Key Takeaways
- A refeed day is a planned increase in calorie intake, primarily from carbohydrates, designed to counteract the negative effects of calorie restriction during weight loss efforts. It’s not a “cheat day,” which involves unplanned and unrestricted eating.
- Refeed days may help prevent weight loss plateaus by temporarily increasing the levels of leptin, a hormone that regulates appetite and calorie burning, which can decline during calorie deficits.
- Incorporating refeed days might reduce the risk of overeating and improve physical performance by replenishing glycogen stores, but it’s important to plan these days carefully and consider potential downsides like distorted relationships with food.
Adopting a healthier lifestyle can be challenging, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.
Most weight loss diets focus on consuming smaller portions and fewer calories. Many people struggle to stick to these diets due to
That said, many people are reporting success by adding a refeed day into their weekly eating routine.
Simply put, a refeed day is a planned increase in calories for 1 day on a weekly or biweekly basis. It’s intended to give your body a temporary respite from calorie restriction.
Read on to learn about refeed days, how to do them properly, and whether they’re right for you.
A refeed day is a day on which you intentionally over-consume calories after a period of being in a calorie deficit — whether it arose from eating fewer calories or increasing physical activity, or both.
The idea behind a refeed day is to counteract the negative effects of being in a calorie deficit, such as lower hormone levels, increased hunger, lethargy, tiredness, and hitting a weight loss plateau.
Although this sounds similar to a cheat day, the two should not be confused.
Cheat days involve uncontrolled and unplanned eating for 1 day. On most cheat days, any type of food is allowed in
In contrast, a refeed day involves thoughtful planning and controlled food intake. Unlike cheat days, only a moderate increase in calories is permitted, and the type of food matters, as most refeed days emphasize calories from carbs over fats and protein.
While refeed days can vary from person to person, the main goal is to eat in a calorie surplus in a controlled manner.
You may wonder why a temporary calorie surplus would lead to weight loss, but the reasoning behind it addresses one of the main problems most people have when losing weight — a weight loss plateau or slowdown.
As you decrease your calorie intake and begin to lose body fat, a change in hormones occurs, which tells your body that you’re experiencing a calorie deficit. At this time, your body will begin to look for ways
In particular, a hormone known as leptin begins to decline. Leptin is produced by fat cells and tells your body that it has adequate fat stores, helping regulate appetite and encouraging calorie burning.
However, low levels of this hormone signal your brain that you’re entering an unknown period of calorie deprivation. As a result, your body receives signals to eat more food and burn fewer calories. This process is known as adaptive thermogenesis.
Adaptive thermogenesis
Adaptive thermogenesis is a protective process that alters your body’s metabolism to increase energy intake and decrease energy output to slow weight loss.
During this process, your body releases various hormones and increases food cravings to push you to consume more calories.
Additionally, the rate at which you burn calories can change. For example, you may experience a decrease in exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT) and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT).
EAT involves deliberate physical activity while NEAT includes any energy used for daily tasks, such as walking, fidgeting, and general movement. Other components of your energy expenditure include your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and the thermic effect of food (TEF).
Due to the changes that occur as you lose weight, you may feel less energetic about exercise, opt for the elevator instead of taking the stairs, and move less in general.
Combined, the reduction in the number of calories you burn and increase in calorie intake lowers the likelihood of continued weight loss.
Though this may be viewed as a problem, it’s an evolutionary process that helped people survive during times of famine or starvation.
Refeed days
When you’re trying to lose weight, you may be in a calorie deficit most days, therefore progressively forcing your leptin levels to drop.
By introducing a refeed day every week or so, you might temporarily increase your leptin levels through increased calorie intake, which may help keep your body’s fat-burning process working more efficiently.
Carbs are the main focus of refeed days due to their superior ability to increase leptin levels, compared with fats or proteins. Therefore, by eating carb-rich foods on your refeed day, you’re likely giving your body the best chance to balance its leptin levels.
Refeed days may provide certain benefits.
May prevent a weight loss plateau
The main reason for refeed days is to prevent a weight loss plateau.
When people are trying to lose weight, they may see immediate results initially, but this is usually followed by a period during which no weight loss occurs. This is partially due to a survival process called adaptive thermogenesis.
By feeding your body excess calories mostly in the form of carbs, your leptin levels temporarily increase, which may prevent adaptive thermogenesis from interfering with your weight loss.
However, more research is needed to better understand the effects of temporary refeeding and leptin levels.
May lower your risk of binging
Most research has found that food restriction ultimately leads to overeating or binging, which is why cheat days have become popular in the fitness community.
However, cheat days are designed as a way to binge on an unlimited amount of food, which may lead to a distorted relationship with food and limit your progress. In contrast, refeed days are designed to gently and purposefully increase calories, which may reduce binging.
Introducing a refeed day may help limit binging by permitting foods typically discouraged on many diet plans, especially carb-rich ones. Furthermore, it may help satisfy cravings and decrease feelings of deprivation.
However, a refeed day coupled with an overly restrictive diet likely won’t resolve this problem permanently. That’s why it’s best to opt for an eating pattern that welcomes a wide-range of foods that you enjoy.
May improve physical performance
Refeed days may help improve physical performance.
During periods of calorie restriction, your body’s ability to store glycogen is limited. Glycogen is a long-chain carbohydrate that’s stored in your muscles and liver and used as a quick energy source during physical activity.
