Cheating Smart

Dieting smart has many health benefits that include fat burning, building lean tissue and has an impact on your overall fitness In fact, a well balanced diet is a foundation of any workout plan. Nevertheless, the comercials on the television and omnipresent advertisements of fast food restaurants are the biggest challenge of any dieting person. Therefore, any person who had ever been on a diet came to a point where they had commited the deadliest sin of dieting – they "cheated". But, is "cheating" once in a while really all that bad? Most people are under the impression that "cheating" will diminish the results of the diet and will negatively impact the process of weight loss. Still, many bodybuilders and fitness athletes use "cheating" (or refeeding) to attain better results.

No question that being on a calorie restricted diet will cause your body to extract energy from the stored fat. But, in the long run your body will slow down its metabolism, in order to make sure that the amounts of calories injested are spread out evenly throughout the day. Slow metabolism paired with intense workouts will put you in a stress mode where your body will excrete the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol will likely make your body hold on to fat and break down the amino acids in your muscles for energy. This point is called a plateau and this is when cheating is rather beneficial. A good refeed will spike your metabolism and will increase the hormone leptin, which is responsible for regulation of energy intake and its expenditure. Studies showed that leptin is responsible for making the body more efficient at burning fat. In addition, a refeed will provide you with energy for the upcoming workouts, will inhibit the cravings and will help you to stay on track!

However, it does not mean that you should start eating everything in sight. There are a few rules of thumb.

Rule #1: The refeed follows the toughest workout of the week, such as, legs or back.

Rule #2: The protein intake on that day is one gram of protein per pound of body weight.

Rule #3: The amount of carbs should be much higher (double or even triple) than on a regular day.

Rule #4: The lower the body fat percentage, the more often the refeeds should be arranged. For example, if your body fat percentage is 30% you should refeed once or twice a month, but if it is around 10%, you can refeed once or even twice a week. It is important to take in consideration the fact that each person has their own individual differences and therefore will respond to refeeds diffirently. However, if the above steps are followed, refeeds should help you to reach your goal and make your diet more efficient.

Happy cheat day!