My experience with a refeed day during P2

[Somewhat Damaged]

Hi everyone! I'd posted in another thread last week about experimenting with a refeed day during P2 this round, and someone expressed interest in knowing how it went so I figured instead of going back and posting on that thread (which is probably closed by now anyway) I'd just make a new one.

Today is VLCD 8 for me and I had a good loss this morning, putting me at 154.6. Total loss this round is 8.6.

The theory behind the refeed is to basically eat enough, primarily carbs, to trick my body into thinking it's not starving. Because, by now (round 4), it surely thinks it is. My period has stopped (longer cycle each round until this round when I skipped it altogether), I'm freezing, towards the end of a round I experience extreme hunger, etc.

I'm hoping that by upping my calories for one day a week, I can boost my leptin levels and acheive better losses and an alleviation of some of the VLCD symptoms.

On the menu today:

b: TBSP coconut oil, 1/2 chicken breast, 1/2 avocado, 1/2c blueberries, 4 oz baked sweet potato
l: 1/2 chicken breast, 4 oz sweet potato, 1/2c blueberries
s: 1/2 chicken breast, 5.5 oz sweet potato, 1/2c blueberries (you see where this is going...)
d: not eaten yet, but anyone want to venture a guess?

I picked these foods because they are more balanced in glucose/fructose ratio than a lot of other fruits, and I don't eat grains. And, it's yummy.

I've been a little sleepy today, honestly, but I feel pretty good so far. I've been taking a digestive enzyme pill with each meal to help my digestion along. I know the scale will be up a little tomorrow (thinking 2 lbs at most), but hopefully once I drop the water weight from the carbs I'll see some benefits to the process. I'll update tomorrow!

[minimonkey]

I'm interested to see how this treats you. What you're describing certainly does sound like a metabolic shutdown... I wonder why? Did you do p3 and p4 between rounds?

Good luck ... hope this works for you!

[Somewhat Damaged]

I cycle. Usually about 15 days p2, a week or two p3. The long rounds were mentally tough for me.

[julieboolie]

I'm following too. A similar thing started happening for me too. Freezing (even in AZ!), slow to no losses on 700cals/day, sleepier than usual etc. I'm worrying about my metabolism too. It wasn't fast before, but it's even more sensitive now. I'm only doing a 3 day re-feed/load day. I've gained about 6 lbs, even though it's mostly LC foods I've been eating. Some yogurt and blueberries, coconut/PB/protein powder bits, etc. I have been reading about weight lifting and diet/exercise lately and am pretty close to my new goal so I'm considering just moving on to a different WOE. I do like the idea of a quick 21 day round to lose 10 more lbs (after I get back to my LDW) then move on to the weight training. I am gonna' give that a go on Monday, more by the book w/ a little higher protein and some half/half in my coffee and see how it goes.

I'm a toughie though, hormonally imbalanced, low thyroid, insullin resistant, and 41y.o.. I gain really easily and it takes a lot of work for me to lose. I did love how well the HCG worked for me that first round. I am hoping to get back there. I need to be more patient though. I see others lose so quickly and seemingly easily I get jealous and want the same results. Trying to listen to my body, even though I'm not convinced it knows what's best for itself .

Thanks for sharing your experience, I look forward to your results!

[Somewhat Damaged]

julieboolie, I have all the same metabolic challenges you have and pcos, too. I totally understand about the gaining easily and am excited hcg has worked as well as it has!

I also experimented with weightlifting this cycle and I think that's definitely been a good thing! I did 3 short relatively easy sessions during the first week and I like the results so far. I do them right before dinner, keep them short, working the whole body (squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups, overhead press, plank).


Alright, so here's where I ended yesterday:

4.8 oz avocado
562g blueberries
11.5 oz chicken, weighed raw
35.1 oz sweet potato, weighed raw
33g of coconut oil for cooking
and 2 servings of 'cocoa crack'

2426 cals, 303.4g carbs, 99.4g fat, 102.1g protein

That is more than I planned on eating when I first decided to do the refeed day, and in retrospect I'd eliminate the avocado (impulse buy at store!) and cut the cocoa crack, which would leave me at about 1900 cals.

Scale said 155.6 this morning, so I'm up exactly one pound. I've got a strict p2 day planned today and tomorrow at least, and then if my hcg doesn't get here early in the week I'll be starting my 72 hour wait.

I feel good today... mood is up, no hunger so far, and I'm not freezing. I'll post an update later in the day =)

[lucky_d]

I am interested in this also. I would be perfectly happy for the weight to come off more slowly because I want to protect my metabolism, but not sure if I should up the calories or not. Will that cause the whole thing to stop working, or will it just be slower?

