[quote]forlife wrote:
Read “Cheat to Lose”, there is a good article about it on the site.[/quote]
[/thread]
[quote]loh208 wrote:
For those of us who are trying to get lean (under 10 bf) in a certain, intense time period e.g. 5-10 weeks… talking about fat loss without muscle loss, do you still suggest a cheat meal?
If so, what type of frequency per week, what type of foods do you eat during your cheat?[/quote]
Depends on your current metabolism and long term goals. If you have a high metabolism that hasn’t been destroyed by constantly underfeeding it, you will probably see good short term results from eating totally clean without a single cheat meal. If you continue to undereat long term though, your metabolism will plummet and you will find it increasingly difficult to keep the weight that you lost from returning.
Again, I recommend reading “Cheat to Lose”.
I love to cheat often and never plan it, so I still look like crap. I read Cheat to Lose book but it did not help me, because I did not comply with the diet (as strange as it sounds).
I’m not a competitive bodybuilder, but I’ve gotten lean this summer doing two cheat meals per week. Usually pizza on Wednesday and pancakes on Sunday. If you keep an eye on your calories, you should be fine. And it may even be helpful to bump up your leptin levels while dieting.
GO BACK TO BB. COM IF YOU WANT YOUR CHEAT MEALS ONCE EVERY WEEK
Does everyone who wants to cheat or look like they do not lift weight have to go to BB.com? If that is the case, the majority of people who post on this forum (with a few exceptions) need to go there, including myself.
[quote]prospa7 wrote:
GO BACK TO BB. COM IF YOU WANT YOUR CHEAT MEALS ONCE EVERY WEEK[/quote]
LMAO
but i said twice a week 
prospa7… go f*ck yourself.
I used to have a cheat evening when I competed. I would wait until 6pm on a saturday and then stuff my face. The feeding frenzy would continue most of the evening, mainly consisting of high carb foods such as low fat chilli’s and low fat puddings.
It used to make me feel great that evening and until about mid day the following day, at which point I’d start to feel like shit again and begin wishing for the following Saturday!
Soooo glad that I don’t have to go through that again. I’ve completely lost my willpower for strict dieting
[quote]prospa7 wrote:
GO BACK TO BB. COM IF YOU WANT YOUR CHEAT MEALS ONCE EVERY WEEK[/quote]
Why?
Some people can make great gains in getting leaner while “cheating.” Those that find they can’t progress while cheating need to tighten things up more.
Neither is right or wrong, so there’s no reason to treat this like a religion.
I’m on CT’s Get Jacked program and it has 1 cheat meal a week.
For me, the cheat meal provides me the carbs that I’ve otherwise pushed aside and have cravings for.
Last week, my cheat meal was a baked ham, broccoli sprinkled (and I mean barely sprinkled) with low-fat cheese and scallop potatoes.
I don’t think it’s holding up my progress any as I’m down 15lbs and I’m exactly at the mid-point of the program (week 6) and have dropped 3 inches off my waist (yup, I’ve had to go out and buy slimmer dress pants for work).
However, I’m not cutting for a contest, etc. Just my own personal goals.
I can’t count the amount of times I’ve seen or responded to a thread like this…anyway, I’ve asked Shelby Starnes about this, as well as John Romaniello, and other people with fantastic physiques, and you know what the common answer is…IT’S HIGHLY INDIVIDUAL.
JB put it perfectly, if you eat 6 meals a day, everyday, every week, that’s 42 meals a week. If only 1 of those meals is not clean, then it’s OKAY. If you train your ass off, and I’m assuming everyone here does, then it should be fine. Plus, research has shown that if you keep your calories below maintenance for too long, your metabolism slows down. I cheat once a week, and it has not stalled my progress, and keeps me on track. Whatever works for you.
[quote]dratner wrote:
If you train your ass off, and I’m assuming everyone here does, then it should be fine.[/quote]
I wish this was the case. If everyone was training that hard, how come so many of the Rate My Physique threads get flamed and the OPs accused of not even training with weights at all. (Note: I did not post my pics on Rate My Physique, but was told many times I do not look like I lift at all in different forums/treads).
It depends on the diet and you individually.
For example, if you are doing a 6 month cut and are 20% BF and doing a very low carb diet, then you might have a “cheat” a couple of times per week, or every few weeks.
But if you are getting ready for a show, and are 9% BF and are only cutting for 6 weeks, then you are probably not as likely to cheat.
Also, there is a difference between “cheating” and “refeeds”. Theres different definitions for these, but IMO if a “cheat” is beneficial toward success, then it is a “refeed”.