I was wondering as of right now I am at 12% BF. And I am eventually aiming to get to about 9%. Currently I do full-blown cheat DAYS. I was considering that I eventually will have to cut those cheat DAYS into cheat MEALS if I wanted to start my way to 10% and lower. SO I wanted everyones opinion on when, "cheats should be put in check".

P.S. I know there are many that say cheats shouldnt even be in a cutting diet, but Hey I like my chocolate so help me out here. ;)

Supa

Cheats should be put in check when you have higher bf% (15+). In my experience they actually become useful when you start to get low and things get sluggish and you need that "shock" to force your body to change things up and contine with the fat loss.

That said, you should probably limit yourself to one large cheat meal and then some cheat snack later. A full blown day isn't all that good.

Cheats should be put in check when you have higher bf% (15+). In my experience they actually become useful when you start to get low and things get sluggish and you need that "shock" to force your body to change things up and contine with the fat loss.

That said, you should probably limit yourself to one large cheat meal and then some cheat snack later. A full blown day isn't all that good.


Very interesting view, I usually have cheat daysm and they have not effected me negatively. Sure it takes about 3 days to lose the water, but I think it helps me mentally. I think I will though begine to make it cheat MEALS so I can make maybe...more progress since there is less junk? Wee'll see, but thanks for the response.

Supa

It really varies from person to person. I always hit my "sticking point" around 12%, so at that point I eliminate cheat meals entirely (with rare exceptions) until I reach my goal, and just do clean refeeds if fat loss stalls.

You might still be able to get away with a cheat meal or two per week and still reach your goals, but I personally think you'll get there quicker if you apply the method mentioned above.

P.S. I know there are many that say cheats shouldnt even be in a cutting diet, but Hey I like my chocolate so help me out here. ;)

Supa

My stance on a cheat "day" is well known :lol: one single magical day of stuffing nothing but junk down your throat will hardly make a difference in up-regulating your system, but hey, if it keeps your diet in check for the rest of the time and you continue to see changes for the better, progress being the key, than keep on doing what you're doing.

Probably not a bad idea though to consider switching to two cheat meals per week followed by a workout later in the day, instead of the single day of pigging out, retaining water and feeling like crud for the couple of days that precede it, and isn't it so much better to get your chocolate fix twice a week instead of one? :D

So are you saying that it wouldnt be bad, lets say if on Monday I ate clean all day and then ate a cheat meal with the GF for dinner. And lets say I only allow myself 2 cheat meals a week, then I can have another on Friday, and thus I hit my cheats for the week. Are you saying this is much better than 1 day of full blown cheats?

Supa

My stance on a cheat "day" is well known :lol: one single magical day of stuffing nothing but junk down your throat will hardly make a difference in up-regulating your system, but hey, if it keeps your diet in check for the rest of the time and you continue to see changes for the better, progress being the key, than keep on doing what you're doing.

Probably not a bad idea though to consider switching to two cheat meals per week followed by a workout later in the day, instead of the single day of pigging out, retaining water and feeling like crud for the couple of days that precede it, and isn't it so much better to get your chocolate fix twice a week instead of one? :D

So are you saying that it wouldnt be bad, lets say if on Monday I ate clean all day and then ate a cheat meal with the GF for dinner. And lets say I only allow myself 2 cheat meals a week, then I can have another on Friday, and thus I hit my cheats for the week. Are you saying this is much better than 1 day of full blown cheats?

Supa
I wouldn't exactly say it's good, but having a couple slices of pizza with your gf twice week is definitely better than eating an entire pie on your own once a week. Ask yourself this, what's the real purpose behind a full on day of stuffing yourself with junk?

Most people I know, use this day as an excuse to eat anything & everything they know they shouldn't be having (let's face it, who here cheats on nothing but skinless chicken breasts and oatmeal?), generally the caloric intake on these days is massive and consists mostly of saturated fats & simple carbs, but they rationalize it by thinking it will somehow boost their metabolism for the following week/s ahead, which just isn't the case, the continued fat loss progress that a person gets is from the 6 days of proper diet & exercise and not the gallons of ice cream they slam down in that 7th day.

Which to me, means that 7 days of diet and exercise is better than 6, but here's the problem, not many have the will to eat clean 365 days a year for the rest of their lives, and as you said earlier, cheating helps you mentally relieve that stress from dieting, so it would make sense that having two smaller cheats throughout the week instead of one big huge one is a better option in terms of incorporating it into your normal life and relaxing that tension of strict dieting that sometimes occur.

Remember that healthy living tip that everyone around you preaches "enjoy things in moderation"...

It's up to you though, if you continue to progress towards your goal/s, then feel free to keep your normal routine because if it ain't broken, don't fix it :tu:

I had my body fat tested at the gym at the end of my cut. I got to 9.5%. For most of the cut I would usually have a great dinner out saturday night, some drinking and usually a late night snack. The food wasn't entirely clean, but the dinner was decent restaurant food and not fast food. The late night food was whatever I had in the house or what was at my girlfriend's. Sometimes I'd eat late night fast food like buffalo wings instead of food laying around the house. All food for the week until that saturday's dinner was 100% clean. Hard lifting and cardio throughout the week. Sunday was the one off-day from either exercise. The last two weeks of the cut, I restricted myself to saturday night cheat meals and no drinking or late night food, but I never gave up the cheat meal entirely. If I hadn't decided to bulk, I think I would've cut another week or so with the one cheat meal and done a week or two entirely clean and seen where that would've taken me body-fat wise.

I wouldn't exactly say it's good, but having a couple slices of pizza with your gf twice week is definitely better than eating an entire pie on your own once a week. Ask yourself this, what's the real purpose behind a full on day of stuffing yourself with junk?

Best said, "enjoy things in moderation". I think you can even corporate more cheat meals during cutting. But don't think of it as an opportunity to stuff yourself down, but rather think of it as an opportunity to enjoy food that you wouldn't usually eat. Let's say after every 3 days, you have you cheat meal consisting 400-500 calories, I think it would be more beneficial for you (psychologically) rather than wait for that single day in the week to force yourself to stuff yourself like a turkey.

I believe that you'll burn more fat if you enjoy your cheat meals in moderation, rather then going full trottle for 6 days just to blow it on the 7th day. Also, ask yourself this, "Do you really enjoy the feeling bloated, stuffed and retaining all that water for the next 3 days?" In fact I'm not sure it's all water, it can somehow be fat :whistle: Plus, you can also enjoy your cheat meal and benefit from it. How? Try to consume your cheat meal after a vigourous weight-lifting session. I bet cheat meals usually consists high-carb, right? But remember the key, "moderation" and listen to your body. WHen it says it full, it really means it! :flex:

as long as it doesn't throw you into a caloric surplus for the week I don't see it as a problem.

I "try" and stay away from cheat meals completely. Since Dec 13th I've only had 12 cheat meals. Alot of those came at the beginning when I was still struggling with my eating. Now I really don't crave them anymore. I don't know how much a difference it has made physically but mentally it helps me.