022: Maintaining Weight Loss Sanity, 48-Hour Caloric Refeeds, and Earning Your Reward

In today’s episode I gave into human nature, challenged protocol, and gave up my weight cut…for 48 hours. Recently, I discovered the benefit of 48-hour caloric refeeds for saving one’s sanity. That’s right. I dropped the mental toughness, got off my caloric deficit, and returned to maintenance for 48-hours. It. Was. Epic. Furthermore, this change in protocol drove me to exercise an experimental diet plan for the next 6 weeks. Can 48-hour caloric refeeds help restore metabolic adaptations back to baseline during a weight loss phase? We’ll see! I hope y’all enjoy this new podcast episode and keep up the progress.

Put in the work, make the progress, and earn your reward.

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Transcript

Ask the right questions. Drop the ego and don’t dictate. Live to encourage.

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How’s it everyone, my name is Mike Cabuco, and welcome to another episode of the Love Notes for Life podcast, your creative space for amplifying greatness through gratitude.

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At the time of this recording, today is May 14th, so happy Mother’s Day to all the mommas out there and happy de-load week as this is the end of week 6 of my weight cut. And I’ve got a confession to make. It isn’t easy to say this, to admit this, but my friends I threw in the towel. I couldn’t cut it. I gave into my temptations, to the inevitability of human nature, and just when I thought I had the willpower, the mental toughness, and the athletic vigor of a Greek God resting on his laurels atop of Mount Olympia, I fell flat. I caved in, took a deep breath, and took a 48-hour diet break at maintenance calories.

Alright. Alright. I apologize for the theatrics, but I really wanted to test something out. So, check this out.

Last week, I came across this informative video from pro natural bodybuilder and science communicator Jeff Nippard (Nipperd) called Refeeds & Diet Breaks: The Most Misunderstood Fat Loss Tools. This YouTube video was super comprehensive, kudos to Jeff, and he actually opened my eyes to a study done by lead author Dr. Bill Campbell titled Intermittent Energy Restriction Attenuates the Loss of Fat Free Mass in Resistance Trained Individuals.

So the study was a randomized trial performed over the period of 7 weeks between two controlled groups. Group A was subjected to a continuous restrictive diet whereas the second controlled group, group B, incorporated an intermittent restrictive model by utilizing a 48-hour carb refeed cycle. While the study expressed differences in caloric timing, the overall caloric deficit consumed by both groups remained equal. 

In essence, to achieve this outcome, the continuous restrictive diet participants consumed 25% less calories over a 7-day period and the intermittent diet group consumed 35% less calories over 5 days and utilized the last two days to be at maintenance calories. And, during the entire study, the researchers would track the rate of weight loss, resting metabolic rate, and how much fat free mass or lean mass was retained.

In conclusion, the researchers articulated that the intermittent diet group performed better overall compared to the group that went on continuous diet. So the individuals that utilized the 48-hour carb refeed cycle had much better fat free mass preservation alongside a stronger resting metabolic rate. However, interestingly enough, both groups at the end of the study lost the same amount of fat.

So right after watching that Jeff Nippard video, I immediately jumped over to my nutrition spreadsheet, jammed away on the keyboard, and recalculated my macros and calories for maintenance and regained my sanity for at least two days straight.

You know that saying, “you don’t know what you got until it’s gone?” Yeah, that’s especially true when it comes to calories and eating like a sane normal human being. Haha. I mean, if you ever tried to diet for extended period time, eventually you start to question the meaning of life. Like seriously, you get very philosophical quick.

But I made the caloric shift very intentionally. I think a common misconception when providing advice is that sometimes we only hear what we want to hear. For example, years ago if you told me, “Hey Mike. Have you heard this new diet trick called 48-hour refeed? No? Doesn’t ring a bell? Well pull up a chair dude. You’re going to love this! Check this out. For two days a week, take a nice big break and just eat like a normal person.”

But you see my idea of quote/unquote normal person was far from normal. So, if you told me that advice years ago, I’d probably give myself way too much freedom, eat whatever I want when I wanted without moderation, and pretty much mess up my weekly caloric deficit. So, with that disclaimer out of the way, I took two days out my de-load week and went back to maintenance calories.