Plus I would love to stay on this stuff as long as possible. I feel great!

[Stevie Renee]

Very interesting. I will watch with anticipation.

I thought I read the freezing is a sign of the hcg working, but I don't know the source or the accuracy.

Regardless, a refeed during P2 is interesting

I am curious if you have done P4's during your cycling?

[C'Marie]

My doctor tried to get me to do a "refeed" my last round, but I balked. Having been strictly following Dr S Pounds & Inches way for 3 rounds, I was appalled and scared to deviate since my results had been so good-but for me at the end of last round it was either refeed or get off-was slowing down at 25 days, so I got off! LOL. But seeing someone doing it is intriguing. Thank you for sharing.

[Ginja]

I'm confused. I thought from what I read in the book that the body would stop losing weight when it had no more expendable fat. If what the HCG does is forces the body to use up all the extra fat, and ceases to work after that, isn't that a sign that you're done losing weight? I would think it would be dangerous to try and force past that. I am certainly not judging I just don't understand

[C'Marie]

Originally Posted by Ginja

I'm confused. I thought from what I read in the book that the body would stop losing weight when it had no more expendable fat. If what the HCG does is forces the body to use up all the extra fat, and ceases to work after that, isn't that a sign that you're done losing weight? I would think it would be dangerous to try and force past that. I am certainly not judging I just don't understand

My experience was that I was just really slowing down in losses - while having PLENTY left to lose - so doc recommended a refeed. Kinda like a mini-load in the middle.

[julieboolie]

Ginja-I wish that were the case for me I could "live off the land" for ages!!

Somewhat-thanks for sharing your experiment. 1 lb is great!! I look forward to seeing how you lose this week. Are you following strict protocol? Are you almost out of drops? I may start lifting a bit until I'm through this round. The plan I want to try is heavy lifting and I dont' want to start that on so little calories a day. I also don't want to lose any more muscle in the next month. So, I'm upping my protein a bit, and adding light weight training twice or 3 times a week. Gotta' go join the gym!!

[Somewhat Damaged]

Originally Posted by lucky_d

I am interested in this also. I would be perfectly happy for the weight to come off more slowly because I want to protect my metabolism, but not sure if I should up the calories or not. Will that cause the whole thing to stop working, or will it just be slower?

Plus I would love to stay on this stuff as long as possible. I feel great!

In my experience (I'm not 100% to protocol, though), I can eat between 500 and 650 cals most days and still see decent losses. Your mileage may vary

Originally Posted by Stevie Renee

Very interesting. I will watch with anticipation.

I thought I read the freezing is a sign of the hcg working, but I don't know the source or the accuracy.

Regardless, a refeed during P2 is interesting

I am curious if you have done P4's during your cycling?

I did a full p3 and a couple weeks of p4 for the first round. In pretty much any other area, freezing is a sign of your metabolism slowing down... I don't know how much I believe about hcg factoring into that, or maybe it's just the way my body works.

Originally Posted by C'Marie

My doctor tried to get me to do a "refeed" my last round, but I balked. Having been strictly following Dr S Pounds & Inches way for 3 rounds, I was appalled and scared to deviate since my results had been so good-but for me at the end of last round it was either refeed or get off-was slowing down at 25 days, so I got off! LOL. But seeing someone doing it is intriguing. Thank you for sharing.

I was a little scared to give it a try too... interested to see what the scale does tomorrow!

Originally Posted by Ginja

I'm confused. I thought from what I read in the book that the body would stop losing weight when it had no more expendable fat. If what the HCG does is forces the body to use up all the extra fat, and ceases to work after that, isn't that a sign that you're done losing weight? I would think it would be dangerous to try and force past that. I am certainly not judging I just don't understand

I still have plenty of fat to lose, I'm by no means at ideal weight yet. My experiment isn't exactly to protocol

Originally Posted by C'Marie

My experience was that I was just really slowing down in losses - while having PLENTY left to lose - so doc recommended a refeed. Kinda like a mini-load in the middle.

How did it go? I was losing fine, more doing it to see if I could alleviate some of the other symptoms I'm having. As of right now, and this is definitely not an objective view at this point, I think I would've waited until I'd hit a stall before doing the refeed. Maybe I will feel otherwise later.

Originally Posted by julieboolie

Ginja-I wish that were the case for me I could "live off the land" for ages!!

