[digink]

Im in the process of my week off from going to the gym. I have kept my diet as normal as possible but I read somewhere while taking a week off to add a cheat meal here and there to give your metabolism a change of pace/show it something new. So a couple days ago and today I ate a piece of cake, and I don't know how long its been since I've eaten one..

I cant help but feeling like a fatass afterwards and asking myself, "what good did that do?"

So what good does it actually do?

[Ghosting]

Originally Posted by digink

Im in the process of my week off from going to the gym. I have kept my diet as normal as possible but I read somewhere while taking a week off to add a cheat meal here and there to give your metabolism a change of pace/show it something new. So a couple days ago and today I ate a piece of cake, and I don't know how long its been since I've eaten one..

I cant help but feeling like a fatass afterwards and asking myself, "what good did that do?"

So what good does it actually do?

I feel your pain bro. Muscle is so hard to gain and so easy to lose. It gets frustrating at times. Even maintaining the same caloric intake while not lifting, muscle size starts to "shrink" and body fat levels stay the same, so muscle to the BF ratio/gap widens. Its like "why do I even try at times."

[Ghosting]

I also know when I cheat too once in a great while, I always feel like crap afterwards and ask myself why I would even do something like that. It serves as a good reminder for me, why I dont eat like that.

[cem]

......i think u guys are being a bit dramatical. Taking a week off the gym is more beneficial than anything else...rest = growth remember. A week is far too short a time period to lose muscle. And having a cheat meal every now and again should not increase your bodyfat at all.....i use to take 'cheat DAYS' during ma 'diet' n never put any fat on, but dat might be cos of my fast metabolism. The answer to your question...what good did that do? is simple. To make you go HMMMM...YUMMMY.

[Ghosting]

Originally Posted by cem

......i think u guys are being a bit dramatical.

No, question about that. :)

[Uriel]

Cheat meals are CRUCIAL for effective fat burning. You know when you've been on low carbs for so long that you reach a time when you just can't lower them anymore (carb depleted) but you're still not losing bf%, that's because your metabolism slowly locks when you keep it cut for so long. Cheat days (the "scientific" term would be "refeds") bump your metabolism back up, and you start burning fat again the next day. Something to do with leptin, I can't remember the details though.

[Ghosting]

Originally Posted by Uriel

Cheat meals are CRUCIAL for effective fat burning. You know when you've been on low carbs for so long that you reach a time when you just can't lower them anymore (carb depleted) but you're still not losing bf%, that's because your metabolism slowly locks when you keep it cut for so long. Cheat days (the "scientific" term would be "refeds") bump your metabolism back up, and you start burning fat again the next day. Something to do with leptin, I can't remember the details though.

Totally agree with that. Thats why carb cycling is so effective, it never gives youe metabolic rate a rest on the low and no carb days.

[digink]

Originally Posted by Ghosting

Totally agree with that. Thats why carb cycling is so effective, it never gives youe metabolic rate a rest on the low and no carb days.

how do you guys keep the carbs low and the caloric intake high? I think that is impossible for me to do.

On a day I work out I eat about 400g of protein 600g of carbs and 100g of fats.. It's hard to keep the carbs down. I am also bulking though.

I wouldn't mind knowing how to keep the caloric intake high (4000s) and keep carbs low, sounds pretty hard to me, and no carbs with that many calories I'd think is impossible unless your rich.

[Ghosting]

Originally Posted by digink

how do you guys keep the carbs low and the caloric intake high? I think that is impossible for me to do.

On a day I work out I eat about 400g of protein 600g of carbs and 100g of fats.. It's hard to keep the carbs down. I am also bulking though.

I wouldn't mind knowing how to keep the caloric intake high (4000s) and keep carbs low, sounds pretty hard to me, and no carbs with that many calories I'd think is impossible unless your rich.

Your best bet is to keep it simple. Start out with 12 times yout LBM (body weight minus BF% in lbs). 15 to bulk and 10 to cut. These are just ballpark numbers to get you started, they arent for sure. This will tell you your total calorie for the day. So an example would be a 200 lb person minus their BF already. So 12 x 200 = 2400 cals for the day. Then you have to put your protein, carb, and fat ratios together so they equal 100%.P/C/F(these are just numbers for an example) 40/30/30. 40% of your cals has to come from protein, 30% from carbs, and 30% from fats. Typically a person who is cutting has a higher percentage of protein in their diet than carbs or fat (just numbers again) 50/30/20. A person who is bulking ups the carbs (just numbers) 40/40/20. You will have to make an adjustment after a week to see if the scale is moving in the right direction. Your metabolism will determine these numbers. :)

[Ghosting]

Originally Posted by digink

I wouldn't mind knowing how to keep the caloric intake high (4000s) and keep carbs low, sounds pretty hard to me, and no carbs with that many calories I'd think is impossible unless your rich.

