You think I’m joking? I am not joking. I eat cupcakes every single week. Lot’s of them. It’s a weird thing to hear, right? I’ll tell ya, it’s a weird thing to say. I eat lots of cupcakes every single week. And guess what my body fat is? Too low to f-ing matter.
You want details? Fine. I have more abs than I can count, people constantly ask me what my body fat is and beg me to tell them how I stay sooo lean. Forget, “How much can you bench?” That’s for meatheads. What’s your body fat, is the new How much can you bench.
Let me break character and drop the Jim Young Boiler Room impression (such a good movie). That’s better. My body fat is around 5-6%. Like I said, too low to matter or low enough as I like to tell people.
If you’ve been following me for a while or just happen to be lucky enough to know me personally, then you know I like my weeks to be clean, my weekends to be dirty, my music to be performed live (preferably by Dave Matthews), and my cupcakes from Kara’s. Well, Sprinkles now that I live in SoCal since Kara’s doesn’t ship nationwide. FML. FWP.
Just making out with a Kara’s Red Velvet while in the car. Nothing to see here. Not weird at all. Keep moving. Seriously bro, stop staring at me!
“There are 3 ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat.”
– Margin Call
I’m certainly not the first to use this technique, but the last two certainly apply. We are going to be smarter AND cheat our way to success. This isn’t a new or revolutionary idea. Rarely in health and fitness do we uncover some new groundbreaking idea and this is no different.
Enter the cheat day. I know what you’re thinking… but I already have a cheat day. Snooze. Tell me something I don’t know! In my experience of coaching people on their nutrition and helping men and women achieve the body of their dreams I’ve noticed there is a fundamental flaw in the way most people approach a cheat day and many mistakes people make along the way that prevent them actually reaping the benefits of a strategic refeed or cheat day.
Yes. You. You just got caught. I blew up your spot. You are cheating wrong!
Let me show you how to do it correctly, the way I teach my clients, and the way that actually gets real world results. For most people, this is a classic case of having just enough information to be dangerous. Even if you think you already know what you are doing with your cheat day/meal, I’d highly encourage you to read on. Like a Cheap Trick, you might just find you were wrong all along…
Why You Aren’t Losing Weight On Your Diet
Tell me if this sounds familiar: You start dieting (cutting calories) and notice you lose some weight. The scale is moving in the right direction and you don’t feel nearly as embarrassed looking at yourself naked in the bathroom mirror as you used to. You might even say, you feel good! Hey, this diet thing is really working! I’m a badass motha…
Then you notice the scale stops moving. Doh! The image in the mirror remains the same, and nothing you try will work. You simply cannot lose any more weight. You get depressed, you binge, you rebound, and you’re now worse off than when you started. You curse dieting and swear you’ll never do it again.
I see this all the time. This is due to your dear old friend Leptin. Leptin can be a pain in the ass. Right when you start making progress he calls the cops to break up the fat loss party. Lame.
What is Leptin? It’s commonly referred to as the “anti-starvation hormone.” Leptin plays a huge role in your body’s ability to burn fat mostly because it controls a few other fat burning hormones that control your metabolism (thyroid hormones T3 & TW). To use an equation (I love this stuff):
IF (Leptin = High) THEN BurnBodyFat();
IF (Leptin = Low) THEN StopBurningBodyFat();
For the layperson: When leptin levels are elevated, your body can burn fat very quickly and easily. When leptin levels are low, your body will fight against fat loss – the very opposite of what you want. And when you restrict calories over time your leptin levels along with your testosterone and growth hormone levels will continuously drop until you eventually stop burning fat.
Even worse, leptin is actually produced by fatty tissue so the less fat you have on your body the less you can produce! This is another reason why diets and calories work so well at first, but then stop working over time. Put another way, the leaner you are the harder it is to burn fat. That’s why it’s infinitely more difficult to go from 10% body fat to 5% than it is to go from 20% to 10%.
This is literally the next day after my birthday party when I ate 4 cupcakes from Kara’s, 3 slices of pizza, garlic bread, and a two glasses of red wine.
