Refeed Days: Necessary For Keto Diet Success?

A refeed day is a planned increase in calories for one day on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. It is intended to give your body a break from calorie restriction and counteract the negative effects of a calorie deficit, such as lower hormone levels, increased hunger, and fatigue. While it may sound similar, a refeed day is not the same as a cheat day, which involves uncontrolled and unplanned eating. Refeed days are designed to be a thoughtful, controlled food intake with a moderate increase in calories, focusing on carbs over fats and protein. This article will explore whether you need a refeed day if you are on a keto diet.

Refeed days are different from cheat days

Refeed days are used mostly on a carb-cycling diet and typically on days where you are training larger muscle groups such as legs, back, and chest. They help the body maximize muscle gain and glycogen storage. Glycogen will refuel your muscles and repair damaged tissue.

On a refeed day, you would increase your clean carb intake to about 1.5-2 times the normal amount. This is not a cheat day, which can lead to binge eating and harm your progress. A refeed day is a temporary break from calorie restriction, with a controlled day of overeating with a focus on carbs. It aims to counteract the negative effects of calorie restriction, such as lower hormone levels, increased hunger, lethargy, tiredness, and hitting a weight loss plateau.

While refeed days can vary from person to person, the main goal is to eat in a calorie surplus in a controlled manner. This is achieved by increasing daily calories by 20-30%, with most of the increase coming from carbs. For example, if you need 2,000 calories per day to maintain your weight, you should aim for 400-600 additional calories on a refeed day.

Refeed days can aid weight loss

Refeed days are an increasingly popular strategy for those looking to lose weight. The idea is that, by taking a "cheat day" or a planned refeed, you can boost your metabolism and prevent the metabolic slowdown that often occurs during sustained weight loss.

A refeed day is a planned increase in calories for one day on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. It is a temporary break from calorie restriction, where you intentionally overconsume calories after a period of being in a calorie deficit. This is different from a "cheat day", which involves uncontrolled and unplanned eating with no restrictions on food type or quantity.

The refeed day is designed to be a thoughtful, controlled day of overeating with a focus on carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the main focus as they are superior for increasing leptin levels, a fat-burning hormone, compared to fats or proteins.

The Benefits

Preventing 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 often see immediate results initially, followed by a period of little to no weight loss. By feeding the body excess calories, mostly in the form of carbs, leptin levels temporarily increase, which can prevent adaptive thermogenesis (a process that slows weight loss) from interfering with your weight loss.

Lowering the Risk of Binging

Refeed days are designed to gently and purposefully increase calories, which may reduce the risk of binging. They can help satisfy cravings and decrease feelings of deprivation, which is a common issue with restrictive diets.

Improving Physical Performance

Refeed days can also help improve physical performance. During calorie restriction, the body's ability to store glycogen is limited. As refeed days emphasize carb intake, this can help replenish glycogen stores, potentially improving performance in the gym or in athletic pursuits.

Things to Consider

There is limited research on the effectiveness of refeed days, and they may not be suitable for everyone. They can be difficult to control and may lead to overconsumption, especially if your calorie restriction has been intense. They can also create a distorted relationship with food, especially when paired with extreme diets that vilify certain food groups.

If you are considering incorporating refeed days, it is best to plan them out to ensure you don't overindulge. It is also recommended that you speak to a healthcare professional to ensure your refeed days meet your body's needs.

Refeed days can improve athletic performance

Refeed days can be an effective strategy for improving athletic performance, and they are particularly popular among those following the ketogenic diet.

A refeed day is a planned day where an individual consumes additional calories, usually in the form of extra carbohydrates, after a period of calorie restriction. This practice is often implemented once every two weeks, although it can vary depending on body fat percentage and goals.

During a refeed day, the intake of carbohydrates is prioritised over proteins and fats. Carbohydrates are favoured due to their ability to increase leptin levels, which can help to regulate appetite and encourage calorie burning. By temporarily increasing calorie intake, refeed days can help to replenish glycogen stores, which are used as a quick energy source during physical activity. This can lead to improved performance in the gym or during athletic activities.

Research suggests that refeed days can be particularly beneficial for elite athletes who follow very low-carb diets. A study on elite race walkers found that those who consumed periodic high-carb meals before training sessions experienced significant improvements in performance compared to those on a strict keto diet.

However, it is important to note that there is limited research on the effectiveness of refeed days, and the human body can easily adapt to changes in food intake. Therefore, while refeed days may provide some benefits, they may not significantly impact overall weight loss or athletic performance.

Refeed days can decrease keto-related side effects

Refeeding days can be an effective way to combat keto-related side effects. The keto diet is a popular, low-carb, high-fat regime that can lead to a range of unpleasant symptoms known as the "keto flu". These include nausea, fatigue, headaches, constipation, weakness, difficulty sleeping, and irritability. By incorporating refeed days, or days of higher carb consumption, keto dieters can alleviate these side effects.

The keto diet restricts carbohydrates to under 50 grams per day, forcing the body to burn fat for energy instead of glucose, a process known as ketosis. However, this drastic reduction in carbs can lead to the aforementioned side effects as the body struggles to adapt to using ketones as its primary fuel source. By cycling in carbohydrates 1–2 days per week, keto dieters can reduce these symptoms.

Refeeding days provide the body with a temporary break from ketosis, allowing it to replenish depleted glucose reserves. This can help regulate hormone levels, including leptin, which plays a crucial role in metabolic rate, satiety, and fat-burning. Additionally, refeeding days can increase the levels of glycogen in the muscles, improving physical performance and exercise recovery.

It is important to note that there is limited research on the effectiveness of refeeding days specifically for keto dieters. However, the principle of carb cycling has been shown to provide benefits such as improved athletic performance and reduced keto flu symptoms.

When planning a refeed day, it is important to focus on consuming additional calories and carbohydrates. This can be achieved by increasing your daily calorie intake by 20–30% and prioritizing carbs over fats and proteins. It is recommended to choose healthy, complex carbs such as whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, and sweet potatoes.

Refeed days can be part of a cyclical ketogenic diet

During the refeeding phase, the goal is to increase the number of carbs, but the quality of the carbs also matters. Instead of unhealthy sources like white bread and baked goods, the majority of carbs should come from nutritious, complex sources such as whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes, beans, and quinoa. These foods are high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which help to fuel the body and stabilize blood sugar levels.

The cyclical ketogenic diet is popular among those seeking muscle growth and improved exercise performance. It is believed that the strategic raising of insulin levels on specific days may promote muscle growth by allowing amino acids and glucose into muscle cells, increasing protein synthesis, and decreasing protein breakdown in muscle tissue.

Additionally, refeeding with carbohydrates may benefit elite athletes who are following very low-carb diets. One study found that elite race-walkers who received periodic high-carb feedings prior to training sessions experienced significant improvements in performance compared to those following a standard keto diet.

The cyclical ketogenic diet can also help to decrease keto-related side effects, such as nausea, fatigue, headaches, constipation, weakness, difficulty sleeping, and irritability. It can also add more fiber to the diet, making it easier to obtain adequate fiber intake.

However, it is important to note that there is limited research on the cyclical ketogenic diet, and its long-term benefits and side effects are largely unknown. It is possible to consume too many calories on refeeding days, which may counteract the weight loss benefits of the standard keto diet. Additionally, transitioning from a standard to a cyclical keto diet may result in temporary weight gain due to the retention of water when consuming high-carb foods.

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