Cheat Days to Increase Fat Loss

Friday, May 21, 2010

When you read this title, you’re probably thinking one of two things:

  1. “Oh man, this guy is full crap.” OR…
  2. “TELL ME HOW!!!”

So if you’re still reading, I must still have your interest. Good choice, as I’m about to open up your eyes to something that’s amazing for people who want to lose weight but hate dieting, and for those who are committed to their diet, but have reached that dreaded fat loss plateau. These are advanced dietary tricks that keep your body in fat-burning mode, even while eating pizza… what!?

A quick note: This is really geared toward men and women who are pretty close to their target weight. For guys, maybe 12-15% bodyfat … like the “almost there but not quite there phase”. If you still have a lot of weight to lose, this will still help, but not to the same degree.

With that said, let’s look at a common scenario people face when dieting: You begin the diet and are sticking to it like white on rice. Everything is going great! Your weight is dropping, you feel awesome, people are telling you how hot you look, etc. Then all of a sudden, you realize that although you’ve been working just as hard in the gym and staying just as dedicated to your diet, the pounds stopped dropping off. Fat loss is no more. It’s like everything good you were doing just came to a screeching halt. Sounds familiar? You can blame a number of things for this ugly happenstance. So here is a brief Science Lesson for you to enjoy or not enjoy. Read it anyway, it’s good information.

Me and some crazy friends in Vegas awhile back, that town is always trouble!

Genetics

I’m always ranting about the Paleo Diet and how great it is, and you’re probably sick of hearing about it by now. The reason the “caveman” style of eating works so well with our bodies is because our bodies are still genetically programmed to be eating vegetables, meat, fruit and nuts. Not cereal, Wheat Thins, Spaghettios, or Rice Krispy Treats (but oh how I love them!). In the same light, our bodies are still also genetically programmed to want to store body fat! Because before grocery stores and restaurants existed (they didn’t have McDonald’s a million years ago, duh) humans had to find or kill their food on their own! But even when that lucky caveman wrangled down a deer to eat, he forgot to go to Lowe’s and buy a refrigerator so he had to eat as much as he could, before letting whatever could not be eaten go to waste.

Back then, having a lot of body fat was a desirable thing. If a famine were to hit and food was scarce, the tubbys could live off their own fat reserves until the next kill. Yes, our ancestors from long ago have made our fat loss efforts seemingly impossible. These tricks I’m about to tell you work so well for those who are CLOSE to their goal. That’s because the leaner you get, the harder your body will want to hold on to what little fat you have left, because our genetics still think there’s a chance that food might be hard to come by.

Chronic Calorie Restriction and Leptin

No diet is easy, per se, but I’m betting most people could get down to a healthy body fat range without too much difficulty. But when guys hit about 12% and girls hit about 20%, you have yourself a whole new ball game. After that sentence, I’m sure a lot of you are nodding your heads in agreement. For those of you trying to get really lean, you’ll appreciate this post. You see, if you’ve been under eating (eating below maintenance level), you will indeed be losing weight. Fat mobilization is impaired and you’re running off your own body fat reserves. Sounds all peachy, but there’s bad that comes with the good.

I want to touch up on a very important hormone: leptin. High leptin levels are a good thing. When you diet, leptin levels fall and a number of things happen. Muscle and fat metabolism are both greatly affected, for the worse. Your body gets worse at synthesizing protein and will even break down muscle, causing muscle loss. Bad. You will still lose fat if at a caloric deficit, but at a much slower rate when leptin is low. Remember reading my post about cortisol? Well cortisol also rises when leptin lowers. Bad.

So you can see the problem that occurs when calories are restricted over a period of time. Leptin levels have been shown to significantly fall after about a week of pretty hard dieting. However, they can be increased back to baseline level in just a day. How? Here’s the climax to the story that you’ve all been waiting for:

Cheat Days to Restore Leptin Levels

That’s right, cheat days can significantly help out your fat loss goal. This is a true statement that I know first-hand. I’m not even talking about one meal - I mean the WHOLE DAY! When you significantly over feed, your body will restore it’s leptin levels back to normal because it recognizes the increased energy intake. It’s like telling your body to chill out on the fat storage crap and assure it everything will be okay. And it only takes a day of cheating to get things running smooth again and primed for a successful week of fat loss.

My Current Diet

I rave about Paleo a lot, and I am a firm believer in the principles behind it. But there is a catch. As great as it is, I don’t follow it every single day. Or even every day of the week for that matter. I have constructed a diet plan for myself that works for me both physiologically and psychologically as well, using elements from different information I’ve read about. I played with it until I found what is best for myself.