So what happened you may wonder? Well, for one, my overall mood got a bit brighter. Actually, not a bit, but much-much-much better! I was much more focused, less stressed out, and the small trivial things were just that. Small trivial things that didn’t trigger me like they would naturally on my low-calorie days. And surprisingly, at the end of de-load week, I dropped weight. Well that’s a bonus!

So this phenomenon that I experienced during de-load week inspired to me to play a little experiment. Let’s just say it peaked my curiosity and gave me the inclination to top off my head with the moniker of the aspiring grad student that is seriously considering going back to school to pursue a masters in nutritional sciences. Just throwing it out there, you know, to the universe, just in case the idea wants to manifest itself into existence. But anyways back on topic.

So my little experimental idea emerged from a realization, and an epiphany you might say, that I conjured up from a deep night of self-reflection. So, if I managed to technically cut weight even if I took a 48-hour diet break, could this application be a truly sustainable model and timely approach to fat loss? Meaning, with all things considered, could I still lose the same amount of weight at my current caloric deficit and still include two days at maintenance?

Now, this idea would deviate slightly from Dr. Bill Campbell’s study in a sense that I’d be trying to suggest that a 48-hour refeed cycle maybe, just maybe, could somehow restore any metabolic adaptations and reintroduce more calories to make the diet even easier while still cutting weight at the same rate.

Now theoretically, the experiment does have some physiological constraints. In a study penned by Eric Trexler, Abbie Smith-Ryan, and Layne Norton, called Metabolic adaptation to weight loss: implications for the athlete, the researchers noted that metabolic adaptations occur during weight reduction. In a general sense, and I quote and reference the following conclusion from the article:

“As these athletes create an energy deficit and achieve lower body fat levels, their weight loss efforts will be counteracted by a number of metabolic adaptations that may persist throughout weight maintenance. Changes in energy expenditure, mitochondrial efficiency, and circulating hormone concentrations work in concert to attenuate further weight loss and promote the restoration of baseline body mass. Athletes must aim to minimize the magnitude of these adaptations, preserve LBM, and adequately fuel performance and recovery during weight reduction. To accomplish these goals, it is recommended to approach weight loss in a stepwise, incremental fashion, utilizing small energy deficits to ensure a slow rate of weight loss.”

So what this implies is that yes, weight loss will slow down as one’s weight goes down, however it is essential for the athlete to minimize these adaptations. So really, what if the athlete in consideration was already at a point in their diet where the magnitude of the metabolic adaptations were aggressively drastic from baseline? Know any candidates? Because I know one and I think it’s me! Take my current situation for example.

Technically, I’ve been cutting weight for a prolonged period of time. I mean, I started back in July of 2021 at 240 pounds and it’s 2023 of May where I’m sitting at 152 pounds. Let’s just say and round it up that I’ve been cutting for 2 years straight with no breaks aside from those small diet deviations during the holidays. And to be honest, I don’t think those holiday breaks were long enough to restore any metabolic adaptations back to baseline. I could be wrong, but let’s make the assumption and assume worst case scenario.

So, I really think I’m a suitable candidate and now I’m saying that to toot my own horn. Come on guys. You know that. But I truly believe that it’s a predicament that I‘ve landed myself in due to my lack of prior education and now is the perfect time to test out my theory in practice.

So, here’s the details of my experiment and I’m feeling a little bit like Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory. So what I propose will break or better yet, revise the fitness protocol I proposed to y’all a couple of weeks ago.

So for the next 6 weeks, I will be implementing a 48-hour weekly refeed cycle with the goal of maintaining a weekly weight loss delta of 1 pound. To assist myself with the experiment, I’ll be utilizing the Lose It! app for caloric and macro tracking. To dial in my numbers, I’ll be sticking with the Built With Science nutrition spreadsheet calculator. And what’s pretty neat about the nutrition calculator is that it generates caloric and macro recommendations based on progress and will effectively pull or push the caloric lever depending on my weight loss rate of change. So, for example, if I’m losing weight too slowly, it’ll drop calories and if losing weight too fast, it’ll go the other way and bump up my caloric needs. Furthermore, the nutrition spreadsheet has an option to switch to maintenance mode at any time during the program. So, I think behaviorally, I think it’s best to reserve these maintenance days for the weekends. So starting Saturday, I’ll toggle the settings to maintenance and then when Monday rolls around, I’ll switch back to my cutting phase.

