interesting article about dieting and cheating

juanveron45

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1685372

K!LL!@N

I expected to see some kind of comment on this article, with all the views it's had.

I don't really know what to make of it.
It seems counter-intuitive when you read it first.

Is there any proper research to back up what he's saying?

I'd be interested to read people's thoughts on this, especially those of the more knowledgeable on the forum.

Killian

Frank Bullitt

juanveron45 wrote:

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1685372

Are you just going to look up ways to cheat on a diet rather than stick to it?

K!LL!@N

Gintonious wrote:

Are you just going to look up ways to cheat on a diet rather than stick to it?

Eh, seems to me he just posted an interesting article and was looking for some feedback.

Killian

Frank Bullitt

Pretty much all of his posts in this forum have been on if he can still drink, eat crap and still lose weight, gets a bit boring after a while.

K!LL!@N

Gintonious wrote:

Pretty much all of his posts in this forum have been on if he can still drink, eat crap and still lose weight, gets a bit boring after a while.

Ok, fair enough.
I wasn't aware of the OP's posting history.

Killian

Hanley

As for "proper" research behind it, I could care less. If it works in the real world with people living normal lives then it works. No matter what "theory" or "science" says.

juanveron45

hey Gintonious,

If my posts are so boring then why do you keep reading them?

I am getting really sick and tired of people having a go at my posts and me having to defend myself on this website

its a free country if you don't like my posts please feel free not to read them

K!LL!@N

What I mean is, is there a basis for this actually working in the long term?
Lots of things work for lots of people they're not all necessarily sensible approaches for the long term.

Killian

juanveron45

Also I never said before that I was trying to drink and eat crap EVERYDAY and still get in shape I did mentioned something before about a cheat day and letting go one day a week if your 6 other days were on track

davyjose

Interesting article. I certainly don't see what's wrong with posting it either. If someone is prepared to put the work in, I don't see what's so wrong with looking for the odd shortcut. 99% off the people on here, including myself aren't elite athletes (nor are seeking to be) if anyone knows of any ways I can enjoy the odd treat and still look in good shape, continue posting.

Frank Bullitt

Im not trying to pick a fight but quite a lot of your posts deal with "cheat meals" or "Is there a happy medium with drinking" etc, it just seems to me that your all for the research but not a lot for the action.

Looking for short cuts wont help.

davyjose

Gintonious wrote:

Looking for short cuts wont help.

I'm not entirely sure I agree. Assuming the OP has the required dedication, what is wrong with trying to find a "shortcut" or "cheat". Some might call that trying to be more efficient. Lets be honest, we're all human and we all like Ice-cream and beer, so so what if the OP is trying to maximise his scope for enjoying these.
Even if he's sitting there with a fat belly and a pint in his hand, what's wrong with his posting for the point of discussion? In a very recent thread we had a mod mention how much it bothers him how much the OP gets picked on, and I have to say I agree.
We're all learning, and some of us are further along than others. I've learned a lot from this thread, and while much of it has come from G'em, Hanley, DaveIRL, Trib, Dragan etc., a lot of it hasn't. There's no harm in us sharing the info - if what you've read doesn't interest you, move along.

Frank Bullitt

I never said there was a problem with it, my point is going back to the OP's past threads where they all center around "cheats" and not around proper nutrition or training, from my point of view the OP is just researching in the hope he will come across a site on google that will tell him that its ok to eat pizza or drink beer and expect to lose weight or get results.

Hanley

Gintonious wrote:

I never said there was a problem with it, my point is going back to the OP's past threads where they all center around "cheats" and not around proper nutrition or training, from my point of view the OP is just researching in the hope he will come across a site on google that will tell him that its ok to eat pizza or drink beer and expect to lose weight or get results.

I would concur.

AlphaMale 3OO

Gintonious wrote:

I never said there was a problem with it, my point is going back to the OP's past threads where they all center around "cheats" and not around proper nutrition or training, from my point of view the OP is just researching in the hope he will come across a site on google that will tell him that its ok to eat pizza or drink beer and expect to lose weight or get results.

Ok I think people should lay off now. We've established his eating habits and if he wants to do things properly he will. As for the article, its not new news and it most definately works in conjunction with a diet that is otherwise very, very good. I've been using the method for a while now and ive found that i make noticable gains in fat loss by shocking the metabolism. its also great if your bulking and helps your bodys anabolism. BUT, i do it probably only once a fortnight and I do a cheat meal as opposed to a cheat day. You have got to draw a line and the method used to your advanatge is definately beneficial.

rubadub

Hanley wrote:

As for "proper" research behind it, I could care less. If it works in the real world with people living normal lives then it works. No matter what "theory" or "science" says.

True, scientists did once prove it is impossible for a bee to fly.

Some here use the "anacat protocol" (was this "invented" by Dragan?)
http://www.teamtestforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=11204&sid=03021d2dff06f7f0d7cc33349a7c5d33

Makes sense to me, and works well. I always know I can eat well in a day or so, this means calorie restriction on other days is a breeze.

