Author Topic: Cheat/re-feed meals.  (Read 1387 times)

WannaBePro

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Cheat/re-feed meals.
« on: March 08, 2014, 09:32:27 AM »
I've been dieting for the past month. My diet is the same every year, I start off with keto, but don't drop calories, only replace them with more fat and a little more protein. Then after a week or two of that, and a drop in 10lbs of water, I start reducing calories by lowering protein to 30g/meal and eventually lowering fats until I reach a certain bodyfat level. After that time I start carb cycling, I'll usually put in a high carb meal every 3rd day at the end of the day. If fat levels stay the same I add more carb meals until I can eat like a "normal person" yet still maintain sub 10% bodyfat.
Even though I have this all planned out, I can never know when to have a re-feed meal in that first phase of the diet, when I'm completely in keto. Last Saturday I had a high carb meal because I felt like I was going hypo, brain was fuzzy, blood sugar must have been very low.
I don't feel like I need a cheat meal today, but my family is celebrating int'l women's day, its apparently a big deal to Ukrainians, and we're going out to all you can eat sushi.

My question is, do I pig out on carbs and call it a cheat day because its been a week since my last cheat? Or do I eat all the sashimi I can along with some salads and seaweed salads and pray I stay in ketosis until I feel like I really need a cheat?

tl;dr:
Doing keto diet, only had cheats when brain felt fuzzy and blood sugar was low, today going to all you can eat sushi with family and have no self control when it comes to sushi. What do I do? Eat protein/fats only or pig out on carbs and hold off on cheat meals for the next 2 or so weeks until I need it next?

Princess L

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Re: Cheat/re-feed meals.
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2014, 11:18:31 AM »

Even though I have this all planned out, I can never know when to have a re-feed meal in that first phase of the diet, when I'm completely in keto. Last Saturday I had a high carb meal because I felt like I was going hypo, brain was fuzzy, blood sugar must have been very low.
I don't feel like I need a cheat meal today, but my family is celebrating int'l women's day, its apparently a big deal to Ukrainians, and we're going out to all you can eat sushi.

My question is, do I pig out on carbs and call it a cheat day because its been a week since my last cheat? Or do I eat all the sashimi I can along with some salads and seaweed salads and pray I stay in ketosis until I feel like I really need a cheat?

tl;dr:
Doing keto diet, only had cheats when brain felt fuzzy and blood sugar was low, today going to all you can eat sushi with family and have no self control when it comes to sushi. What do I do? Eat protein/fats only or pig out on carbs and hold off on cheat meals for the next 2 or so weeks until I need it next?

At what point does that typically happen?  8 days? 12 days? 5 days?  With your experience, you should be able to predict it fairly accurately and nip it in the bud.  With regards to today, unless you're prepping for a contest, I'd say relax and have fun with the family.
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WannaBePro

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Re: Cheat/re-feed meals.
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2014, 11:22:41 AM »
At what point does that typically happen?  8 days? 12 days? 5 days?  With your experience, you should be able to predict it fairly accurately and nip it in the bud.  With regards to today, unless you're prepping for a contest, I'd say relax and have fun with the family.

I'm looking at competing in June, so I have plenty of time. I wanted to trim down a bit so as to not crash-diet once the contest rolls around. I actually can't predict when I start "losing it" sometimes it takes 2 weeks sometimes I can go a month without a re-feed. The very first time I did this kind of diet I didn't have cheat days at all, which, in the long run, probably wasn't the best idea.

Thanks for the input! I'm a little OCD about this kind of stuff so I freak out a little when unexpected things like this pop up.