Basically I use the Paleo diet as the foundation of my diet, but since I maintain 5-7% body fat, my body isn’t going to give up any more fat too easily. So I trick it with a couple advanced dietary techniques, and use my workouts to help me stay super lean. I picked up Joel Marion’s Cheat Your Way Thin a couple months ago and was very open to his theories, because I knew about leptin and have gone through fat loss plateaus in the past, where feasting days got my fat loss revving again. If you read my intermittent fasting post, then you also know I’m a fan behind Brad Pilon’s short-term fasting theories and the benefits it can reap. So I threw in principles from the Eat Stop Eat program as well. I set up a very scientifically logical (is that a phrase?) diet plan for myself and tied in my own workout plan to it, and have achieved stellar results. Go me!

Joel Marion and Brad Pilon are both experts in their field. They specialize in a number of things I am yet to master, so you should also check out their blogs and read up. I plan on creating my own Nutritional Program sometime in the future. Until I do so, I can still answer any questions you may have. I really recommend you pick up both Cheat Your Way Thin and Eat Stop Eat. Cheat Your Way Thin especially if you’re close to your ideal physique. After you learn about the principles I used from both programs, I can then help you understand the madness behind my own… Accordingly, let’s call it the “Hollywood Madness Diet” for now :)

Just a part of the Sunday Madness Tradition :)

It’s too much to write out my exact diet, but I can tell you that every Sunday for the past 7 weeks, I’ve been eating anywhere from 5000-7000 calories. Yep, not a typo. Madness you say? This overfeeding day is based on Joel’s program and it does work. Like a freaking charm. Some of it has to do with calorie partitioning, which you might know of. Then on Monday, I switch over to Brad’s program, and fast every Monday; which is usually easy, since my body is still so full from the previous day. The rest of the week is a bit more complicated, but I never feel like I’m dieting! (something we can all appreciate) Yet I still maintain 5-7% body fat year round.

Basically I am using the Feast => Fast Method for Sunday and Monday. The rest of the week revolves around those days. The best part is because we are going for a huge caloric surplus on the feast day, we aren’t talking chicken and broccoli here either. You’d have to eat like a whole cage of chickens and a field of broccoli to hit the numbers needed to raise leptin back to normal! So how does pizza, sushi and ice cream sound? That’s what my last Sunday consisted of, and was it a good one!

My last Sunday, no joke, here goes:

  • 7am: 3 bowls of Raisin Bran Crunch
  • 11:30am: All-You-Can-Eat Sushi … (best part of my week) I call it “Sushi Sunday” and I usually eat around 3000-3500 calories of sushi alone. I told you I can eat!
  • Nap… never fails
  • 4pm: Coldstone “The Pie Who Loved Me” Gotta Have It size
  • 7pm: 4 slices Dominos pizza
  • 10pm: A whole tub of Reese’s PB Ice Cream, I promise. Well my friends had a bowl each, but basically a whole quart and a half

It looks puny but it's the big size. And I replaced Oreos with brownies instead.

From my disgusting Sunday ritual, you can see I’m a huge sushi and ice cream lover. The pizza I kind of had to force down to hit my daily caloric goal, I know that sounds insane. And I swear to you, I weigh in on Friday morning and log it. And I consistently maintain. I also have a hand held electronic body fat monitor and am always between 5-7%.

Obviously you can’t eat like this every day, there is structure involved. But knowing that every Sunday is going to be glorious, it’s easy to stick with the rest of the plan for the other 6 days. The proof is in the pudding! Granted, I do work my ass off in the gym, and exercise is a player in this equation. But there you go, some positive info on cheat days, and a little story for you about my massive stomach capacity. I hope you liked it :) Can’t wait until Sunday!

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Posted in Fat Loss, Hollywood Fitness Secrets, Motivation, Muscle Building, Nutrition

About the Author

Hey guys, this is Craig Avera and Cesar Flores. We run Hollywood Body Fitness - which is geared toward achieving a lean athletic A-List Physique!

  • Matt S

    This post is awesome, I read it yesterday while I was having a cheat day. But I didn’t know the good things about them I just was piging out for the sake of piging out

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Matt,
    Yeah I looooooove my cheat days! I always have lol, but now that I understand the science behind it, I know that I’m actually helping my goals by doing so.

    So instead of that guilty feeling, I actually know I’m doing myself a good service.

    You gotta use your cheat days strategically for them to benefit you though… big detail :)

  • http://leanmeanvirilemachine.com Darrin

    I have a saying, “90% is perfect, 75% is good enough.” Once you start getting really fundamental about your diet is when you start to really lose touch with reality, because past a certain point you’re getting more and more diminished returns. So yeah, I’ve been known to swing by In-N-Out for a Double Double every now and then (from your last post), haha! Hey, everything in moderation.

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Darrin,
    Yeah I like that. See if I stick with healthy eating as planned for 6 days of the week, that 7th day can be a “whatever I want day” because I figure, 6 out of 7 is 85%.

