De-Feed Days for Bodybuilders

Everyone always talks about a “re-feed” day when dieting, but how about a “de-feed” day when eating your ass off to try and grow?

You never hear about this. Most people don't think anything of it or any logic to it. The problem with eating all of the time is it can make you sluggish and lethargic. Sometimes it can actually make you weaker rather than stronger.

Have you ever had a workout where you had a meal about an hour or so beforehand and you just felt slow and a little weaker? Then there were times when you hadn't had anything to eat in a few hours or ate less that day but you were strong as hell! Yes, the reason being is you were not creating more work for your body to digest a bunch of shit.

This is something I do on a regular basis… at least once a week. I take a day where the calories come down and the protein gets cut in half, just a day where my body can better digest the food and sort of catch up for the week. It's sort of like driving a car with a new air filter instead of just clogging up the old one more and more. You will notice a better sense of well being, you'll be more alert, and you will be full of energy.

Food is important, don't get me wrong. But there is going to come a point when you either have the right chemicals in your body to grow or you don't. It's as simple as that, nothing more, end of story! If it was all food then we'd see every fat fuck in the gym squatting with 700 lbs and bench pressing with 500. It's not all food, and there comes a point with myself where I draw the line in the sand and that's it.

I probably eat on average 3,000 calories a day, MAYBE 4,000 on a good day. Some days it may be 2,600, who knows. When I was younger I ate much, much more. Hell, I bet I hit about 6,000 a day on average. But once I got to 220+ lbs and held it there for several years I no longer needed to eat like that. I can diet my ass off and still stay over 220 lbs.

I'm not saying that this is everyone, but let's take 2 individuals for example. The first guy is natural and cramming in 5,000 cals a day. The other guy is only eating 2,500 calories a day but he is loaded up on testosterone and Anadrol. Let me tell you what, I guarantee that guy running the compounds is going to be much larger and stronger than the guy keeping it natural and eating his ass off to grow.

This is when you need to really put bodybuilding into a realistic perspective. Is it really worth walking around at 200+ lbs when you have to go through all of this hell and high water to get it and maintain it, or would you benefit more being an excellent 185 lb physique with great lines, aesthetics, and quality?

There are 3 different types of bodybuilders in any gym:

Type A – The guy who stays all natural and puts in hard work and lives a healthy life, he may only be 175 lbs but its a good and hard 175 lbs and he feels good and strong.

Type B – He dabbles with performance enhancers but does not spend all of his money on it. When he can afford to run a cycle he will, but he is smart about it and uses moderate dosages and stays healthy. He looks much larger than other people in the gym and most can look at him and tell he is probably not natural. He is a quality 200+ lbs at average height and despite most people assuming he uses performance enhancers they'd love to look like that and respect his build.

Type C -Type C is fucking huge, but it comes with a huge price! He spends all of his extra $$ on steroids and is always looking for the next best thing. He uses anything and everything he can get his hands on, has no retirement plan, no health insurance, no family, no long term outlook on life, and if he cannot be a 275 lb monster, then he is worth nothing.

He has a huge inferiority complex, problems with relationships, and most people in general just think he is an asshole. But everyone stares at him and he loves the attention. He was probably never hugged enough as a child, and will be chasing a pipe dream the rest of his life, he will never be satisfied.

Type C is borderline psychotic and let me tell you something people, learn to recognize when enough is enough. This ties in with food, how you may ask? Simple, because just as a guy full of drugs embarks in a system of diminishing returns, so does a guy constantly eating his ass off.

Now I'm not saying that you do not need to eat more than the average person to grow, but there comes a point where it gets downright fucking ridiculous and you're making more work for your body and organs. A de-feed day (or even 2) throughout the week is smart.

Now, of course there will always be feelings of trying to force our bodies to do things that don't feel right or normal when trying to grow and eat. Obviously something has to change from average or we wouldn't get results in the first place. But learn to recognize when to back off and give it a break, not just in training but eating as well.

I find the occasional de-feed day to give me good results and also help keep me lean, maybe you will too. Remember, in the end you have to do what works for you, this is just a tool for the toolbox.

Train hard.