Carb Refeed Days Help Keep Muscle While Losing Fat
Intermittent Energy Restriction Attenuates the Loss of Fat Free Mass in Resistance Trained Individuals. A Randomized Controlled Trial
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Fat loss was nearly identical between groups, even though the refeed group ate more calories two days a week.
Most assume eating more—even temporarily—will slow fat loss, but here, it didn’t.
Practical Takeaways
If you're lean and lifting weights, try adding two consecutive days per week eating at maintenance calories, mostly from carbs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Fat loss was nearly identical between groups, even though the refeed group ate more calories two days a week.
Most assume eating more—even temporarily—will slow fat loss, but here, it didn’t.
Practical Takeaways
If you're lean and lifting weights, try adding two consecutive days per week eating at maintenance calories, mostly from carbs.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology
Year
2020
Authors
B. Campbell, Danielle Aguilar, Lauren M Colenso-Semple, Kevin M. Hartke, Abby R. Fleming, Carl D. Fox, Jaymes M. Longstrom, G. E. Rogers, David B Mathas, Vickie Wong, Sarah Ford, J. Gorman
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Claims (5)
If you're lean and work out with weights, taking two days a week to eat more carbs doesn't seem to slow down fat loss compared to cutting calories all the time — both ways lose about the same amount of fat in 7 weeks.
If you're already lean and trying to lose weight, you can keep your muscle if you lift weights, eat a lot of protein, lose weight slowly, and occasionally eat more carbs.
If you're already lean and lift weights, taking two days a week to eat normal calories—especially from carbs—while cutting calories the rest of the week might help you keep more muscle compared to cutting calories every day.
If fit people who lift weights cut calories for 7 weeks, taking two days each week to eat more carbs might help them keep almost all their muscle, losing only 0.2 kg of muscle instead of nearly 2 kg.
If you're fit and lift weights, cutting calories most of the week but eating more carbs for 2 days might help your body burn calories at rest better than cutting calories every day — like keeping your metabolism from slowing down too much.