Refeeds are commonly used by coaches during fat loss phases to get the best results possible. However, not many people know the difference between a refeed and a cheat meal. Cheat meals are often talked about in the fitness world, often accompanied by images of pizza, burgers, ice cream, donuts and the like. Both have their place, but problems arise when people interchange one for the other.
What Is A Refeed?
A refeed is a short period wherein the person's calories are increased slightly or up to maintenance levels. For some, it could be as high as 1.5 times maintenance.
Whenever you go on a hypocaloric diet for an extended period, your body will eventually adapt to the negative energy balance no matter what you do; it's inevitable. Metabolic rate drops in an effort to conserve energy, and while this is good for survival purposes, it will also slow down or stop fat loss altogether. This is where refeeds can become useful.
When body fat is low or when the individual is leaner, leptin levels drop because fat cells release leptin into the bloodstream as a way to regulate energy balance and reduce hunger. Refeeds are structured into a fat loss plan to increase leptin levels temporarily, which increases satiety and improves adherence to the diet in the long term.
How Much to Eat During a Refeed?
A person's caloric intake, the duration of the diet, and the extent at which the metabolism has slowed down are some of the factors that determine how much or how long the person will refeed. To be cautious, a 15-20% caloric deficit is to be maintained in case of any snackccidents. So if the peron's maintenance calories is 2000 kcals, the refeed calories would be somewhere around 1700-1800 kcals. These 1700-1800 kcals are to be split between protein, carbohydrates and fats.
Since carbs are muscle-sparing, anabolic and energy-providing, it will be the main prioirity during a refeed and should be increased by 50-100%. Protein can be set at 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass and can be decreased by 5-15%. Fats will be taking up the rest of the calories but will likely be reduced by 10-20%.
What is a Cheat Meal?
Cheat meals are great, but let's face it�they're sloppy and lazy. Cheat meals are not usually tracked and thus, can put the individual way over caloric targets. For smaller individuals who cannot manage large caloric deficits due to their smaller stature, a good cheat meal can offset any fat loss that may have occurred during the week, in just one sitting.
Cheat meals help psychologically by giving you the excuse to "let go" for a little while and maybe act like a "normal" person who's eating out. However, the risk of binging is high, especially when the individual is already very hungry on a daily basis.
How Much to Eat During a Cheat Meal?
See that's the thing, cheat meals are not often tracked so it's hard to say how much an individual should eat. There is no optimal carb to protein to fat ratio that can optimize the boost in leptin and metabolism while keeping fat gain (if any) low.
Usually, cheat meals are eaten until the individual feels full and satisfied. It should ideally contain some protein as well, to promote further satiety. The cheat meal should remain at just one meal, not a full day or week.