When you are dieting and in a calorie deficit (especially for a long period of time) your leptin hormone levels will drop and with low leptin levels it becomes much harder to burn body fat as leptin is the KING of all fat burning hormones! So what should you do? The answer is: Include re-feeds into your cutting diet to maximize your fat loss goals! Now what is a re-feed day you may ask? Well basically on a re-feed day you increase your carbohydrate intake by 100% (or more) increasing your total calories above your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) which is also known as your maintenance level so that you are in a calorie surplus for this day (but still in a weekly deficit). The idea is to keep protein and fat low and your carbs high, so consuming foods like pancakes are perfect for this! Just make sure you still consume 1g protein per pound of your lean body weight and 0.4g of fat per pound of your lean bodyweight to meet the minimal requirements for optimal body composition. This re-feed day with all the extra carbs will boost your metabolism and increase your leptin hormone levels so that you can continue to burn fat at an optimal rate again. Re-feed days are very important for people who have been on a low calorie diet for a long time, if you have been dieting for over 20 weeks then sometimes even a 7 day diet break will benefit you to help restore leptin and T3 and other fat burning hormones. Sometimes you have to take 1 step back to take 2 steps forward. If anyone wants a personalized meal plan from me (with re-feed days included) just visit my website below!
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 05:28:59 +0000
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