had a cheat meal last saturday..

[diamonddelts]

I had a pizza, pasta and 3 choc cakes....2 days after this i was bloated as fuck.

Today, thirsday i am 1-2 pounds lighter than i was the Saturday of the cheat meal (i weight myself every morning on an empty stomach).

Does that means that the cheat meal "worked". should i continue doing it?

[GottaGetLean]

I had a pizza, pasta and 3 choc cakes....2 days after this i was bloated as fuck.

Today, thirsday i am 1-2 pounds lighter than i was the Saturday of the cheat meal (i weight myself every morning on an empty stomach).

Does that means that the cheat meal "worked". should i continue doing it?

yes it means it worked for you, keep it up.

[jack08son]

how can a cheat meal that leaves you bloated for 2 days be working for you? you probably lost weight because you couldn't eat as much from all that shit you consumed! Don't get me wrong, cheat meals are great, increase your calories, it's good when your depleted and it keeps you sane, but there is a difference between a cheat meal and a pig-out!

[diamonddelts]

how can a cheat meal that leaves you bloated for 2 days be working for you? you probably lost weight because you couldn't eat as much from all that shit you consumed! Don't get me wrong, cheat meals are great, increase your calories, it's good when your depleted and it keeps you sane, but there is a difference between a cheat meal and a pig-out!

The meals after my cheat meal and the days after, i was RIGHT BACK on my diet and meals, EXACTLY as they are, strict.

[Fat Abbott]

Trust me, it works like a charm. You wouldn't believe what kind of shit, and in what amounts I gorge on on cheat day. And I'm not even blessed with good metabolism, but keep losing 2 lbs week after week. It's one of the pluses of keto diet. :yep:

[diamonddelts]

Trust me, it works like a charm. You wouldn't believe what kind of shit, and in what amounts I gorge on on cheat day. And I'm not even blessed with good metabolism, but keep losing 2 lbs week after week. It's one of the pluses of keto diet. :yep:

im not on a keto, im just on low carbs (140grms) all week plus cardio and i just have a cheat meal every 7th day.

[easye]

well the reason for feeling bloated is because carbs make u retain water,for every 1g of carbs u hold onto 3g of water... the reason for having the cheat meal high in high gi carbs is to rapidly replenish glycogen stores and to boost leptin levels so your body can burn fat again,think about cheating as taking 1 step back wards to take 1 step forward... if i was u i wouldnt go longer than 3 days at 140g of carbs,do 3days low,1 day moderate of 220g,then 3 days low and then do a moderate carb day with a cheat meal at the end of it... that will throw your body off course and kick it back into the fat burning zone,hence the reason carb cycling works...your body is always guessing. 5 days after your cheat meal u should be back to your baseline weight or even leaner...

[spritz0]

Cheat meals work, keeps the metabolism fooled that everything is OK. I had SUSHI last weekend, about 48 pieces!!

[Fat Abbott]

im not on a keto, im just on low carbs (140grms) all week plus cardio and i just have a cheat meal every 7th day.
Been there, done that, then went on keto, and i'm not going back.

[george.mumford]

If i normally eat 2,500 calories for my keto diet, if I eat an extra 2,000 calories for my cheat meal will that be really bad?

[AVBG]

My diet is still over 3000 cals at one week out.. Stopped the cheatmeal 2 weeks ago

[Con]

My diet is still over 3000 cals at one week out.. Stopped the cheatmeal 2 weeks ago
Must be nice.

Personally i have stopped cheat meals 6 weeks out this prep.

[thesamewords]

Cheat meals work, keeps the metabolism fooled that everything is OK. I had SUSHI last weekend, about 48 pieces!!
Thats the cheat that makes the world a better place. I even had a deep fried piece just for fun.

[hilly]

Must be nice.

