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Topic:Fighters Diet: Pro's And Cons Of Cheat Days?
Mick Crossland
Posted: 2010-08-21 02:59:34
Fighters Diet: Pro's and Cons of Cheat Days?

Hi. Normally i am an advocate of cheat days during weight loss diets in order to stop the bodies adaptation to the lower intake of calories and to shake up the metabolism by making it work a little harder because of the extra calories. But i find myself at the end of the first week of a 4 week plan to lose 13 kg ( i plan to cut 3 to 4 kg n the week of the fight) in a dilemma.

Ive lost 3.6kg in the first 5 days but have lost nothing in the last two days. Normally i would work towards the lower calorie intake progressivly over 8 to 12 weeks (which hasnt happened) and have a high calorie (still from good sources) cheat day every 5 to ten days to help prevent plateus', however, given the limited time available, am i better just sticking to the diet 24/7 or would an even lower calorie zero carbs zero fat day on my non training day be more productive?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as i dont want to make a mistake at this point as ive enough weight to lose as it is!

Cheers
The Crippler
Posted: 2010-08-21 08:48:21
I would suggest 2wks solid..... But its all depends on what your doing in the 1st place?
Are you taking on enough fluids? 3-4L a day?
Are you taking the correct supplements/vits (please don't anyone shoot me down.... yes people will argue they aren't required) eg your Omega3, Full multi vit, Glucosamine+Chondroitin.
NO ZERO FAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You must maintain your (good)fat intake, your body needs it.
Keep your carbs fibrous (broc, cauli, asparagus ect) during the 2wks.
How many meals a day you eating? What time is your last meal + plus when is your 1st meal?

I'd suggest 4 meals say 9,12,3,6 corrected for your life/work. As a fighter with a fight comining up

I'd suggest a protein/meal replacement shake directly after training as well a an easy workout prior to your 1st meal
Is one of your meals soup? I find this is excellent.
Also Fish as your protein source (also had your good fasts too) for a couple meals a day works well for me.



However................. This is very subjective, and it all has many variables which is why we would normally do some body analysis prior to subscribing somebody to our Fat Loss System or diet plan
Mick Crossland
Posted: 2010-08-21 10:37:03
Hi Crippler

I'm eating 6 quite small meals a day with between 30 and 40g protein in each and a total of 60 to 80 g of carbs throughout the day. My carbs come in the form of 50g porridge oats for breakfast, a handful of blueberries and a handful of strawberries with a whey protein shake (mixed with water) after morning training and 100g gram of brown rice mid afternoon and either one small portion of green vegetables or a leafy salad with my evening meal. Everything else is either chicken or fish. I cook all my meat and fish with olive oil for the healthy fats.

Drinking about a gallon and a half of water daily mainly because it helps me feel full especially on a night when i'm in the house watching TV and i would normally snack or at least have had a big meal.

I knocked vitamins etc on the head a few years back as they became a pain to stick to although i did feel they were a benefit.

After coming back off holiday last Saturday (after eating lots of crap) i went from 88.4kg to 84.8kg but haven lost an ounce for the last two days which is why i was contemplating the cheat day. I have 3 weeks left to get to 75 kg. I figured i'd do 79kg week before then cut 4kg as its day before weigh in. Do you reckon one cheat day in the middle then and i'l cram lots of good carbs and fats in?

Also, is there any benefit to doing the odd zero carb day if i bang a few walnuts and some flaxseed oil in or are these only beneficial when done as part of a longer programme where the days of no carbs accumulate.

Thanks for the feedback.


The Crippler
Posted: 2010-08-21 13:54:26
Mick, check your email mate ;-)
The Crippler
Posted: 2010-08-21 14:02:08
Although in terms of water loading, you maybe taking to much on already.... i've only really done the research & testing for that on myself. Some people suggest over 2 gallons a day on water loading so you might be alright.
With that amount of water, make sure you have all your minerals coming in
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Mick Crossland
Posted: 2010-08-22 03:28:18
Yeah i was worrying my body might not respond to water loading because of this but thought i'd either try 3 gallons per day or reduce to one gallon for the week before i load.

Would just a basic multi vit multi min be okay to supplement this?

Thanks a lot Crippler. Very much appreciated.
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