# how important is a cheat meal?



## powerhousepeter (Dec 4, 2010)

just wondering what everyones views are, pref when cutting, at the moment im cutting and have my cheat meal on a friday night, then im back on diet, but its weird i dont look forward to my cheat and feel like crap after, thinking of dropping ive been told they help because the speed the metabolism up again, any thoughts?


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## evad (Mar 17, 2008)

it depends on the individual imo some people struggle sticking to diets others have no problems

if your not enjoying them then id sack them off


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## Guest (Jul 22, 2011)

important for leptin levels (which rise when dieting slowing fat loss) but it could be just a carb laden meal not a junk meal but wheres the fun in that?!


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## c2c (Feb 28, 2011)

go with your gut if you fell a binge coming on after you bin dieting for a while, its not the end of the world, just get back onit the next day.


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## murphy2010 (Dec 17, 2010)

Most people would go insane without some form of a cheat meal imo.

Ever thought of using IIFYM and daily fit 'cheats' into your daily cals + macro's for the day? makes sticking to the diet so much easier imo


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## Vibora (Sep 30, 2007)

ricky23 said:


> important for leptin levels (which rise when dieting slowing fat loss) but it could be just a carb laden meal not a junk meal but wheres the fun in that?!


Increasing leptin will positively affect other hormones which have an effect on metabolic rate (T3/T4, neuropeptide-Y, epinephrine etc).

This can be done with a carb laden meal as above. No need to eat crap if it makes you feel that way.


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## Guest (Jul 22, 2011)

Vibora said:


> Increasing leptin will positively affect other hormones which have an effect on metabolic rate (T3/T4, neuropeptide-Y, epinephrine etc).
> 
> This can be done with a carb laden meal as above. No need to eat crap if it makes you feel that way.


yeah i should have said "decrease when dieting" just my laziness!

good post!


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## Nickthegreek (Jan 27, 2011)

Just have a higher/carb calorie cheat meal rather than junk food . That way you still get that boost to your metabolism but without compromising nutritional content. Just make sure your getting your proteins ,carbs and fats .

Example of a good cheat meal you could have without guilt could be a 200 g 100% lean beef burger , topped with a fried egg ( fried in 1 cal spray) with reduced sugar ketchup in a wholemeal burger bun , with 300 g of oven baked sweet potato wedges/chips and an onion , lettuce and tomato salad on the side.


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## s3_abv (Feb 10, 2010)

Or you could just eat some mince beef tacos, pancakes/ice cream, cereal, muller rice, soreen, 3 packs of crisps, peanut butter/toast like i just have lol.

I only have a cheat when i crave for one like tonight, otherwise is usually every 2 weeks. Hard thing for me is knowing when to stop, i usually throw up before i go bed.

Seriously.


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## big silver back (Jan 17, 2009)

When your weight loss stops then add cheat meals.


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

I'm going to say cheat meals are very important.... just so I feel a bit better about the Dominos pizza, Dominos chicken wings, Dominos wedges, Dominos Cookies and Dominos waffles I ordered and stuffed down my throat last night (even though it wasnt my cheat meal night! Ooops!) x


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## Ash78 (Jul 11, 2011)

As above, keeps leptin, thyroid and other hormone levels up. So very important I'd say. Also helps psycologically obviously, which is the hardest part when your cutting imo.


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## big silver back (Jan 17, 2009)

pickle21 said:


> I'm going to say cheat meals are very important.... just so I feel a bit better about the Dominos pizza, Dominos chicken wings, Dominos wedges, Dominos Cookies and Dominos waffles I ordered and stuffed down my throat last night (even though it wasnt my cheat meal night! Ooops!) x


Cant wait to see what you eat on your cheat meal night then!!! lol


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## big silver back (Jan 17, 2009)

Cheat meals are great and do boost your metabolism but only use them when you need them, when you first start a diet your body will need a few weeks to get used to the change, cheat meals are not a good idea then its only after a few weeks your leptin levels need a boost and only then if your weight loss have stopped. In a whole most people who cheat, refeed, st1tload, etc from the off usually have no will power.


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

big silver back said:


> Cant wait to see what you eat on your cheat meal night then!!! lol


LOL! Cheat meal is on Sunday and i'm cooking a 3 course "come dine with me" style dinner for the family.