Somewhat-thanks for sharing your experiment. 1 lb is great!! I look forward to seeing how you lose this week. Are you following strict protocol? Are you almost out of drops? I may start lifting a bit until I'm through this round. The plan I want to try is heavy lifting and I dont' want to start that on so little calories a day. I also don't want to lose any more muscle in the next month. So, I'm upping my protein a bit, and adding light weight training twice or 3 times a week. Gotta' go join the gym!!

Yeah, I'm glad it was not more than 1 lb! lol. I'm being as strict as I've ever been on protocol... sticking to my 500 cals, eating protcol foods, fasting til lunch, not mixing veg, etc. I use a little bit of coconut oil to cook (always have), and don't worry about personal care products.

As far as the lifting goes, I really like it. I think heavy lifting would be fine, just go *heavy*, fewer reps, more rest between reps. I'm doing a moderate weight, moderate reps right now and may switch to heavy weights fewer reps to mix it up. Your body uses a different energy pathway with heavy weights/fewer reps than it does with lighter weights/higher reps.


Update so far today... fasted til lunch and I was very hungry/low energy before lunch. Not freezing cold until about an hour ago, and I'm starting to get a little colder now. Had a little breakdown this afternoon and have been really grouchy, lol.

[lucky_d]

Originally Posted by Ginja

I'm confused. I thought from what I read in the book that the body would stop losing weight when it had no more expendable fat. If what the HCG does is forces the body to use up all the extra fat, and ceases to work after that, isn't that a sign that you're done losing weight? I would think it would be dangerous to try and force past that. I am certainly not judging I just don't understand

This is a very important point. Once we lose all our "abnormal" fat it's not supposed to work anymore. After that, maybe what is left is normal fat? I do not have any interest in just sitting here starving myself past the point that my abnormal fat is gone. That's just starving and really will shut down your metabolism.

I'm actually considering supplementing with my usual Udo's Oil (omega 3-6-9) and my Amazing Grass and just see if it hurts anything. I feel like I could benefit from the nutrients. That would put me up to about 650 cals, but would include fat, which seems like a big nono.

Anybody use any oil supplements? I doubt if they were very well known in Dr. S's time but there is so much info now about how much they boost fat loss and keep you healthy in so many ways.

[Somewhat Damaged]

Originally Posted by lucky_d

This is a very important point. Once we lose all our "abnormal" fat it's not supposed to work anymore. After that, maybe what is left is normal fat? I do not have any interest in just sitting here starving myself past the point that my abnormal fat is gone. That's just starving and really will shut down your metabolism.

I'm actually considering supplementing with my usual Udo's Oil (omega 3-6-9) and my Amazing Grass and just see if it hurts anything. I feel like I could benefit from the nutrients. That would put me up to about 650 cals, but would include fat, which seems like a big nono.

Anybody use any oil supplements? I doubt if they were very well known in Dr. S's time but there is so much info now about how much they boost fat loss and keep you healthy in so many ways.

I've taken 2 to 4g of fish oil (dha and epa/dha) through all my rounds and done fine. I don't count the calories.

[Somewhat Damaged]

Alright... down .4 this morning to 155.2.

Without going into too much detail, I had several visits from the bathroom fairy today and out of curiosity I weighed when I got home. Night weight is 156.4, with clothes, and I usually drop 2 lbs overnight so maybe I'll be in virgin territory tomorrow? It's all speculation.

As far as my symptoms go... I don't really think I feel any better? It's hard to say at this point if this experiment has helped my overall losses but as things stand now, I haven't seen much benefit.

I'll do another update tomorrow.

[C'Marie]

Thanks for the update! How did you pick the foods you refed on? was it something you read, or some things you just missed? Love the avocado. Mmmmm.

[pumpkin]

All of you HCG veterans, can you take a look at this? Is it time for a re-feed day?
I am doing the protocol and seem to be stuck. So frustrated!!!

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[minimonkey]

Wow, Pumpkin -- hang tough! That looks almost exactly like the stall I hit in my first long round... it did pass, but it lasted 2 full weeks. I did a ton of reshaping during the stall, so I suspect my body needed it... but I know how frustrating it is.

Hope someone chimes in with some refeeding wisdom -- I don't know a lot about how that works longterm.

[pumpkin]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Wow, Pumpkin -- hang tough! That looks almost exactly like the stall I hit in my first long round... it did pass, but it lasted 2 full weeks. I did a ton of reshaping during the stall, so I suspect my body needed it... but I know how frustrating it is.