    I aim for 80% good dieting, so that leaves me a full blown cheat day plus one or two other cheat meals throughout the week which I sometimes and sometimes don’t use… I don’t care about them anymore, I just love my Sushi (and ice cream) Sundays lol.

  • http://www.zenmyfitness.com Raymond

    Excellent post! I couldn’t agree more that Cheating / fasting works wonders.
    Funny I apply virtually the exact eating habits you mentioned above .. when I go on holidays maybe 2-3 times a year I never exercise or watch what I eat … I come back leaner since I’m in calorie deficit most of the year. With that I hold about 8-9% body fat.

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Raymond,
    Isn’t it awesome? I love that it works – that way you don’t have to drive yourself insane trying to get super lean – you can have your cake and eat it too, literally! Congrats on the 8-9% BF, that’s excellent man.

  • http://RelativeStrengthAdvantage.com Yavor

    You guys seem like a great bunch of friends. Vegas must have rocked…

    What are those orange thingies you got lined up right there?

    Y.

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Yavor,
    Duuuuuuuuuuuude!!! Salmon sushi on the left, Ono sushi on the right. You a sushi eater? It’s my favorite food, would eat it every day no joke! Ha, and California has the BEST sushi around brother!

  • http://RelativeStrengthAdvantage.com Yavor

    When I come over to Cali I’m def gonna try your sushi :)

  • http://www.notyouraveragefitnesstips.com Dave

    Craig,
    Great way to combine 2 valuable resources, Cheat Your Way Thin and Eat Stop Eat. Excellent explanation of leptin levels as well. One question about cheat days: do you think that having excessive saturated fat one day a week is still healthy in the long term? I assume if you eat clean the rest of the week that you’d be fine but I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
    Dave

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Yavor,
    I promise you won’t be disappointed in the least!

    Dave,
    Thanks buddy, I love the combination of the two programs. Saturated fat is still a subject I’m kind of debatable on, whether it’s really as unhealthy as it’s tagged to be, although I’m sure it’s not the best thing for you :)

    Having said that, I DID eat almost 2 full containers of Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream last night… Key lime pie and Half-Baked… sushi and ice cream are my Kryptonite :)

    But as you said, eating clean the rest of the week is the key. I’m not sure if my Sunday tradition falls into the lines of “healthy” but it does curb cravings for the bad stuff the rest of the week pretty effectively. Usually I will be totally uninterested in sweets coming off the cheat until around Thursday, and by then I know the next Cheat Day is coming soon, so I resist any urges to stray… it’s like the perfect situation for me.

    I figure, 6 out of 7 days of eating good equates to 85% – which I’ve found is enough to yield awesome results. And by doing all the dirty on one particular day, I find there are a number of benefits in doing so.

    Hope that answered your question man :)

  • Zorik

    Hey Craig,

    I really enjoy Rusty’s blog and your blog to getting tips to be able to achieve athletic lean body types as oppose to bulky and puffy!

    I find it intersting to find out that there is science proof to back up cheat days. I always thought it was for psychological reasons alone. I always have problems with cheat days coz I end up having several of them during the week coz of severe cravings. I will definetly consider getting the “cheat your way thin” program once I am finally employed:) This sounds like what I been looking for as a missing link.

    Btw, I looooove sushi too!!! Many people always tell me that sushi is so healthy so its not considered as cheat food. But I tell them that it has tons and tons of calories. Although compared to junk food, it is healthier!

    ~Zorik

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Zorik,
    Glad you look what you’ve read so far man! Yeah I know, I was really skeptical about cheat days as well at first. But personally, after a full day of binging on whatever, it really does curb my junk food cravings for the rest of the week. Or at least until I am close enough to my next cheat day that I can hold off.

    And I have actually found cheat days to really help bust through plateaus, so besides being extremely psychologically rewarding, they have also proven to be helpful in my fitness efforts as well.. Crazy I know :)

    Isn’t sushi great? Man. I could live off the stuff – well, and ice cream. But sushi is unreal, I hit up this all-you-can-eat spot and always eat enough for about 5 people lol. Have you had King Mackerel sushi?? It’s called “Ono” in Japanese… my favorite one!

  • Marc

    Hi Craig,

    Looks like you can eat sushi! :O .. In fact, I can understand because I love them too ^^

    I was just wondering if you really need to eat that hughe amount of 5000 – 7000 calories on cheat day in order to increase leptin level. Can’t you just eat, let’s say 3’000 – 4’000 calories ? Will that also increase leptin level ? Will it be a smaller increase ?

    btw I’m quite facinated by these advandced dieting tricks and I find it fun to try. I used to eat big meals with high carbs and doing a lots of sport. As I am an ectomorph person, I could maintain my body fat around 12% without problem. I’m now trying Eat-Stop-Eat with HIIT session followed by steady cardio (Rusty method). I also do bodyweigth exercise to maintain muscle and increase strength. I plan to use this agressive workout on a 5 weeks plan to get in GREAT shape for summer!

