Can One Cheat Meal Make You Gain Weight?
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Is It Possible To Gain 5 Pounds Of Fat From One Cheat Meal?
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, we answer the following viewer question: can one cheat meal make you gain weight?
This was a question from #AskLiveLeanTV Ep. 011.
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With all that said, let’s get into today’s post.
Here’s today’s viewer question:
Joe Knotts @JKnotts76 on Twitter asks: Can one cheat meal make you gain weight? After a cheat meal I will weigh 3 to 5 pounds more the next day and it takes several days to get back down. Any ideas why?
First off, Joe is one of our Live Lean Transformation Success Stories.
He sent me these sick before and after photos.
So congratulations to you Joe for taking action on our teachings.
Now let’s discuss your question.
If you weigh 3-5 pounds more the day after a cheat meal, this is basically water weight.
When you eat a lot of carbohydrates in your cheat meal, it causes your body to store a lot more water.
This means it’s highly unlikely that you gained 5 pounds of fat from one cheat meal.
How To Gain 5 Pounds Of Fat From One Cheat Meal
For you to gain 5 pounds of fat from one cheat meal, you would have to be in a massive calorie surplus.
We’re taking thousands and thousands of surplus calories, above and beyond your daily maintenance calories.
To show you how unlikely this is, let’s do some quick calculations:
- 3,500 calorie surplus = 1 pound of fat
- 3,500 calorie surplus x 5 pounds of fat = 17,500 calorie surplus
In order to gain 5 pounds of fat after one cheat meal, you would have to be in a calorie surplus of 17,500 calories at the end of the day.
So to put this into perspective, if your daily maintenance calories is 2,500 calories, you would have to eat 20,000 calories in a day.
Have you seen those people on YouTube attempting to do the 10,000 calorie challenge?
They try to eat 10,000 calories in one day.
Although very few people actually succeed, like Michael Phelps, most people fail to eat that much.
We’ve seen bodybuilders and other fitness people try it, and after getting around 6,000 calories, they usually give up because it’s so hard to eat that many calories in a day.
So in order for you to gain 5 pounds, you would have to eat 10,000 calories, twice in a day.
Based on these calculations, it’s highly likely that these 5 extra pounds is primarily stored water water, not body fat.
How To Get Rid Of Stored Water Weight
To get rid of stored water weight, simply drink a lot more water.
Drinking a lot of water will help you flush out the stored water.
Also go for a good workout the next day to sweat it out.
Bottom Line On Cheat Meal Weight Gain
We can tell you for sure that the extra 5 pounds is not fat gain.
So don’t worry about it.
Try not to let yourself freak out when you see higher numbers on the weight scale after a cheat meal.
This why we always say that the weight scale is just not the best indicator of success.
If this is a problem for you, the best thing you can do to fix this is to stop stepping on the weight scale after a cheat meal.
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I’m not saying that you should never use it, since I do like the weight scale when it’s used properly scale.
There are so many variables that can cause the numbers on the weight scale to change.
This is why you can drive yourself nuts by checking the numbers on the weight scale every time you eat something or comparing your weight at the beginning of the day versus the end of the day.
The weight scale is not the true indicator of fat loss.
So don’t worry about it Joe.
Based on your before and after photos, you’re killing it man.
Just keep up the good work.
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Our Live Lean programs comes with warm-ups, workouts, cool downs, and nutrition plans.
We have it all.
Go take the Live Lean Body Quiz here.
Now I want you to go check out this video post on how to recover after a cheat meal.
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- How often do you step on the weight scale to weigh yourself?
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
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