Can an Athlete Have a Cheat Day? The Ultimate Guide

November 17, 2025 •

5 min read

According to sports nutritionists, some of the world's top athletes, including Olympians and Premier League stars, strategically incorporate cheat meals into their diets to support their health and fitness goals. This might come as a surprise to many, but the real question is not whether an athlete can have a cheat day, but rather how it can be done in a controlled, strategic way to enhance performance rather than hinder it.

Quick Summary

Elite athletes sometimes include cheat meals or refeed days to provide mental and physical breaks from strict diets. This requires careful planning to avoid jeopardizing progress and should focus on specific nutritional goals rather than unrestricted indulgence.

Key Points

Strategic Indulgence is Possible: Elite athletes do sometimes incorporate planned cheat meals or refeeds into their regimen to gain mental and physical benefits.
Refeed is Not a Cheat Day: Athletes should prioritize a controlled refeed day, focusing on high-quality carbohydrates to replenish glycogen, rather than an unrestricted 'cheat day' that risks undoing progress.
Psychological Boost: A planned off-plan meal can provide a motivational boost, reduce cravings, and prevent burnout from strict dieting, but it depends on the individual's relationship with food.
Physical Performance Benefits: Strategic refeeds can boost metabolism, replenish muscle glycogen, and potentially increase anabolic hormone levels, supporting intense training and recovery.
Timing and Moderation are Key: The best approach is a single, planned meal (not a full day) focused on carbs, timed after an intense workout to maximize performance benefits and minimize fat storage.
Uncontrolled Cheating Risks: Without a strategic plan, excessive indulgence can lead to unnecessary fat gain, poor workout performance, and a negative relationship with food.

The Psychological Impact of a Cheat Day

Adherence to a strict diet, especially one intended for peak athletic performance, can be mentally exhausting. The constant tracking of macronutrients, calorie restriction, and avoidance of highly palatable foods can lead to burnout, decreased motivation, and even a negative relationship with food. A planned cheat day or meal can serve as a psychological release valve, offering a temporary break from the mental strain of dieting.

Increased Motivation: Knowing that a planned reward meal is coming can increase an athlete's motivation to stick to their disciplined routine for the rest of the week.
Reduced Cravings: For some, indulging in a craving can prevent it from turning into an obsessive thought, which in turn reduces the risk of an uncontrolled binge later on.
Sustainable Mindset: The all-or-nothing mindset can be detrimental. A strategic cheat meal reinforces the idea of balance and moderation, making a healthy eating pattern more sustainable long-term.

However, this psychological benefit is only valid if the indulgence is controlled. For individuals with a history of disordered eating or a tendency toward binging, a "cheat day" could trigger unhealthy behaviors. In these cases, a more flexible, balanced approach is healthier than a day of total dietary abandonment.

Refeed vs. Cheat Day: A Critical Distinction for Athletes

While often used interchangeably, the terms "refeed day" and "cheat day" have crucial differences for an athlete's diet. A cheat day implies unstructured, unrestricted eating, whereas a refeed day is a strategic, controlled nutritional tool.

Comparison Table: Refeed vs. Cheat Day


Feature	Refeed Day	Cheat Day (Unstructured)
Purpose	Replenish muscle glycogen, boost metabolism, hormonal support.	Psychological break, satisfy cravings, emotional release.
Tracking	Tracked and highly structured; precise macro goals.	Untracked, spontaneous, and unplanned.
Primary Macro	High in carbohydrates; moderate protein, low fat.	High in carbs, fat, and sugar; little regard for nutrition.
Caloric Intake	Strategically increased to maintenance or slight surplus.	Can result in a significant, often excessive, surplus.
Goal Impact	Supports muscle growth and metabolism during fat loss.	Can jeopardize weekly progress if uncontrolled.
Best For	Leaner athletes, bodybuilders, or those hitting a plateau.	The occasional break for those with strong discipline.

For most athletes, especially those trying to manage body composition, a planned refeed day is the far superior option. It offers a psychological break with minimal risk to progress, all while providing tangible performance benefits.

The Physiological Benefits of Strategic Cheating

When done correctly—by focusing on a higher-carbohydrate refeed—a scheduled break from a diet can offer real physiological advantages for an athlete.

Replenishes Glycogen Stores: Intense training depletes muscle glycogen, which is the body's primary fuel source for high-intensity exercise. A high-carb refeed day helps to efficiently restock these glycogen stores, leading to better performance and faster recovery in subsequent workouts.
Combats Metabolic Adaptation: Prolonged calorie restriction can lead to a drop in metabolic rate as the body tries to conserve energy. A controlled increase in calories and carbohydrates can temporarily boost levels of leptin, a hormone that regulates appetite and metabolism. This can help prevent or break through weight loss plateaus.
Boosts Anabolic Hormones: Some research suggests that a temporary caloric increase can stimulate anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone, which are crucial for muscle repair and growth. This creates a more anabolic environment, supporting the muscle-building process.