Cheaters Always Win
How can get you get your body to continue to burn fat when your leptin levels are low from dieting? We can actually trick our bodies into producing more leptin and increasing our metabolism by having a strategic refeed (i.e. cheat day/meal) once per week. Not only will this raise your leptin levels and increase your metabolism, but this will boost testosterone, growth hormone, and dopamine levels as well. Boom, bam, pow! Old school Batman style, I love it.
Additionally, many people find cheating to have a massive psychological benefit because they don’t feel like they are restricting themselves constantly. Too easy, I’ll pass. It’s a nice reward for doing well during the week and something to look forward to. Instead of having a slice of pizza on Tuesday, you can resist the urge because you know you can 3 on Saturday. Kind of like a hall pass from the wife for a night with the fellas after a few weeks of being a good boy. This is how I, and many others, use cheat days to our advantage and get them to work for us and not against us.
“Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we may die.”
– Dave Matthews
I love my cheat day, without it I wouldn’t be shredded to the bone, I’d be a social misfit (always eating chicken and broccoli out of Tupperware can do that), I probably wouldn’t have a girlfriend (never being able to eat out at a restaurant socially with people will do that), and I’d hate my life. Two of my favorite things in the world are cupcakes and fine dining (e.g. Alinea, Gary Danko). Without my cheat day I wouldn’t have either :'(
How Most People F-Up Their Cheat Day
The majority of people I’ve coached fall into one of three main categories when it comes to cheating:
- They take it way too far
- They cheat constantly and don’t know it
- They never cheat
1. Taking It Too Far
Picture this: You’re out on a bachelor party. Everyone is having fun. Shit gets a little cra cra but it’s all good and then BAM! There’s that one guy that just takes it too far. He sticks his tongue down some chick’s throat forgetting you’re actually best friends with his wife, he goes down on that dirty stripper (gross, but we’ve all seen this one!), or he takes a swing at someone and mayhem ensues.
Analogy over. That’s how most people treat their cheat days. They simply take it way too far. I used to be this guy so I can relate. No, not getting in fights at bars (okay, maybe but that was in college!). I mean taking my cheat day too far. No joke, I once ate a stack of pancakes, french toast, large meatball sandwich, chocolate milkshake, 1 slice of Oreo pie, 2 donuts from Krispy Kreme, 2 slices of New York style pizza, a cheeseburger, 2 cupcakes, and a Snickers bar all while drinking beer after beer. The Snickers bar put me over the edge and I threw up. This was after a strict 2-week photoshoot prep.
Now, not everyone gets to the point of puking but this is generally about how many of you approach a cheat day. You simply take it way too far and treat it as a hall pass to shove anything and everything under the sun down your throat. Combining copious amounts of food and alcohol is NOT a strategic refeed. It’s NOT going to help you get leaner and it certainly is NOT going to help you burn fat. Bad form Peter.
How do you know if you fall into this category? You know. Trust me, you know. You’re the kind of guy or gal that will eat half of a donut, throw the rest away because you don’t want all those calories and then sneak back to the kitchen and eat the rest straight out of the garbage George Costanza style.
If this is you, you’re not alone. Hell, I’ve done it but be honest with yourself and do something about it. Like stop eating out of garbage cans you weirdo! Are you practicing in case you end up homeless?
2. The Constant Cheater
This is another problem I often see. This typically becomes evident with clients when I have them track their food. I have them track everything they put in their mouth, well…everything that has calories. If they fall into this category it becomes obvious real quick. These are the people that cheat a little every single day and I’m not talking about flexible dieting or IIFYM (topics for another day).
It doesn’t even always mean they are eating anything “bad” although they often coincide. It could just be eating too much healthy food. More often it’s a handful of candy at the office, someone has a birthday so we everyone is eating cake, one cookie after dinner, etc. Those little treats you give yourself that you secretly tell yourself “don’t count” toward your daily calories, or “can’t hurt” since I ate well the rest of day, or you will “work it off” later at the gym. C’mon. Really? Lies, all lies.