Hope someone chimes in with some refeeding wisdom -- I don't know a lot about how that works longterm.

It is so frustrating when eating right to see gains. No loss is one thing, but gains really make me so frustrated.

Thinking of having just chicken meals the next few days and see if that gets it going again. Soooooo frustrated!!

[nola baxter]

Hi

I totally believe in refeeds, upping calories, up days/down days, or however you choose to do it..

When I was dieting down for a bodybuilding competition, I was having fat test once a week;
I was in the later stages of dieting and my metabolic rate was crashing, and my losses very minimal even though my calories were very low (for me) and my exercise high.
During two of those weeks- I went out to Valentines for lunch(buffet restaurant), and had a huge feed-up meal (4000+cals).
On the weeks I went to Valentines and had the re-feed meal, my weight/fat loss was greater, as showed by the calliper fat tests.
So all other things were equal during the week, the only difference was the feedup!

I have a sensitive metabolism which responds quickly to calorie cuts by dropping metabolic rate , slowing/ceasing weight loss, and experiencing energy loss/low functioning.
The thing that has enabled me to lose weight over a sustained period of time without slowing the metabolism is employing techniques of re-feeds/ or up day/down day sequences.

I was reading a diet plan of Tom Venuto where he was going through his competition diet process.
In the earlier stages he was re-feeding once a week;
then as he got to the later stages of dieting , his weight loss slowed, and what he did then rather than making harsher cuts , was to add another re-feed in the middle of the week to restimulate weight loss!!

When the body is excessively tired and normal functions are starting to shut down, I would definitely be wanting to up calories and re-feed.

The problem is- that if your metabolic rate is really tanked, re-feeds may initially result in gains that are not at first easily lost;
but I believe that the solution is not to proceed to more harsh cutting of calories, but to gently introduce more calories through controlled re-feeds or up days, get the body adjusted to more cals, and accept a bit of short term gain- for a long term benefit.
Once the metabolic rate has started to respond and heal, you will in the end be able to eat much more and lose quicker and not be so sensitive to small calorie increases.

I have tanked my metabolism in the past and exsisted on low cals, felt constantly tired and hungry- had to be vigilant of every calorie, and had small calorie increases result in disproportionate weight gains..
Now my metabolic rate is at least 3000 cals a day, and I dont have issues around gaining at the drop of a hat, and I can lose weight without too much problem- though I do have to be carefully not to tank my metabolism again!

Of course this is all not taking HCG into account;
and some people do seem to be able to go the hcg path of the low cals for long periods of time without crashing;
but I think others have metabolisms that are not so resilient and cant take the longterm low cals; and need to up calories, re-feed etc. to keep things going, and to stop the body going into non-functioning low metabolic mode.

My two cents worth
Nola

[C'Marie]

Pumpkin, how many days have you been on VLCD and how much weight have you lost? If you have done 23 days protocol, maybe you should just jump off into P3 instead of doing a refeed. By your stats, it looks like you've lost over 30 pounds. Is that right?

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by nola baxter

Hi

I totally believe in refeeds, upping calories, up days/down days, or however you choose to do it..

When I was dieting down for a bodybuilding competition, I was having fat test once a week;
I was in the later stages of dieting and my metabolic rate was crashing, and my losses very minimal even though my calories were very low (for me) and my exercise high.
During two of those weeks- I went out to Valentines for lunch(buffet restaurant), and had a huge feed-up meal (4000+cals).
On the weeks I went to Valentines and had the re-feed meal, my weight/fat loss was greater, as showed by the calliper fat tests.
So all other things were equal during the week, the only difference was the feedup!

I have a sensitive metabolism which responds quickly to calorie cuts by dropping metabolic rate , slowing/ceasing weight loss, and experiencing energy loss/low functioning.
The thing that has enabled me to lose weight over a sustained period of time without slowing the metabolism is employing techniques of re-feeds/ or up day/down day sequences.

I was reading a diet plan of Tom Venuto where he was going through his competition diet process.
In the earlier stages he was re-feeding once a week;
then as he got to the later stages of dieting , his weight loss slowed, and what he did then rather than making harsher cuts , was to add another re-feed in the middle of the week to restimulate weight loss!!

When the body is excessively tired and normal functions are starting to shut down, I would definitely be wanting to up calories and re-feed.

The problem is- that if your metabolic rate is really tanked, re-feeds may initially result in gains that are not at first easily lost;
but I believe that the solution is not to proceed to more harsh cutting of calories, but to gently introduce more calories through controlled re-feeds or up days, get the body adjusted to more cals, and accept a bit of short term gain- for a long term benefit.
Once the metabolic rate has started to respond and heal, you will in the end be able to eat much more and lose quicker and not be so sensitive to small calorie increases.