Anyone who claims they eat 4000 cals a day is either a trialthete or a big MF ask to see their pic, and even then they cant prove they eat that much. Almost forgot protein/carbs = 4 cal/gram and fat is 9 cal/gram. Try to eat your cals divide up in 6-8 meals over the course of the day every 3 hours. Also dont jam too many proteins, carbs, or fats into one meal. Spacing out your protein consumption will keep nitrogen retention high. IOW, it will keep your muscle tissue in an anabolic environment.

[digink]

Hmm I track all of my food and I can show you I eat about 4000+ cals a day. When I used to eat less then that I didn't gain any weight. I am 5'11.5.

I dont know what my precentage split is but I eat like I said 100g fat 400+g protein and 500-600g carbs on a good workout day for a bulk. Seems to be working fine for me scale wise, I gain about a good 2lb a week keeping BF same.

When I used to eat like 3000 cal a day people said it wasn't enough... people on this board.

[Ghosting]

Originally Posted by digink

Hmm I track all of my food and I can show you I eat about 4000+ cals a day. When I used to eat less then that I didn't gain any weight. I am 5'11.5.

I dont know what my precentage split is but I eat like I said 100g fat 400+g protein and 500-600g carbs on a good workout day for a bulk. Seems to be working fine for me scale wise, I gain about a good 2lb a week keeping BF same.

When I used to eat like 3000 cal a day people said it wasn't enough... people on this board.

The word here is weight. You might step on the scale at 180, 1 month later you are at 170. You would probably do what anyone would do....freakout....... I mean you are trying to gain weight not lose it. I step on a scale about 4 times/year just out of curiousity, and I really dont pay the number no minds, the mirror is mt judge. 4000 cals to bulk? You have to takn in to consideration your weight? Your P/C/F ratio . Im not going to sit here and start bashing on the bro-lore, but when I here stuff like this its no wonder people look the way they do. Then their idea of cutting is "less" calolries and an ECA stack. Why is bulking so random number to them because the scale is going up? How would you possibly know if its muacle or fat? Ive seen guys at 200, 210, and 220 that where absolutely huge. Im about 217 @ 8.2% and guys ask me all the time how much I welgh and when I say between 215-220 they are shocked, they tell me they weigh 230 or 250 and Im way way bigger than them. I could go on for page but I'll make it short. Forget the scale and eat poperly to gain muscle and lose fat. You find out BB is 90% nutriton and only 10% lifting (correctly). Most people do 90% liting and 10% their diet, and cant understand why they dont get bigger and weigh more unless they eat 5000 cals. Protein = 1g/1 lb LBM - 1 to maintain and 1.5-2.0 to gain, only protein builds muscle period.

[digink]

Originally Posted by Ghosting

The word here is weight. You might step on the scale at 180, 1 month later you are at 170. You would probably do what anyone would do....freakout....... I mean you are trying to gain weight not lose it. I step on a scale about 4 times/year just out of curiousity, and I really dont pay the number no minds, the mirror is mt judge. 4000 cals to bulk? You have to takn in to consideration your weight? Your P/C/F ratio . Im not going to sit here and start bashing on the bro-lore, but when I here stuff like this its no wonder people look the way they do. Then their idea of cutting is "less" calolries and an ECA stack. Why is bulking so random number to them because the scale is going up? How would you possibly know if its muacle or fat? Ive seen guys at 200, 210, and 220 that where absolutely huge. Im about 217 @ 8.2% and guys ask me all the time how much I welgh and when I say between 215-220 they are shocked, they tell me they weigh 230 or 250 and Im way way bigger than them. I could go on for page but I'll make it short. Forget the scale and eat poperly to gain muscle and lose fat. You find out BB is 90% nutriton and only 10% lifting (correctly). Most people do 90% liting and 10% their diet, and cant understand why they dont get bigger and weigh more unless they eat 5000 cals. Protein = 1g/1 lb LBM - 1 to maintain and 1.5-2.0 to gain, only protein builds muscle period.

trust me I understand it 90% nutriton and 10% lifting, its just I am only 19 and have limited knowledge on the matter.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could IM me on AIM or some other form of chat and we could talk further if that is possible.