Starter: Crusty bread and Warm cheeses (goats cheese, camembert, halloumi) with caramelised red onions

Main: Pan fried duck breast with green veg and daulphinose potatos

Dessert: Frangipan tarts (with my own homemade pastry cases) served with ice cream

Drinks: Cava and wine

Mmmm mmmm

x


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

big silver back said:


> Cheat meals are great and do boost your metabolism but only use them when you need them, when you first start a diet your body will need a few weeks to get used to the change, cheat meals are not a good idea then its only after a few weeks your leptin levels need a boost and only then if your weight loss have stopped. *In a whole most people who cheat, refeed, st1tload, etc from the off usually have no will power.[/*QUOTE]
> 
> Yep, thats me! No will power and little pot belly to prove it!
> 
> x


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## big silver back (Jan 17, 2009)

pickle21 said:


> Little pot belly's are sexy though aint they?


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## pickle21 (Oct 22, 2009)

big silver back said:


> Well thats what I tell myself anyway! LOL.
> 
> Although I think a lot of guys would say a nice, toned and flat stomach is slightly sexier
> 
> x


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## Nickthegreek (Jan 27, 2011)

Ha I had a guilt free cheat at Nandos today ! Chicken breast in a pitta extra hot, green salad and two very generous servings of frozen yogurt! This satisfied my craving and I will not loose sleep over it!


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

powerhousepeter said:


> just wondering what everyones views are, pref when cutting, at the moment im cutting and have my cheat meal on a friday night, then im back on diet, but its weird i dont look forward to my cheat and feel like crap after, thinking of dropping ive been told they help because the speed the metabolism up again, any thoughts?


Is funny but many people seem to hate the refeeds - you are certainly not alone. They do help though, even if not enjoyable - the theory is that the effects on leptin keep you active and motivated, and the glycogen loading helps keep performance up, and the overall effect is to help keep metabolism higher... you find that although you dont enjoy the refeeds, if you drop them the diet may suddenly stall. The day after the refeed you may feel crappy, but part of the reason you feel pretty good the rest of the time is because of the longer term positive effects of the refeed on hormones... in theory anyway.


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## Conscript (Sep 5, 2010)

Dtlv74 said:


> Is funny but many people seem to hate the refeeds - you are certainly not alone. They do help though, even if not enjoyable - the theory is that the effects on leptin keep you active and motivated, and the glycogen loading helps keep performance up, and the overall effect is to help keep metabolism higher... you find that although you dont enjoy the refeeds, if you drop them the diet may suddenly stall. The day after the refeed you may feel crappy, but part of the reason you feel pretty good the rest of the time is because of the longer term positive effects of the refeed on hormones... in theory anyway.


You've done B|GJOE proud here mate! :thumbup1:


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

G-fresh said:


> You've done B|GJOE proud here mate! :thumbup1:


lol, funny you say that - gained a great deal of understanding about refeeds from B|GJOE... he's a good guy to chat to about that kind of thing.


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## LeBigMac (Jul 17, 2011)

For the past 3 mths i could count on one hand the amount of cheat meals I've had. Then the other day I had a whole day of binge eating, my body is still not over it. Still feel lethargic and my guys ain't quiet right 

Lesson learnt for me, allow a cheat meal once per week. (but keep it as clean as possible) Starting to see the benefits of it now. Heck if I want to get from 15% - sub 10% I can't blow up like that again. Was finding it increasingly hard to not eat junk.

Right time for breakfast then off to cross fit. Have a great day chaps.


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## Irish Beast (Jun 16, 2009)

big silver back said:


> When your weight loss stops then add cheat meals.


Its strange isn't it. normally when people stop losing weight they diet more drastically!


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## big silver back (Jan 17, 2009)

Irish Beast said:


> Its strange isn't it. normally when people stop losing weight they diet more drastically!


Yeah and that would seem like the right thing to do but when you stop losing it your body has settled into the amount of macros, expended carories its having and thats the time to give your metabolism a boost, adding a cheat meal will kick it up a notch... but like i said if your losing weight without cheats why do it? Its another tool you can use and thats all imo.


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