Personally i have stopped cheat meals 6 weeks out this prep.

im 6 weeks in and ten out and havnt had one yet gutted but not the end of the world

[jamwithtupac]

im 6 weeks out, no cheat meals too, I had many cheat meals once a week in the last 14 weeks but now to take it serious, increase calories sure but not through eating tons and tons of shit food when youre close to a comp, but if you can get away with it up to you

[rw0885]

people underestimate the importance of a cheat meal when dieting. i know a guy that was coming down for a show, doing great, and the last 3 weeks dropped his cheat meals and took his calories wayyyy down...and it destroyed his physique, he ended up not doing the show. a cheat meal dont have to be a meal full of shit. it can be a good cut of steak, sweet potato, and steamed veggies...pretty much every eatery has that. not only does the cheat meal keep your metabolism going, it will also keep you sane!

[JustinE]

Keto diets and low carb diets seem to mix well with cheat meals the best...it's the carb cycling that a lot of guys do that can cause you to feel extremely bloated a bit more than normal.

Anyway, just something I've noticed over the years.

[diamonddelts]

AGAIN a cheat on saturday. 2 pizzas and 2 protein shakes blended with bananas.

today monday, 2 days after the cheat, im the same exact weight as i was the day before the cheat, so by the upcomming saturday i will be lighter!!

[jamwithtupac]

people underestimate the importance of a cheat meal when dieting. i know a guy that was coming down for a show, doing great, and the last 3 weeks dropped his cheat meals and took his calories wayyyy down...and it destroyed his physique, he ended up not doing the show. a cheat meal dont have to be a meal full of shit. it can be a good cut of steak, sweet potato, and steamed veggies...pretty much every eatery has that. not only does the cheat meal keep your metabolism going, it will also keep you sane!


i wouldnt call steak, sweet potato and steamed veggies a cheat meal lol!

A cheat meal to me is doughnuts, burgers, pizzas, cakes, crisps chocolate lol

maybe once a week have one of the above cheats, but as long as you can keep sane by increasing kcals youre doing good

[Mr. Hyde]

Cheats work weird. When i did keto last year i started off with clean cheats. Mainly low fat carbs like cereal, pancake ect. After the first time i did that progress was slow. The next cheat i went to the all you can eat sushi buffet and destroyed that place. I had to be esscorted out!! j/k. After that cheat i lost 3lbs! It doesnt make any sense but i ate way more calories and lost more weight. Im sure it different for everybody, my cousion used to do cheat days and still got to around 8% before he stopped keto.

[anabolic fyre]

How long does it take for some of yous to normalize after cheat meals?
I usually do my cheats every friday and i dont weigh the same wegiht until tuesday morning. It takes me 4 days to get bak to where i was. My body holds a shitload of water thou, friday morning iwas weighin 181 nd saturday morning i was at 204. What do you guys do to minimize the bloat and water retention?

[Con]

I had a cheat meal of 2 hour period a few weeks back and gained 15lb over night. OBVIOUSLY i can't control my self once i start eating so i don't do "cheat" meals any more. I will have a steak this weekend as i don't eat red meat during my prep.

[hilly]

I dont like the term cheat i have decided. I think they should be planned refeeds with some focus on what u are trying to achieve and you should measure the amounts and types of foods you eat.

this will enable you to see how ure body reacts to different types and amounts of carbs.

having a cheat i think opens it up for people to go mental which ontop of being not good for your body will not allow you to learn anything either.

[rw0885]

how long it takes my body to regulate after a cheat depends on how far into the diet i am and how long its been since my last cheat. i went ape shit at the fair during my contest prep last september and gained like 12 pounds, and that was only cheating from about lunch time to dinner.

[rw0885]

jam, i agree, steak, sweet potato, and veggies is more of a re-feed than a cheat, i was just trying to get the point across that on a "cheat day/meal" you dont have to eat a bunch of nasty foods.

[george.mumford]

How many calories do you think should be consumed on a cheat meal? I weigh 171 @ 4..5% bodyfat 5 weeks out.


Actually how many calories a day is too much? Your weight x 24 too much?

[bigem225]

I do carb cycling 340 on high days 130 low days and 250 med days it goes low low medium high. i dont have any cheat meals but havnt really been craving them even tho on my low days i eat about 2000 cals at a bodyweight of 230.