    I’d like to thank you, Yavor and Rusty because you are so great source of information! Plus I love your blog because it’s written in a funny way ;)

    PS: don’t forget my question

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Marc,
    I know it’s scary to eat such a huge surplus of calories in the 5000-7000 range, but it’s actually a vital part of the Cheat Your Way Thin program to do so and will allow your body to reap the full benefit of the system.

    If you’re familiar with Lyle McDonald’s Ultimate Diet 2.0 ebook, he recommends most of these calories come from carbohydrate sources as they have been shown to increase leptin more than dietary fat or protein calories. Which is fun, because sushi, pasta, and cereal are all viable options :)

    I like your workout routine you’ve got going. I’m switching gears to a similar routine, and I am doing something extra crazy which I’ll explain in my next post :)

    And lastly, thank you for the Kudos to Yavor, Rusty and myself – that’s what we’re here for! Thank YOU for reading!

  • Keith

    Hey Craig,
    Great site. Um since you eat 7000 calories on Sunday, how many do you eat the all the other days. Like how many calories do you eat on your fast day and the days after that? Also, what are your maintenance calories? THanks

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Keith,
    Great question. Say I utilize my feast day on a Saturday (usually I do)… I almost always then make Sunday a fasting day, no food until Monday when I get hungry.

    For the normal days, I am eating below maintenance by a few hundred. For me, maintenance is around 2700 calories on workout days so I will eat anywhere from 2000-2500 on those days.

    Glad to have you onboard!

  • http://www.moreprimetime.com/ Darren

    5000 – 7000 calories!? – Nervously looking forward to trying this on my next plateau.

    Other than the plateau, are their any other signs that your Leptin is too low?

    Thanks,

    Darren@moreprimetime.com
    Darren´s last [type] ..Somatopause Solution

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Darren,
    I know it’s crazy – and you will want to play with that cheat day number to see what works for you. But the point is to go way over to reraise leptin levels.

    The plateau is the main kicker for gauging leptin. I’ve also found when my muscular endurance levels plummet, I’m usually in need of a cheat day. So indirectly, I think that’s a sign.

  • Casey L.

    hi there Craig,
    I was looking over your site and came across the section for cheating your way thin and wondered….really ..really..wondered if i should get the program?

    dont want to waiste money in the economy right now?

    as i stated, I have but 10-15 pounds to lose off my 5’2” frame.

    120 pounds, 5’2”

  • Casey L.

    hi there Craig,
    I was looking over your site and came across the section for cheating your way thin and wondered….really ..really..wondered if i should get the program?

    dont want to waiste money in the economy right now?

    as i stated, I have but 10-15 pounds to lose off my 5’2” frame.

    120 pounds, 5’2”

  • http://hollywoodbodyfitness.com Craig Avera

    Casey,
    I really do like the information in Cheat Your Way Thin. I was skeptical at buying at first but found it to be a solid investment. The best part of the program is obviously the cheaty-cheat day, but it also subdues cravings the rest of the week for “bad” food because you either just indulged, or know the next cheat day is coming soon.

    I hear ya on the money part for sure – but I really like this program and it’s helped me bust through plateaus while maintaining sanity.

  • Shenna

    Hi Craig,

    So you would recommend consuming 5,000-7,000 calories on the Cheat Day…even for girls?! Or is that just what it takes to reraise the leptin levels?

    I currently am on a diet where I eat six meals per day, every 2-3 hours, consisting of a complex carb, lean protein, and healthy fat and I have one cheat meal per week. My cheat meal is planned (usually on Sunday) and is anything I can fit into a 1.5 hour time slot. So it just becomes one of my six meals of that day. What do you think of that approach?

    Oh and sometimes I save my cheat meal for when I’m out partying and consuming lots of hard alcohol. Haha So does alcohol consumption raise leptin levels?(Actually, let’s get real…I’ll have my cheat meal on Sunday, plus at least 2 nights of drinking per week…but usually only shots, vodka with soda water and lime, NO drunk munchies and I dance a lot!)

    FYI I’m 5’4, 121 lbs…my “goal” weight is 118 lbs. but I’ve been doing a lot of strength training so I’m not sure about having a “goal” weight anymore, since I’m building up muscle.

    Do you know of any easy at-home techniques to measure BF%? I’m from California, but living in Bali at the moment and I’m not sure if they have that technology at my gym here. I think it will be a better indication of my progress as opposed to having a goal weight.

    Let me know your thoughts! Thanks so much for your time and help!