I had planned that on New Years Eve I would break my diet just a little to allow for celebration. I had the usual all day except for at night... my last meal. I ate a 12oz steak... which is not that bad... got some crackers and dipped into a cheese ball...some sausage and had me about 6 micholob ultra beers. That day I weight myself and I was between 230 and 234 depending on food and water in my system. I had been at this level for about 2 weeks. Today I weighed myself (after new years party) and im at 226. Hope its not muscle loss.
Whatever the case... my cheat meal worked to drop weight.. i believe. Wow. I should do this at least once every week.

I have had a similar effect, when I went on a camping trip I must of ate about 5,000 calories each day for 3 days, when I got back I weighed about 4 pounds less than what I did before I went...very odd...if someone knows why I would like to hear the answer!

wow! 5k a day... damn. yeah man thats intense.

I would say that this inexplicable weight loss, in the face of dietary abuse, is most certainly water loss. I have experienced the same thing, in both directions. A sudden shift in eating habits causes the body to store or shed water, though the pattern escapes me.

For instance, I cheated a bit on Christmas day. On 12/24 I was 200lbs. On 12 /26 the scale jumped to 205! Now, I probably took in 3500 calories on 12/25. More than I my cutting phase program allows for, but there's no way I gained 5 solid pounds in a single day. Obviously water. On 12/28 I was back down to 199lbs, an all time low, which I have remained at all week.

For some reason when I travel I lose weight, in spite of eating out, social/business events, etc. The effect is transient though, and I think the rebound is actually the part to worry about.

I had some drinks last night, and lost about 2 pounds since yesterday.

I imagine the diarrhetic effect of alcohol has a lot to do with it.

right now im about 2.5lbs lighter than i was BEFORE christmas, and i enjoyed myself at christmas! :D
i think christmas actually broke a mini-plateau for me, this week im going to be doing a helathy refeed, seeing if that keeps things burning :)

makes sense... well a little.

if alcohol dehydtrates you and increases urine output how does it also cause water storage?

I think a cheat meal is very necessary in a cutting diet. For one, it keeps you sane and gives you a reward to look forward to. You feel like you can still have the foods you love. Just make sure it's planned, don't do a sudden ad hoc cheat because you're really hungry. A cheat meal also does something to shake up your metabolism. I can only speak from personal experience, but when I was cutting, I had some cheats (once a week) of truly epic proportions. Not only did they not dent my progress, but usually got things going again. That's the best I can explain it. Don't over do it, but yes, cheats are a good thing, once or twice a week, in a planned manner. BTW, the definition of a cheat is anything goes for one meal... anything. Pizza, chocolate cake, donuts, you name it. It's your one chance to splurge, so pick something really good (for one meal!).

Man... I have this experience too myself. Lately, everytime I eat, I can't stop eating... Man, every seating can cause me 2000-3000 kcal. This has been happening for almost a week now. Man, right now I feel like I wanna puke... :o

But the scale stays at 141 lbs... Probobly because my elavated metabolism. My stomach is bloated and it jiggles (probobly all of the water being retain in that area. Man... talk about six-pack going to keg in a week... :lol:

Well, anyway, I'll regain my normal eating habit tommorow, I'll 5 meals, each around 200-300 kcal. So that will make me consume around 1200-1500 kcal in a day. I'll stick to this low calorie for about 3 days, hoping to drop that water belly fast... :drool:

Wish me luck guys...

donno how you guys do it... my cheat day is so... weak. I can't force my self to eat that much. I don't like fast food, so I just snack on things and eat stuff I usually don't eat. I seriously doubt i've ever been over 3000cals. :cool:

Guys, just wondering, if you refeed after every 4 days, will it still benefit you or will it hinder your progress? I'm talking about a clean refeed here...

Man... I have this experience too myself. Lately, everytime I eat, I can't stop eating... Man, every seating can cause me 2000-3000 kcal. This has been happening for almost a week now. Man, right now I feel like I wanna puke... :o

But the scale stays at 141 lbs... Probobly because my elavated metabolism. My stomach is bloated and it jiggles (probobly all of the water being retain in that area. Man... talk about six-pack going to keg in a week... :lol:

Well, anyway, I'll regain my normal eating habit tommorow, I'll 5 meals, each around 200-300 kcal. So that will make me consume around 1200-1500 kcal in a day. I'll stick to this low calorie for about 3 days, hoping to drop that water belly fast... :drool:

Wish me luck guys...

I have the same prob...I weighed 136 the morning of, then went to a buffet with some friends for lunch...I must've taken in 3000kcals in a sitting! I was so stuffed I could eat nothing but a whey shake the rest of that day. Since Im aiming for about 3000kcals, I estimate I was only about 500 over. I also did some intense cardio awhile after I'd eaten...prolly burned 750kcals. Next day I weighed myself...142! I know its water weight, but its all sitting on my gut, and its not pretty. Im gonna cut my salt intake and drink as much as I can, but I dont wanna cut cals, cause Im bulking. Any suggestions on how to ditch the water?