I was always wary of this starvation mode metabolism change. Wondered if overeating on one day could produce the opposite result- raising it hugely so the body can cope with unexpected calorie intake.

I do not really plan cheat meals or days, they just happen! can be at a party or wedding, get a bit pissed and eat the place out of it.

Lately I do not do as much weight training, but if I do scoff something "bad" I will go off and do some benching or pullups, in the hope some of that unneccesary energy will do some good.

Degsy

"Cheat" m3eals have to be earned.If your're working hard and eating well nine days out of ten then sure you can have a day off.If you're not going to the gym and not dieting then reading about excersise regimes and diets is going to avail you naught.

g'em

K!LL!@N wrote:

I expected to see some kind of comment on this article, with all the views it's had.

There is actually a discussion on it, they've just moved the discussions to a different part of the site:
http://www.t-nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1685387

guys, lay off the OP - we all had to start somewhere. Granted, he's taking his time do any actual learning but I know I kidded myself for a long time about cheating/ drinking/ pretending that intensity was important, but it wasn't until *I* realised it that I actually believed it.

As for the article iteself, I was only talking to Eric Cresey about this at the weekend. I'd read the article and the theory behind and I thought it sounded very similar to a lot of stuff I'd seen before, but I guess the scientific ideas have been re-written and reworked for a more general audience. The ideas that have been bandied around for a while now and while obviously this approach doesn't work for everyone, cheats can and do make fat-loss a much more succesful process for a lot of people.

When I did the GSD this time last year I had a cheat day every 14 days over an 8 week period (four cheat days in total). On a normal day I was ingesting around 1600 cals a day in the beginning which went down to 1400cals/ day by the end then once every two weeks I had a day to go (relatively) crazy, eating anything from 4500-600cals in one day.

Cheating serves a number of purposes, the psychological aspect probably being the most important one. When you deny yourself of food (any food) you tend to crave it, particularly when you cut carbs out of your diet. Having that one day every two weeks essentially stopped me from going insane - I looked forward to it, relished it, dreamt about it!! On the very first cheat day I went mental - pizza, sexy burgers a la AmazingEmmet, mega bowls of muesli, the works.

But afterwards I felt awful - nauseous and disgusting. My three subsequent cheat days were a lot more tempered, but I still made sure I filled my belly. Did it affect my weight-loss? Hell no, I still lost 20lb of fat, gained 3lb of muscle and went from 23/24% bf to 11/12%. The extra carbs revved my sluggish metabolisma nd replenished my glycogen stores, giving me the mental and physical strength to keep going.

Obviously this is an extreme case but even on regular cal-deficient 'diets' cheat meals definitely have their place. Rarely will you find that a cheat is advocated as being an all-out carb marathon or alcoholic booze-up, rather the author generally says "Have a meal you wouldn't normally allow yourrself, and enjoy it for what it is". Even on the Anabolic Diet you get carb-ups every weekend.

As for whethere there's scientific backing for it, yes there is. But as Hanley said, the real test is whether or not it works in the real world, and no diet will work for everyone all the time, so science can only take you so far. Besides which, science doesn't know all there is to know about metabolism - we're a LONG way off knowing what's going on all the time.

But essesntially, the premise behind this diet is all to with the manipulation of a hormone called Leptin. This hormone was only discovered in 1994 (only 13 years ago!!) but we now think it's one of THE most important appetite and metabolism regulators in the body, alongside ghrelin and insulin. In fact most of the diets that involve cheats or carb-ups came about on the back on leptin research and there's lots of them out there - do a quick search for Leptin in Amazon and the first four results you get are:
* The Leptin Diet: How fit is your fat?
* Mastering Leptin: The Leptin Diet, Solving Obesity and Preventing Disease
* The Fat Resistance Diet: Unlock the Secret of the Hormone Leptin to: Eliminate Cravings, Supercharge Your Metabolism, Fight Inflammation, Lose Weight & Reprogram Your Body to Stay Thin
* The Leptin Boost Diet: Unleash Your Fat-Controlling Hormones for Maximum Weight Loss

I'm quite sure there's many, many more to come too.

Leptin (the Greek word for thin) is a hormone that reduces appetite and increases metabolism. Cutting a long story short, the diets supposedly work by suppressing leptin production through careful diet manipulation, but the 'cheat' causes your body to go into leptin production overdrive so it supeer-boosts it's levels and you enjoy a charged metabolism long after you've stopped eating.

Personally, yes I think it does work. But the key to its succesful is the size and frequency of the cheats.

thirtyfoot

g'em wrote:

Cheating serves a number of purposes, the psychological aspect probably being the most important one. .

Thats so true. I know a few elite Irish athletes who will be competing in the World Athletics Champs in Osaka this weekend who regularly have their cheats. In fact one is a chocoholic who has a daily "hit". I've sat in dining room at tables with Olympic medalists and watch them down their cheesecake for dessert.

I also know athletes who for 11 months of the year live a spartan existence and live in constant deprivation of the foods they crave. Living like that can crack you up and unless you are crazily focussed it adds even more pressure on you.