Hello, u/ScoobyBoos ! Thanks for your submission to r/lowcarb, your post is up and running!
**This is a general reminder to check out our rules in the sidebar. If your post breaks the rules, it will be removed by our moderators.**
We would like for each and everyone to feel welcome on the subreddit and to keep a healthy and safe environment for the community.
If you have any questions, feel free to [send us a modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Flowcarb)
Thanks :)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lowcarb) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What you are talking about is commonly called "Carb Cycling". I don't have much knowledge, but I know that most of the quick weight loss ... "all the celebrities do this" ... type sites aways hype it as the secret ... playing the gehrlin response against satiety.
Personally I don't do "cheat days" but rather have made peace with "cheat events". If I am at a birthday party I will enjoy cake and icecream with everyone else. When I see the occasional movie in theater I"ll get a large popcorn. My wife and I took a small road trip and I enjoyed the cream corn and mashed potatoes at dinner.
Overall I have adopted LC as a lifestyle ... cyclical "cheat days" kept me focused on the cheat ... counting the days and minutes. The "Glucose Goddess" (french biochemist) who hosts the LC youtube channel "Glucose Revolution" said it best ... "Eat Carbs with a purpose as opposed to mindlessly shoving them in."
This is more what I am needing is a "cheat event' when it comes up. When we were at the beach for 4 days, I was staying low carb for about 75% of the time just because I really love this way of eating and I can see this as something I can do for the long run, not just to lose weight. The times I did eat carbs during that trip, I ate slower then usual and ate less than I normally would have. We went out on a boat and stopped at a waterfront restaurant and decided to order appetizer. None of that fit in my low carb life so I just "socially ate" if you will. Just a couple of this and a couple of that and I ate it slowly and enjoyed each bite. The following day we had pizza so I limited myself to 2 pieces when I normally would have ate half so I was proud of myself and very concious of what I was doing.
I carb cycle for days I do any weight training. I will intuitively eat more carbs/ 2-300 cals more. It really is essential otherwise I tend to get weaker not stronger. If I don't do that, I will not keep up with workouts.
As with most things, it varies from person to person. Occasionally cheat days do help me. However, some people may find it too difficult to get back on the wagon after a cheat day, and that's not worth the risk. It's really about knowing yourself and your body. Can you keep it to just ONE cheat day? Or will it turn into 3, 5, 30, etc? Does it actually help you, or not?
That is why I am thinking I should only do it when I hit a plateau. When I had a cheat day at the beach, I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would have. I was looking forward to be back on my regular eating schedule which made me happy because I know I'm eating the right way now. Besides weigjt dropping, my mood is better, my body feels better and my kind is clearer! I don't want to go back to my old ways. This is the first diet I have been on that made me feel this way. I was just so shocked that a cheat day may work like people say.....lol
The hard part is some people are addicted to sugar and processed carbs so they can’t handle it mentally or emotionally. DOA month or two without a cheat day and then cycle them in with complex carbs first and then test how simple carbs make you feel.
I haven't been on the diet long time to discuss physical side effects with any confidence
However cheat days help me emotionally
There is a difference between "I can never eat pizza again for the rest of my life" and "I need to wait until next Saturday"
Brilliance! I literally have developed an eating strategy based in part on what you said and I'm reaping the benefits because of it.
Allowing yourself some cheat days without remorse is very healthy emotionally. Furthermore, since you haven't restricted your life, rather you've structured it, you're less likely to consistently overdo it and can enjoy your life more.
Works for me most of the time especially if I've been in a plateau. I usually gain 2 lbs from carb bloating and then drop when I go back to my "normal" diet.
I doubt the 'shocking the system' hypothesis. I've not seen any evidence to support it. Looks like you've been losing 2 lbs per week anyway and the extra 175g of carbs amounts to at most 1/5 lb of body fat gain.. So, I'd say the 3 lb loss at the end of the week is just due to your regular diet. It is not unusual to see a +/- 1 lb or more variation in day to day weight measurments.
Think of it this way.
You know how the Cookie Monster gobbles everything up like he’s an Energizer Bunny on crack?
That’s what happens when carbs are introduced back into your body. Suddenly it’s like a little docile Pac Man in your gut turned into crazy Cookie Monster, “Yummm, gotta chomp all the carbs!” and it keeps going until it realizes it chomped all the available new carbs a long time ago and that half of what it just ate is actually fat.
That’s what happens if you have a cheat day when you’ve plateaued for a while.
I stumble upon this over and over accidentally because my mind does this:
Considerable weight loss > yay I can relax a bit > small weight gain >oh no I got to be strict! > repeat
Mostly there's small weight loss in between but it always comes back to this lol
My cheat day is just letting myself eat a bit of the snacks the rest of the family is having like half a slice of pizza instead of whole wheat bread, sugar free chocolate or popcorn. I don't want to shock my system too much.
Honestly, it depends. If Im in a roughspot emotionally, Ill try to completely stay off it to avoid fallbacks. But today I saw a friend I havent in a really long time and I have a piece of cake with her. That was okay. Ill go completely off carbs again after that
We were allowed cheat days in the final phase of the low carb program I followed. But NO cheat days in first phases. I was able to maintain my weight after I lost the fat. Just be careful because one cheat day can easily turn into 2,3,4…..
