Thoughts on "free days"?

[Thremp]

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but the BMR on a huge fatso is super high.

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Ehh... Not so much. He's much lower than a normal person of the same weight and likely has an activity level commiserate to his BF% so he doesn't face the same "light office work" or moderate paced activity most people do during the day. They're likely just straight up sedentary, but so am I... Next topic.

[Jihad]

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Weekly deficits don't necessarily work that way, though it's a good guide. Besides, a deficit of 2000 calories over 6 days isn't that great. It should be easy to eat 2000 or less calories/day and work out 3 days burning 400-500 calories per session, netting you 900-1100 calorie deficit per day.

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This will grind down very very fast, and is way too quick for longterm.

OP,

Cheat meals are std. But free-for-alls are idiotic and pointless. This is like fitness 101.

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Er, are you TRYING to start a pissing match?

As per my OP, I am merely looking to encourage discussion. There are those that will tell you that free days are a complete joke, and no body builder at the top of his game ever intakes anything that wouldn't have a purpose, ever. As for me, the free day concept has helped me mentally jumpstart my routine, but in 3 weeks when I hit my target weight, jump back into heavy lifting, increase to about 3500 cals, and start a creatine cycle, I'm chucking the free day out the window. Probably just going to go with a "free meal", and being in the profession that I'm in, I basically MUST have at least 1 night every 2 weeks that I can drink heavy. Although I've finally completely eliminated beer! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Thremp, reread your post for tone and bring it down a peg, this is supposed to be a sarcasm-free, friendly forum.

-Jihad

[fitnessfreak]

i am not a fan of a full free day, i always just regret it the next day. it's like [censored] a fat chick when you're wasted.

also, i think a full day of indulgence seems like overkill, especially if you are trying to lose a fair bit of weight. however, i do like having a cheat meal here and there just to keep myself motivated. i think if i couldnt have ANY treats i would end up snapping at some point and gorge.

[The Farside]

Jihad,

Thremp is one of the many on this forum that doesn't practice what he preaches. I wouldn't be surprised if every day was pretty much a "cheat day" for him.

[Thremp]

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Weekly deficits don't necessarily work that way, though it's a good guide. Besides, a deficit of 2000 calories over 6 days isn't that great. It should be easy to eat 2000 or less calories/day and work out 3 days burning 400-500 calories per session, netting you 900-1100 calorie deficit per day.

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This will grind down very very fast, and is way too quick for longterm.

OP,

Cheat meals are std. But free-for-alls are idiotic and pointless. This is like fitness 101.

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Er, are you TRYING to start a pissing match?

As per my OP, I am merely looking to encourage discussion. There are those that will tell you that free days are a complete joke, and no body builder at the top of his game ever intakes anything that wouldn't have a purpose, ever. As for me, the free day concept has helped me mentally jumpstart my routine, but in 3 weeks when I hit my target weight, jump back into heavy lifting, increase to about 3500 cals, and start a creatine cycle, I'm chucking the free day out the window. Probably just going to go with a "free meal", and being in the profession that I'm in, I basically MUST have at least 1 night every 2 weeks that I can drink heavy. Although I've finally completely eliminated beer! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Thremp, reread your post for tone and bring it down a peg, this is supposed to be a sarcasm-free, friendly forum.

-Jihad

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Thanks for the lecture. Some pointers before you try the next tirade. 1) No one in modern times has a "free day". Its commonly called a "cheat meal" and you are correct that no elite level athletes in any sport use them. Recreational athletes use them since it doesn't damage your diet noticeably, but helps motivation immensely. 2) Creatine isn't cycled. You just take it. Well unless you're a vegan. 3) I'm glad you have to drink heavy. Mixed drinks are likely worse for you than beer unless you are drinking diet soda and booze. Possibly an allowance for diet Red Bull. The worst part of drinking is the alcohol. (As an aside: I would imagine a NA beer to probably be significantly better for someone than a coke. Maybe someone who knows more about this can explain it to me for curiosity?)

I'm pretty sure what I said was more or less totally correct regardless of whatever style I said it in.

[Jihad]

What you said was 100% correct, and I didn't debate that. I do drink heavy occassionally, when I do its almost always good Scotch. When I say "cycle" I just mean go through one can of it, usually a month. I have only taken Creatine once in my life, and I did it for about a month. Hopefully it will be as effective for me this time as it was last time.

[kyleb]

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Jihad,

Thremp is one of the many on this forum that doesn't practice what he preaches. I wouldn't be surprised if every day was pretty much a "cheat day" for him.

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Whether or not this is true (and it likely isn't), how is this relevant?

[Scotty.]

Unless you are training to be some sort of elite athlete, I would fully recommend "cheat days." Following a strict diet can be exceptionally difficult to stay motivated for. Anytime you go out and see your friends pigging out on some incredibly delicious looking food, while you sit there and pick at your steamed veggies really sucks. It can often lead to the point where you just give up entirely and forget your diet.

A cheat meal allows you to satisfy some of your cravings without dealing a ton of damage to your routine. It is a great psychological motivator. I wouldn't exactly recommend taking an entire day and just stuffing your face with garbage however. I like to "treat" myself to a few slices of pizza, or apple pie, or cake or whatever once in a while. After eating healthy for a while, you start to lose your desire for gorging on crap. I think I would get sick right now if I tried to eat a Big Mac.

[eastcoaster]

Sometimes I need a full 'free' day and other times I just need one 'free' meal.

It's pretty rare that I need a whole day, but it's about once every 2-3 weeks, or so, for me on the meal. I had it this past Saturday after running 15-miles (total) in grueling 95+ degree heat. It was part of a relay race that I ran with 6 other teammates (92 miles total). My reward was a wonderfully delicious cheesesteak and exactly three Newcastle Brown Ales. I would have kept going on them Newkies but I was too tired and needed sleep.