported by science. The body can absorb every damn calorie you give it over time. If you want you can believe that within an hour your body simply gets rid of what it can use within that hour it's up to you. That's not how the body works, it never has and never will. If the opposite were true nobody would store fat period, the body would just say "I'm only using what I need. I'll throw out the rest."

This is very much supported by science. Fiber, for instance, affects the absorption efficiency of your digestive tract.

-insoluble fiber speeds food transit time in the digestive system and can reduce the time your intestines have to absorb nutrients if taken in excess

-soluble fiber binds with some nutrients such as chloresterol and some other nutrients and reduces absorption. Excess of soluble fiber can also severely reduce absorption of minerals and vitamins

overeating can also cause your body to expel the previous meal quickly to make room, even if it's only partially absorbed

[Flexz0r]

You're just slowing your progress with these binges. Either way your deficit must be good enough on the days you actually adhere to your non-cheating days. If it works you can keep doing it but down the road you may need to tighten up on that cheating.

Regardless of the other arguments over body dumping kcals or not, i think its safe to say that yeah im prob slowing down progress, but meh, only live once so have fun ae. Prob get stricter after xmas.

an cheers for responses guys

[MyAvatar]

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[senor_mortgage]

The main logic that I've heard of is that having that big meal tricks your body into thinking its not in a long term calorie deficit, keeping it in its higher pre-loss calorie burning state. I've also heard the extra food helps your body rebuild its glycogen stores. I have heard no evidence actually confirming those ideas though. Personally I don't think cheat meals do much and that they were overhyped to sell dieting to people who were scared to give up the junk.

[th3pwn3r]

This is very much supported by science. Fiber, for instance, affects the absorption efficiency of your digestive tract.

-insoluble fiber speeds food transit time in the digestive system and can reduce the time your intestines have to absorb nutrients if taken in excess

-soluble fiber binds with some nutrients such as chloresterol and some other nutrients and reduces absorption. Excess of soluble fiber can also severely reduce absorption of minerals and vitamins

overeating can also cause your body to expel the previous meal quickly to make room, even if it's only partially absorbed

So you think if you eat 10k calories in a sitting you'll just sh!t out 5k calories? If you can please post digestion rates of X individual on Y diet who performs Z activity I'd appreciate it so I can know what is and what isn't used as energy be it stored or "burned".

Here Martin touches a bit on the subject and does a great job as always:

http://www.leangains.com/2010/11/che...-hedonist.html

[TuffNoogies]

So you think if you eat 10k calories in a sitting you'll just sh!t out 5k calories? If you can please post digestion rates of X individual on Y diet who performs Z activity I'd appreciate it so I can know what is and what isn't used as energy be it stored or "burned".

Here Martin touches a bit on the subject and does a great job as always:

http://www.leangains.com/2010/11/che...-hedonist.html

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just refuting your statement that "The body can absorb every damn calorie you give it over time". I'm saying there are factors that affect nutrient absorption efficiency, and overeating is one of them.

[th3pwn3r]

That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just refuting your statement that "The body can absorb every damn calorie you give it over time". I'm saying there are factors that affect nutrient absorption efficiency, and overeating is one of them.

Okay so let's say I stand corrected. I(and I'm sure others) would love to know digestion rates and what the "ceiling" is for amount of calories we can consume without having increased fat mass. The human body is EXTREMELY efficient in storing calories, the more fat cells you have the more efficient your body becomes at doing so. Once fat cells are full you develop new ones and fat cells can only be created, not destroyed to my knowledge.

[TuffNoogies]

Nutrition is an inexact science. There is no universal ceiling you can cite that will apply for everyone as different people have different digestive traits, either due to conditioning, health, gut flora, or genetics. You can only find out for yourself what works for you. Try eating an excessive amount of fiber after a cheat meal (remember to drink plenty of water) and see how fast your system tries to expel it. This is even easier if you are lactose intolerant. Drink a ton of milk and see your bowels empty as your body tries to get rid of the lactose irritant. You don't absorb everything you eat if you have diarrhea. This is not a recommended way to rid yourself of excessive calories after a cheat meal though.

[chmbs1]

I heard that cheat meals every once in a while keep your testosterone from plummeting when you're dieting. By cheat meals I mean high-carb, not going to Baskin Robbins and eating $15 worth of ice cream.

[-TC-]

I heard that cheat meals every once in a while keep your testosterone from plummeting when you're dieting. By cheat meals I mean high-carb, not going to Baskin Robbins and eating $15 worth of ice cream.

baskin robins is high carb

[JontheAtheist]

I consider cheat meals (within reason) to be useful in replenishing your glycogen stores and bolstering your morale.

EXACTLY.


Cheat meals are useful.

For me they keep me grounded. Eating healthy all the time is great, cooking up awesome tasting food. But sometimes you just need that greasy burger to satisfy.


Reps.

[Backtothestack]

dont doubt the pwner. kid knows his sh**. hes helped me a few times im my journey.


much love bro. (no homo)

[SupaDoopa]

How often is it safe to have a cheat meal? Once a week? Once bi-weekly? Once a month?

[th3pwn3r]

Nutrition is an inexact science. There is no universal ceiling you can cite that will apply for everyone as different people have different digestive traits, either due to conditioning, health, gut flora, or genetics. You can only find out for yourself what works for you. Try eating an excessive amount of fiber after a cheat meal (remember to drink plenty of water) and see how fast your system tries to expel it. This is even easier if you are lactose intolerant. Drink a ton of milk and see your bowels empty as your body tries to get rid of the lactose irritant. You don't absorb everything you eat if you have diarrhea. This is not a recommended way to rid yourself of excessive calories after a cheat meal though.

Exactly, there is no exact science. Also your use of extreme examples is a bit silly as many people aren't likely to punish themselves with things that cause such side effects as diarrhea. Anyhow, I'm sure we can both agree that binge eating won't help anyone look like Jim Cordova, Greg Plitt, Jay Cutler or even Ronnie Coleman.

I heard that cheat meals every once in a while keep your testosterone from plummeting when you're dieting. By cheat meals I mean high-carb, not going to Baskin Robbins and eating $15 worth of ice cream.

Fats are better for test levels. Go on a no fat diet for a while and see for yourself.

baskin robins is high carb

And delicious.

EXACTLY.


Cheat meals are useful.

For me they keep me grounded. Eating healthy all the time is great, cooking up awesome tasting food. But sometimes you just need that greasy burger to satisfy.


Reps.

I agree that cheat meals can be useful WITHIN REASON. The problem is that many people take it to another level and abuse the cheat meal or day. Many people hinder their results and waste weeks worth of progress with cheat meals or days.

dont doubt the pwner. kid knows his sh**. hes helped me a few times im my journey.


much love bro. (no homo)

Thanks a lot, makes me feel useful around here glad I've helped you become an improved version of your former self.

How often is it safe to have a cheat meal? Once a week? Once bi-weekly? Once a month?

Cheat meals or refeeds are "safe" within reason. If you create a deficit of 3,500 calories on a weekly basis and go 500-1000 calories over your DAILY maintenance then you haven't set yourself too far back. Keep in mind the more calories you consume the less MASS you're going to lose, whether you lose less fat or muscle mass I couldn't tell you though, nobody could to an exact degree. Lucky for us we know that through resistance training and a dieting with a fair amount of protein we can keep losses in lean body mass to a minimum.