Since we’re all in a lying mood today, how about another lie. Classic Bro Lie. Hilarious! I love it.
These are the people that are trying to burn fat yet they eat their maintenance calories or above every single day of the week and then throw themselves a party for “eating clean” all week and indulge in an all out cheat day. Hey, I grew up in the era when not everybody got a trophy so I don’t believe in rewarding yourself with a cheat day for “trying.” Do it right or don’t do it at all.
How do you know if this is you? Easy. Identify your maintenance calories using a calculator like this one. Track your calories for a week using an app like My Net Diary or My Fitness Pal including your weekend cheat. Count everything you eat or drink that has calories. Everything. How many days are at or above your maintenance calories? Were your workouts on par with what you entered into the calorie calculator or have you tracked your calories burned with a heart rate monitor? If the answer to either of these questions is no then you are a Constant Cheater. Welcome to Cheaters City, population – you.
3. Loyal Larry: The Never Ever Cheater
This is the last big bucket people often fall into. This is the person that thinks even one slice of pizza, cupcake, or brownie will kill them. You’ll never see them eating anything but chicken and broccoli or some diet fad like organic strict paleo. They are loyal, they are disciplined, and they are hardcore. All good qualities, but when it comes to your diet this can actually work against you.
If you fall into this category, it’s okay – I’ll coach you through this. You don’t have to go out and eat a half-dozen cupcakes like I do to reap the benefits of a cheat day. First, you can refer to your day as a strategic refeed which sounds healthier and more scientific and intentional than a cheat day.
Second, you can eat things like pasta, protein bars, bread, rice, dark chocolate, etc. in order to get the same effect as a cheat meal. You’ll just have to amp up your calories because it’s harder to eat 50-75% above your maintenance calories on your cheat day when you are eating healthier foods. Just make sure the foods are carb heavy and calorically dense. Some derivative of pasta with a protein is a great option here because it’s carb heavy, calorically dense, and will provide the necessary leptin boost you are looking for if consumed in the right amounts on your strategic refeed day.
One objection I often get is: Bodybuilders and figure competitors don’t cheat like this. No, they don’t. But they also have an off-season and on-season. Ever seen a bodybuilder in the off-season? Yeah, you don’t want to look like that – trust me. I walk around at 6% body fat all year. No off-season. Catch me on the street, I’ll lift up my shirt and you’ll see an anatomy chart. That’s the lifestyle you want if you’re reading this blog. It’s about looking awesome, feeling awesome, and being healthy while still enjoying life and not just looking good for only 3-months a year. Who wants that?
I know it may seem counterintuitive and it may seem crazy, but please listen up: If you want to burn fat, get super lean, or have abs then you need to embrace this concept. Before I became Take It Too Far guy, I was The Never Ever Cheater. It wasn’t until I learned a little balance and discovered the right approach to strategic refeeds or cheating (the one I’m outlining in this blog) that I began to drop well below 10% body fat and started to get noticed more, book bigger jobs with higher profile clients, etc.
Hate me if you must, but take my advice on cheat days. This isn’t an accident. I actually get leaner by eating terrible once per week. It’s science, right Ron? Jazz flute anyone?
Other Common Mistakes
Crash Diet
Are you a crash dieter and subsequently a binge eater? Extreme caloric deficit above and beyond a 100-600 calorie restriction (typical diet) can lead to a rebound binge and do far more harm than it does good. Generally speaking, if you are eating less than 800 calories a day as a man or less than 600 calories as a women then you are crash dieting and your cheat is nothing more than a rebound binge. This type of diet wrecks havoc on your body and isn’t going to produce the desired effect. You need to eat a deficit of 100-600 on a normal basis in order to produce the desired hormonal response that will trigger fat loss.
Incorrect Workouts
Are you doing long steady-state cardio sessions at the gym, resting for 2+ minutes between exercises, or using 5lbs dumbbells (ladies this probably means you)? Steady-state cardio, resting too long, and using super light weights will not result in an increased metabolism. These types of workouts are not supporting your goal of burning fat and an increased metabolism.