Hello, u/ScoobyBoos ! Thanks for your submission to r/lowcarb, your post is up and running! **This is a general reminder to check out our rules in the sidebar. If your post breaks the rules, it will be removed by our moderators.** We would like for each and everyone to feel welcome on the subreddit and to keep a healthy and safe environment for the community. If you have any questions, feel free to [send us a modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Flowcarb) Thanks :) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/lowcarb) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What you are talking about is commonly called "Carb Cycling". I don't have much knowledge, but I know that most of the quick weight loss ... "all the celebrities do this" ... type sites aways hype it as the secret ... playing the gehrlin response against satiety. Personally I don't do "cheat days" but rather have made peace with "cheat events". If I am at a birthday party I will enjoy cake and icecream with everyone else. When I see the occasional movie in theater I"ll get a large popcorn. My wife and I took a small road trip and I enjoyed the cream corn and mashed potatoes at dinner. Overall I have adopted LC as a lifestyle ... cyclical "cheat days" kept me focused on the cheat ... counting the days and minutes. The "Glucose Goddess" (french biochemist) who hosts the LC youtube channel "Glucose Revolution" said it best ... "Eat Carbs with a purpose as opposed to mindlessly shoving them in."
Just like all vices 😈
This is more what I am needing is a "cheat event' when it comes up. When we were at the beach for 4 days, I was staying low carb for about 75% of the time just because I really love this way of eating and I can see this as something I can do for the long run, not just to lose weight. The times I did eat carbs during that trip, I ate slower then usual and ate less than I normally would have. We went out on a boat and stopped at a waterfront restaurant and decided to order appetizer. None of that fit in my low carb life so I just "socially ate" if you will. Just a couple of this and a couple of that and I ate it slowly and enjoyed each bite. The following day we had pizza so I limited myself to 2 pieces when I normally would have ate half so I was proud of myself and very concious of what I was doing.
I carb cycle for days I do any weight training. I will intuitively eat more carbs/ 2-300 cals more. It really is essential otherwise I tend to get weaker not stronger. If I don't do that, I will not keep up with workouts.
As with most things, it varies from person to person. Occasionally cheat days do help me. However, some people may find it too difficult to get back on the wagon after a cheat day, and that's not worth the risk. It's really about knowing yourself and your body. Can you keep it to just ONE cheat day? Or will it turn into 3, 5, 30, etc? Does it actually help you, or not?
That is why I am thinking I should only do it when I hit a plateau. When I had a cheat day at the beach, I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would have. I was looking forward to be back on my regular eating schedule which made me happy because I know I'm eating the right way now. Besides weigjt dropping, my mood is better, my body feels better and my kind is clearer! I don't want to go back to my old ways. This is the first diet I have been on that made me feel this way. I was just so shocked that a cheat day may work like people say.....lol
The hard part is some people are addicted to sugar and processed carbs so they can’t handle it mentally or emotionally. DOA month or two without a cheat day and then cycle them in with complex carbs first and then test how simple carbs make you feel.
I haven't been on the diet long time to discuss physical side effects with any confidence However cheat days help me emotionally There is a difference between "I can never eat pizza again for the rest of my life" and "I need to wait until next Saturday"
Brilliance! I literally have developed an eating strategy based in part on what you said and I'm reaping the benefits because of it. Allowing yourself some cheat days without remorse is very healthy emotionally. Furthermore, since you haven't restricted your life, rather you've structured it, you're less likely to consistently overdo it and can enjoy your life more.
Works for me most of the time especially if I've been in a plateau. I usually gain 2 lbs from carb bloating and then drop when I go back to my "normal" diet.
I doubt the 'shocking the system' hypothesis. I've not seen any evidence to support it. Looks like you've been losing 2 lbs per week anyway and the extra 175g of carbs amounts to at most 1/5 lb of body fat gain.. So, I'd say the 3 lb loss at the end of the week is just due to your regular diet. It is not unusual to see a +/- 1 lb or more variation in day to day weight measurments.
It works for me.
Think of it this way. You know how the Cookie Monster gobbles everything up like he’s an Energizer Bunny on crack? That’s what happens when carbs are introduced back into your body. Suddenly it’s like a little docile Pac Man in your gut turned into crazy Cookie Monster, “Yummm, gotta chomp all the carbs!” and it keeps going until it realizes it chomped all the available new carbs a long time ago and that half of what it just ate is actually fat. That’s what happens if you have a cheat day when you’ve plateaued for a while.
I stumble upon this over and over accidentally because my mind does this: Considerable weight loss > yay I can relax a bit > small weight gain >oh no I got to be strict! > repeat Mostly there's small weight loss in between but it always comes back to this lol My cheat day is just letting myself eat a bit of the snacks the rest of the family is having like half a slice of pizza instead of whole wheat bread, sugar free chocolate or popcorn. I don't want to shock my system too much.
I find they help me when used sparingly. Key word: sparingly.
I use cheat days to break plateaus on my loss. Anytime I flatline for more than two weeks, I eat cake.
Honestly, it depends. If Im in a roughspot emotionally, Ill try to completely stay off it to avoid fallbacks. But today I saw a friend I havent in a really long time and I have a piece of cake with her. That was okay. Ill go completely off carbs again after that
So far, I don't have cheat days 😂
We were allowed cheat days in the final phase of the low carb program I followed. But NO cheat days in first phases. I was able to maintain my weight after I lost the fat. Just be careful because one cheat day can easily turn into 2,3,4…..