I have tanked my metabolism in the past and exsisted on low cals, felt constantly tired and hungry- had to be vigilant of every calorie, and had small calorie increases result in disproportionate weight gains..
Now my metabolic rate is at least 3000 cals a day, and I dont have issues around gaining at the drop of a hat, and I can lose weight without too much problem- though I do have to be carefully not to tank my metabolism again!

Of course this is all not taking HCG into account;
and some people do seem to be able to go the hcg path of the low cals for long periods of time without crashing;
but I think others have metabolisms that are not so resilient and cant take the longterm low cals; and need to up calories, re-feed etc. to keep things going, and to stop the body going into non-functioning low metabolic mode.

My two cents worth
Nola

Hi Nola,
I'm thinking I may have some metabolism issues like you're describing. Although I'm only on day 20 of my first round, I've been dieting off & on for the last fifteen years. I've only lost 4.5# in 20 days, and I'm the same on Monday as Friday. I'm going to do a refeed Saturday (my birthday) and then continue on to do a 40 day round.

When you do refeeds, do you focus on carbs, fat or just eat what you want (within reason, of course)? Do you try to compensate for extra calories by fasting the day after? Any other strategies to add?
Thanks for your help!

[LilacBruze]

I honestly don't know much about anything, but I am wondering if there is a HUGE difference between someone who exercises regularly, or is a bodybuilder, or doesn't have that much to lose (maybe all of the above?)... and someone like me who is relatively inactive, over 200 lbs, and diabetic? I can tell you that my one meal re-feed had disastrous consequences, and I don't recommend it for anyone like me. I do hear for anyone NOT like me, it works pretty well for all the reasons that have been stated.

[TerriMM]

I think you may be quite right about it being an individual thing. Since I’m closing in on my goal and have been dieting so long, I'm hoping it will help me.

And if I can talk myself into getting off my butt and exercising, I'm sure it would help significantly!

[LilacBruze]

Originally Posted by TerriMM

I think you may be quite right about it being an individual thing. Since I’m closing in on my goal and have been dieting so long, I'm hoping it will help me.

And if I can talk myself into getting off my butt and exercising, I'm sure it would help significantly!

Yep. There's a 90 lb difference between us and my body probably defines starvation mode (as well as a few other things I am sure) A LOT differently than yours!

[TerriMM]

Wish me luck, I'm doing it Saturday. Then probably looking for sympathy about this time next week

[nurseypoo5]

Originally Posted by LilacBruze

I honestly don't know much about anything, but I am wondering if there is a HUGE difference between someone who exercises regularly, or is a bodybuilder, or doesn't have that much to lose (maybe all of the above?)... and someone like me who is relatively inactive, over 200 lbs, and diabetic? I can tell you that my one meal re-feed had disastrous consequences, and I don't recommend it for anyone like me. I do hear for anyone NOT like me, it works pretty well for all the reasons that have been stated.

Hi well just my opinion, but i know the good Dr wanted us to do up to a 40day round, and not to lose more than 34lbs in a round, HOWEVER...i couldnt do it, nor would my body lose the way it did the first two weeks in. Infact i find myself losing in p3 when im not wanting to Just 4-5lbs in 2 weeks but that was what i was losing toward the last 10 days of p2.

Anywho, my point is, that being over 45 yrs old, wieghing over 200lbs (and have for most of my adult life except when i hit the 170's for a while, but didnt stick) having PCOS (which sucks btw) and being insulin resistant, I find my metabolism is already shot.

On my hcg rounds i was overly weak, dizzy and not at all hungry. I didnt want to eat ever it seemed but my body screamed for food. The last week I went from weak (ohhh so weak) to downright about to black out. I have never in my life blacked out..but now i know what it must be like. If i stooped or got up to fast my vision would "tunnel" turn black with a white tunnel....and i'd be dizzy. I stopped p2 abruptly for personal reasons and eased into p3 with a couple of days of salads and reg dressings (blue cheese)...immediatly felt 10000% better.

That being said, i still am not starving. Its 430 pm and all i've had today was a grapefruit half and some coffee and koolaid. I'll eat dinner soon, probably a yummy salad with yummy stuff on it. I have eaten a lot on some days and even on my biggest eating day, lost several pounds the following 2 days.

I do not know yet if this is just me, or because i'm insulin resistant and even tho i'm eating some carbs in fruit, im losing because im basically low carb eating.

