REFEED DAY IS GOING DOWN!! LOVING IT!!

Ok this program is AMAZING!!!  There is no doubt we have been working extremely hard within our group with lifting heavier and pushing ourselves to the limit!!  YES we are kicking butt, and our trainer has allowed a few days called REFEED days where we can have some DIRTY YELLOWS as we call them and TODAY is one of those days!! 

WHY YOU ASK??

When you consume carbs, they’re broken down into glucose, or blood sugar. Your body uses this blood sugar as its primary fuel source. Glycogen — carbohydrates that are stored in your liver and muscles — acts as your body’s back-up fuel source.

While hard exercise is obviously great for you, it also breaks you down. If you add a calorie deficit into the mix, things can get rugged: Those glycogen stores become depleted, your body exists in more of a stress state, and it wears you down mentally.

Physically, you can address the situation with proper rest and recovery. Dietarily, it’s a little trickier. Obviously, you can eat more, but if you’re trying to lose weight, porking out to feel better was how you got in this mess to begin with.  So you want to be a little controlled about it — that’s where refeed day comes in.

Don’t mistake this with a cheat day; on a cheat day, you just go for it and eat a bunch of untargeted garbage.

You might get the benefits of a refeed day in there among the excessive fat and sodium, but the additional empty calories and problematic ingredients that come with junk food aren’t necessarily benefiting you.

With a refeed day, you’re taking a specific food — high-glycemic carbohydrates — that would otherwise work against your health and targeting them for good instead of evil.

The reason for this is that after eating at a reduced calorie level for a while, your body is at a bit of a carbohydrate deficit, particularly with regards to glycogen, the stored form of your body’s primary energy source, glucose.

In this situation, when you increase carbs, they go toward replenishing that glycogen, as opposed to being stored as fat.

Muscle glycogen, specifically, allows you to push harder during exercise, so when you top off your glycogen during a refeed day, you should be able to push even harder in your next workout.

Another benefit of the carb increase is that it feels good to eat yummy food. In fact, high-carbohydrate foods release a feel good hormone in your brain called serotonin.  So...hence this yummy cookie!  YAY!!! 

Sure, you could get the job done with plain potatoes sprinkled with wheat flour, but why do that when you can do it with waffles?

Psychologically, enjoying the more decadent foods associated with carbs, especially at refeed levels, is a welcome break from the austerity of the rest of a results-driven eating plan.

This plan has been leaving me full and satisfied and I would be lying if I didn't say I loved REFEED day!  It was a nice break from the structure a bit, but back on track tomorrow!  

Question...do you incorporate REFEED days in your workout routine?  If not, maybe you should plan on it!  

The plans I have, give you a simple layout on which combinations of foods work together in  your favor so you can be on your game with this journey! 

Want more information?  I would be glad to help you!  Just shoot me an email at rebecca@rebeccaamiller.com.