Since refeed days emphasize carb intake, this may help replenish glycogen stores, potentially improving your performance in the gym, on the race track, or on the field.
Despite the possible benefits, some potential downsides need to be considered before introducing a refeed day.
Lack of research
There isn’t much research on the topic. Moreover, adaptive thermogenesis is still a contested topic among researchers, further calling into question the effectiveness of refeed days.
Moreover, the human body is incredibly sophisticated and can easily adapt to changes in food intake. Your metabolism does not experience lasting changes from one day of being in a calorie surplus or deficit and is largely dependent on genetics and age.
Just as it takes many days to weeks of calorie restriction for leptin levels to decline and adaptive thermogenesis to take place, it likely takes more than a single day to adequately elevate leptin levels enough to support weight loss.
Easy to go overboard
Even though you may have a thoughtfully planned refeed day, you may have a hard time controlling your intake once you start. Depending on the intensity of your calorie restriction during the week, you may experience intense cravings that override your good intentions.
When trying to lose weight, it may be best to limit yourself to no more than a 500 calorie deficit per day through both increased exercise and a modest decrease in calorie intake.
Though this balanced approach may make weight loss take longer, you may be less likely to regain it in the long run.
Part of the diet mentality
Although refeed days encourage a temporary respite from calorie restriction, they still emphasize diets as a way to lose weight.
Considering most diets fail to produce long-term weight loss, following a healthy lifestyle that does not eliminate entire food groups or encourage an intense calorie restriction may be most sustainable.
Most guidelines recommend a conservative approach to weight loss for long-term success. It
Through this approach, weight loss may be achieved without the need for a refeed day.
May create a distorted relationship with food
Any diet comes with the risk of negatively affecting your relationship with food.
Though refeed days encourage carb-rich foods for 1 day, they’re usually paired with diets that vilify carbs or other food groups, creating an unhealthy “good versus bad” mentality.
Additionally, only allowing 1 day free of calorie restriction every 1 to 2 weeks may create a heightened sense of stress and fear surrounding food and calories. This might ultimately lead to disordered eating thoughts and behaviors.
If you have a history of disordered eating or eating disorders, it may be best to avoid refeed days and diets altogether, or to consult with a qualified health professional before trying to lose weight.
If you’re interested in incorporating refeed days into your eating routine, it’s best to spend time planning them out to ensure you’re not going overboard. Moreover, you may need to adjust the rules to meet your body’s needs.
Generally speaking, most people in a calorie deficit should consider including a refeed day once every 2 weeks, although this will depend on your body fat percentage and goals. Those with lower body fat percentages may need to increase their number of refeed days.
Use the following chart as a reference:
| Body fat percentage (%) | Days of refeeding |
|---|---|
| Males: 10% or more | Once every 2 weeks |
| Females: 20% or more | Once every 2 weeks |
| Males: 10% or less | 1–2 times per week |
| Females: 15%–20%* | 1–2 times per week |
*Note: Most females who are not athletes should aim to have a body fat percentage above 15% to support reproductive and overall health. Very low body fat levels can disrupt hormonal function and
Although there are no official guidelines, most refeed days should aim to increase daily calories by 20% to 30%. For example, if you need around 2,000 calories per day to maintain your weight, you should aim to have 400 to 600 additional calories per day.
Aim to consume most of your additional calories from carb-rich foods, such as whole grains, pasta, rice, potatoes, and bananas. Carbs have been shown to increase leptin levels more than protein or fat.
You can continue to eat protein and fat at each meal. However, prioritize carbs first, then protein, and limit fats.
Most refeed diets recommend limiting fats to around 20 to 40 grams per day and suggest consuming around 0.68 to 0.9 grams of protein per pound (1.5 to 2.0 grams per kg) of body weight. But again, note that these are recommendations, only.
To ensure you’re meeting your body’s needs, it may be best to speak to a healthcare professional before implementing a refeed day into your eating regime.
If you’re wondering what a refeed day would look like, here’s an example. Keep in mind that the portions of each food will vary depending on your weight and other needs.
- Breakfast: 3 or 4 whole wheat pancakes with maple syrup, walnuts, and 1 scoop of whey protein powder (or an equivalent serving of plant-based protein powder)
- Snack: 1 cup (225 grams) of cottage cheese with raspberries
- Lunch: turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, and mozzarella cheese
- Snack: shake made with cow’s or plant-based milk, bananas, berries, hemp seeds, and whey protein powder
- Dinner: 5 to 6 ounces (140 to 170 grams) of chicken breast, 1 to 2 cups (195 to 390 grams) of brown rice, 1 to 2 cups (175 to 350 grams) of sautéed vegetables
- Dessert: 1/2 cup (130 grams) of chocolate pudding
Conversely, follow an eating pattern similar to that of your regular diet and add additional servings of carbs to each meal.
Refeed days are designed to give a temporary break from calorie restriction.
The theory behind refeed days is to improve your hormone levels, namely leptin, to prevent weight loss plateaus caused by a process known as adaptive thermogenesis. They may also decrease your risk of binging and improve athletic performance.
However, more research is needed to better understand the purpose and role of refeed days in weight loss. Additionally, they may not be suitable for those with a history of disordered eating.
If you’ve reached a weight loss plateau, you may want to consider incorporating a refeed day into your routine.