[Provo82]

the closer i get to a show the bigger my cheats get and the tighter my body gets from them. 4 weeks out last year i had a meal that was 2 lbs cheeseburgers 13 buffalo wings and half a pumpkin pie. Woke up the next day veins coming out of everywhere. Got bloated later on in the day. and the following day. but after 2 days i was a few lbs lighter than before. i Also won my weight class and the overall in the novice division.

[joe293]

I had a cheat meal of 2 hour period a few weeks back and gained 15lb over night. OBVIOUSLY i can't control my self once i start eating so i don't do "cheat" meals any more. I will have a steak this weekend as i don't eat red meat during my prep.


I agree, I do not do cheat meals at all. And if I did it would not be 3 fucking chocolate cakes. On occasion I will go out with the family and have a resturant prepare me a steak with veges and a plain yams. Not really a cheat meal. If your diet is dialed in the weight will come off at the rate it should. I've adjusted my protein during diets and my cardio depending on the rate of weight loss. If you can eat 3 chocolate cakes, pizza, candy etc and it keeps you on track, your precontest weekly intake is off. As for the guys that say it keeps them sane? Come on, 12, 16, 20 weeks of eating yams, brown rice, oatmeal, steak, chicken, egg whites, tuna. It's not that bad at all, the discipline is what seperates the winners from the wannabe's.

[anabolic fyre]

I agree, I do not do cheat meals at all. And if I did it would not be 3 fucking chocolate cakes. On occasion I will go out with the family and have a resturant prepare me a steak with veges and a plain yams. Not really a cheat meal. If your diet is dialed in the weight will come off at the rate it should. I've adjusted my protein during diets and my cardio depending on the rate of weight loss. If you can eat 3 chocolate cakes, pizza, candy etc and it keeps you on track, your precontest weekly intake is off. As for the guys that say it keeps them sane? Come on, 12, 16, 20 weeks of eating yams, brown rice, oatmeal, steak, chicken, egg whites, tuna. It's not that bad at all, the discipline is what seperates the winners from the wannabe's.

Even though i do agree with you, the cheat meal is not only to keep you 'sane'. You need the cheat meal to keep melting the fat off, how much food you can get away with during the cheat meal is up to you to find out. For alot of people the cheat meal even helps them keep strength up and help hold onto more size. If you really dont want to have a cheat meal, you might be doing more harm then good.

[joe293]

Even though i do agree with you, the cheat meal is not only to keep you 'sane'. You need the cheat meal to keep melting the fat off, how much food you can get away with during the cheat meal is up to you to find out. For alot of people the cheat meal even helps them keep strength up and help hold onto more size. If you really dont want to have a cheat meal, you might be doing more harm then good.

I view a cheat meal as a huge steak or chicken fajitas with potatoes and maybe some bread and veges. Nothing is weighed out and you just kind of gorge yourself. I will never agree that eating 3 chocolate cakes is in anyway beneficial to contest prep. I guess it's not the cheat meal that I am really against as much as the quality of food consumed. I have no problem with the guys that eat Sushi as a cheat but chocolate cake? It's pure lard, butter and sugar. There is no way this is beneficial to conditioning.

[spritz0]

I view a cheat meal as a huge steak or chicken fajitas with potatoes and maybe some bread and veges. Nothing is weighed out and you just kind of gorge yourself. I will never agree that eating 3 chocolate cakes is in anyway beneficial to contest prep. I guess it's not the cheat meal that I am really against as much as the quality of food consumed. I have no problem with the guys that eat Sushi as a cheat but chocolate cake? It's pure lard, butter and sugar. There is no way this is beneficial to conditioning.
I agree with you big time about the sushi, it's CLEAN- seems to digest very well, but the carbs sure add to the pumps the first two days afterwards! Chocolate cake in very small amounts might be OK, but not often!

[Bona fide]

Can't WAIT to experiment with my first cheat this weekend!..gunna put it in my training log and see how I might need to adjust it depending on how i look the following week.:)