Also, another neat feature of the calculator is that it’s smart enough to suggest maintenance calories based on what it thinks the body’s effective total daily energy expenditure is at that given moment in time. So this eliminates or reduces the probability, that my effective maintenance calories could potentially be my lean bulk calories. Remember, the goal for the 48-hour refeed cycle is to maintain weight and potentially restore any negative metabolic adaptations.

So, I hypothesize by implementing this program, I should be able to minimize the need for reducing my calories drastically on a weekly basis. Once again, I anticipate a reduction in calories, but I do think that the 48-hour refeed cycles will help mitigate large swings in my calorie deficit.

To clarify, I hope this experiment can aid in reducing mental fatigue, boost energy and wellness, and improve my body’s utilization for more calories.

Good? Sounds like a decent plan? I like it and it gives me an excuse to be normal for once. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I identify as a high performer, but shooting for extraordinary gets tiring when you do it way too much. Sometimes it’s just nice to be a normal dude once in a while and take a freaking break. And after all these years of being a workaholic in all aspects of my life, I’ll take as many breaks as possible that I need. I may not be guaranteed time, but I can make time for my health and recovery needs.

You know I heard one the best analogies for success recently.

So last week I attended a 3-day training workshop, and my mentor started off the class with this one question:

What is the most important part of an automotive paint job?

Is it the end product? How cool the paint looks? Yea, in a sense, but that paint job only looks good if you start off with a strong foundation.

Now his analogy resonated well with me because lucky for y’all, a couple of years ago, I had a motorcycle phase and had the privilege to build a custom 1976 Honda CB550 café racer and got hands on experience with painting my motorcycle gas tank.

Now, after spending way too much money of paint equipment and realizing I probably could’ve saved a ton of money by letting an autobody shop do it, I actually learned how to do a decent paint job. 

Of course, It was a ton of work. I mean, I had to strip off the old paint, sand down the surface so I could lay down a good layer of primer. And you would repeat this process until that layer of primer showed little to no imperfections. Afterwards, you would then proceed by painting over the primer with the basecoat and then lightly sanding that surface down for your final clear coat. And hopefully, if everything went according to plan, often not for a beginner like me, but let’s say hypothetically it did, you would then sand that clear coat down and polish it up to get that surface to a mirror like quality of perfection. And voila! You would step back, take a few steps or maybe 6 feet if you messed up, now, let’s be honest guys, and be in awe of your magnificent paint job and pat yourself on the back.

There really is truth in the saying that “The journey makes the destination count.”

In life, it’s encouraging and uplifting to know that we earn our rewards. It’s a good feeling to know that if you care about something enough, that if you put in the right amount of work, dedication, and time, eventually you will reap what you sow. And I always approach fitness and my goals with that same mindset. Every time I hit the gym, I remind myself of a saying that powerlifter Brett Gibbs once said on Eric and Omar’s Iron Culture podcast:

When you’re in the gym training, remember, you earn your weight. Don’t load up the bar with weight that you haven’t earned. Put in the work, make the progress, and earn your weight.

I think that’s a beautiful way to live life. The greatest things we want in life are earned and not given.

You want success? Earn it. You want that dream? Earn it. Do you want live a fulfilling life? Earn it.

Drop the ego, put in the work and earn it.

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Thanks, y’all for tuning in to another episode of the Love Notes for Life podcast. I look forward to continuing this conversation of awareness and amplifying greatness through gratitude. If you’re enjoying the Love Notes for Life podcast, please subscribe and leave a 5-star rating on Spotify, Apple, and other major podcast platforms. The Love Notes for Life lifestyle collection is now available at lovenotesforlife.com. Thanks for supporting the Love Notes movement and be sure to track the mindset by following me @mikecabuco on Instagram or Twitter.

Thanks, y’all for the support and always remember, “There is beauty in knowing that there is only one of you.” Take care.