The point is, some people SUCK being on a 40 day round. I for one and convinced as slow as my wieght loss was my 3rd week, it wouldnt have gotten better. I'm into my 3rd week of p3 and thinking of stopping tomorrow. I might have a small popcorn at the movies tomorrow and see what that does to stop my wieght and see if i gain. I've eaten a lot of bacon, sausage, lunch meats, high fats, not all good most tho, and lots of salads with lots of dressing and cheese. I have lost weight. I still eat either a whole grapefruit or half and an apple, couple of times i had a dozen grapes...and a few cheetos but we wont go there lol. (ok maybe 10 total, gimme a break..)

I'm going to do p2 again mid july, after dads memorial service and my vacation, but again will do only 21 days (23 total) .

Just my two cents. I think kudos to those that can do 40 days with good loses, but for me, the side effects were to extreme for me. That and if i lost so much the first 2 weeks and have kept it off plus some, then it cant all be water, I just couldnt stand the 2lb loss a week max with all the deprivation. The mind (insert expletive) was too much for me to have extended it anylonger.

God bless!

[nurseypoo5]

Originally Posted by TerriMM

Wish me luck, I'm doing it Saturday. Then probably looking for sympathy about this time next week

il be watching!!! this may be the answer to my problems with p2..the weakness etc. I hate to up calories, but that weakness killed me. I took a ton of vitamins and drank plenty of fluids we'll see, thanks for being our guinea pig (they are small pigs so not harm no fowl lol)

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by nurseypoo5

il be watching!!! this may be the answer to my problems with p2..the weakness etc. I hate to up calories, but that weakness killed me. I took a ton of vitamins and drank plenty of fluids we'll see, thanks for being our guinea pig (they are small pigs so not harm no fowl lol)

Thank you!! That was exactly the laugh I needed today!

I'll let you know if I'm still laughing next week.

Congrads on continuing to lose! I think you're right about it being to low carb eating, but I thought that's what we're supposed to do.
I'm not sure I would be strong enough to try and stop losing if I'm blessed with that challenge.

[nola baxter]

Hi TeriMM

The fact that you only lost 4.5pds in 20 days is very telling.
And unless you lost lots of inches instead -( which are not showing on the scale -you should be able to see the body shrinkage factor)- it would seem that your metabolism is not functioning well and needs some careful nurture to get it up to speed.

Long-term dieting does tend to damage metabolic rate, and in some people more than others- and I have been there so I do know what it is like.

I think upping calories in a staggered fashion, ie, a high day/lowday type of sequence, is a good way to start getting the body used to more calories, without neccessarily gaining weight, and presumably still continuing to lose weight where there is a calorie deficit.

If I was you I would try upping calories every second or every third day, in some kind of sequence that suits you.

A number of smaller refeeds, ie, higher calorie days interspersed by lower calorie days, might work better for you than one big refeed followed by another long period of deprivation.
The body might simply interpret this as starvation, with one chance in between(the refeed), for the body to grab food/fat to offset its feeling of starvation.
This is how it would work for my body anyway.
It took me a while (yrs) to work out that my body would not take extended low calorie periods, and that I needed to offset calorie deprivation closely with higher calorie spurts...
ie, 3 days of low calories was too much for my body- it would start to slow metabolic rate in response.
For me the thing that really started to yield results in terms of fat loss without metabolic slowdown was a day up/day down sequence.
This is a personal thing, and I believe everyone needs to feel around with what works for them.
But I do believe that people with sensitive metabolisms cannot do extended low calories without creating problems with metabolic slowdown, weight loss cessation, etc..

LilacBruze is right, in that it may not be the answer for everyone, and it does depend on what stage your body is at; in terms of leaness, activity level, personal metabolism, etc.

But when it comes to extreme weakness, tiredness, cessation of weight loss; I dont think continuing with the low calories is a good idea..

And sometimes people can be significantly overweight and still have trashed metabolisms which do not respond well to harsh dietary cuts-and need some different kind of protocol to respond..

On a refeed, I would refeed with what the body is really missing/craving;
which during a P2, might be fat and some carbs.
The carbs thing is highly personal as a lot here are carb sensitive and cannot load carbs without bad effects; so this has to be something where you judge for yourself whether it works for you or not.
I sometimes load with carbs, sometimes with anything and everything, and sometimes with fat and protein; all just depending on what I most feel my body wants/needs, and sometimes just what I want to eat for fun and enjoyment.

I hope I am making some sense here..


Nola