How can you fix this? Try substituting HIIT cardio for steady-state cardio, use 30-60s rest periods instead of 2+ minutes, and lift some weights that actually feel somewhat heavy. I personally do HIIT cardio at least 1x per week, I almost never rest for more than 60s when working out, and I always use appropriately heavy and challenging weights.
Scope Creep
Like a bad software development lifecycle scope creep can be detrimental to your dieting success. Does your cheat day stop at one day or do you kinda, sorta, maybe extend it a little bit? You know how it goes… you go a little crazy with the drinks and the food one night which leads to a poor decision at breakfast the next day which leads to a bad lunch, etc.
Your cheat day needs to end and cannot continue into the next day. Even if you went too far with your cheat day, you need to end it before it spirals out of control otherwise you will just compound the damage. This usually only happens to me once per year if I’m on a Davecation (that’s a Dave Matthews Band vacation for those you not in the know) but when it happens it’s never pretty. I end up looking like a bodybuilder in the off-season!
If you did your cheat day right then let it be over and reap the benefits. Burn fat, get shredded, and be happy in the coming days. If you overdid it, fine. Learn from it, try your best to minimize the damage, and move on… preferably to the gym so you can burn off some of that excess glycogen. Just don’t let it ride to the next day… unless you are on a Davecation 😉
Is that a beer in my hand? Are those Doritos on the table?! Here is me making 2 classic mistakes: 1) Scope Creep. 2) Too much alcohol. This weekend wrecked havoc on my body and it took me a week of hardcore two-a-day-workouts and on-fleek dieting to get back to normal. No doubt, I didn’t look like this when the trip was over that’s fo sho.
Too Much… Alcohol
Too Much is the song and “I drink too much” is the line but luckily Dave Matthews can sing and play the guitar pretty damn well so nobody cares what he looks like. For the rest of us that can’t play a guitar to get a date, well – we have to be a bit more concerned with what we look like. It’s not superficial, it’s being realistic and honest. And when you drink too much on your cheat day you can forget about all those fat burning hormonal benefits I talked about earlier.
Can you have a drink or two or maybe even three on your cheat day? Yes. Can you have 7 and maybe 2 rounds of shots? No, not when combining it with bad food. At least not if you want to get leaner, burn fat, lost weight, and/or build muscle. Drinking alcohol halts your metabolism because your body prioritizes breaking down the alcohol first. All that food you just ate will now be stored in your ass ladies and in your abs fellas. Thanks for playing.
It’s been proven by study after study that heavy alcohol consumption lowers testosterone levels significantly. This shouldn’t be news to you. This might: Remember we talked about how boosting leptin levels was soooo damn awesome that it allowed you, even demanded that you cheat on your diet in order to burn even more fat? Well, prepare for another kick in the junk because leptin levels are actually DECREASED even further by high alcohol consumption.
Dammit. I know, this sounds bad but don’t worry. This doesn’t mean you cannot drink alcohol on your cheat day. Many people in the fitness industry (even the most shredded among us like myself) drink alcohol on our cheat day. Just be smart and don’t be a dumbass about it. Getting wasted, blacking out, drinking to the point of throwing up, and drinking to the point you cannot get out of bed the next day are all ways of being a dumbass about it 😉
Have a few drinks, enjoy yourself but keep a cap on it by being aware of the law of diminishing returns. What’s that? That just means, when you get to the point that 1 more drink will not add any additional value and will in fact begin to subtract value – shut er’ down and switch to water. Learning how to drink a lot of alcohol and not get fat is beyond the scope of this blog post, but check this out if that’s your goal.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, your guide to a successful cheat day. When used correctly cheat days can be a very fun and enjoyable experience that actually helps you burn even more fat and build even more lean muscle, however there is a dark side. Done incorrectly a cheat day can be a constant drag on your fat loss and cause you far more damage than it’s worth.