How to Incorporate a Cheat Meal or Refeed Strategically

For athletes, the secret to success lies in moderation and timing. Here is a step-by-step guide to incorporating an off-plan meal without compromising performance.

Step 1: Plan it in Advance. Do not make it a spontaneous decision. Schedule your cheat meal or refeed for a day with an intense training session, preferably after the workout. This allows your body to best utilize the extra carbohydrates and calories to replenish glycogen.

Step 2: Choose a Controlled 'Cheat Meal', Not a Full Day. An entire day of uncontrolled eating can easily erase a week's worth of progress by creating a massive caloric surplus. Stick to a single meal and get right back on track with your normal, healthy eating pattern for the rest of the day.

Step 3: Emphasize Quality Carbohydrates. For a true refeed, focus on nutrient-dense, high-carb sources to replenish glycogen. Examples include sweet potatoes, rice, pasta, or oats. Minimize excessive fats and processed sugars, as these offer less performance benefit and carry a higher risk of fat storage.

Step 4: Practice Portion Control. A cheat meal does not mean a binge. Enjoy your favorite foods, but in a reasonable portion. For instance, have a gourmet burger and a small side of fries instead of a large pizza and a tub of ice cream.

Step 5: Listen to Your Body. Pay attention to how different foods affect you. If a particular meal leaves you feeling bloated and sluggish, it may not be the best choice for a subsequent cheat meal. Your goal is to feel energized, not depleted.

The Dangers of Uncontrolled Cheating

Without a strategic plan, a cheat day can quickly derail an athlete's hard work. The potential negative effects include:

Excessive Fat Gain: An unchecked cheat day can result in a significant caloric surplus, leading to fat gain that can hide muscle definition and hinder performance.
Poor Performance: High-sugar, high-fat processed foods can lead to sluggishness, inflammation, and bloating, negatively impacting the following day's training session.
Psychological Backfire: For some, a full day of indulging can create feelings of guilt or shame, making it harder to return to a disciplined regimen afterward.
Negative Relationship with Food: Categorizing food as "good" or "bad" can foster an unhealthy, restrictive mindset. The cheat day mentality can exacerbate this by creating a cycle of deprivation followed by bingeing.

Conclusion: The Final Verdict

So, can an athlete have a cheat day? The answer is a qualified yes, but it is not a free pass for uncontrolled gluttony. A well-executed, strategic cheat meal or refeed day can provide crucial psychological relief and physiological benefits, such as glycogen replenishment and a temporary metabolic boost. However, an unstructured cheat day is a far riskier strategy that can easily undo progress and lead to unhealthy habits. For best results, athletes should focus on planned, carbohydrate-focused refeeds timed around intense training. This measured approach supports both physical performance and long-term psychological health, proving that intelligent indulgence can be a powerful tool in an athlete's arsenal.

Resources for Further Reading

For more information on optimizing an athlete's diet, consider these resources:

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition: Regularly publishes research on nutritional strategies for athletes.
NASM Blog: Offers articles on refeeding and periodizing energy restriction.
Working Against Gravity (WAG): Their articles on refeed days provide excellent, practical advice for athletes.
BarBend: A respected resource for strength athletes, with guides on topics like refeed days.

Frequently Asked Questions

A refeed day is a structured nutritional strategy involving a planned increase in calories, primarily from carbohydrates, to replenish glycogen stores and combat metabolic slowdown. A cheat day is an unstructured, unrestricted approach to eating whatever you want, often leading to excessive calories and poor food choices.

Yes, if not controlled. A single cheat day with thousands of excess calories can easily cancel out the caloric deficit created over the previous week. For athletes, a better approach is a cheat meal or a structured refeed day to avoid derailing progress.

Most athletes benefit from one controlled cheat meal or refeed day per week or less. The optimal frequency depends on the individual's goals, body composition, and how well they can maintain discipline. Those in a fat loss phase may need less frequent cheats than those bulking.

For a strategic refeed, athletes should focus on quality carbohydrate sources like rice, pasta, potatoes, and whole grains to maximize glycogen replenishment. While indulging cravings is part of it, prioritizing complex carbs over excessive sugar and fat is more beneficial for performance.

While a temporary increase in calories can cause a short-term rise in leptin (a hormone regulating metabolism) and energy expenditure, the effect is often minor and brief. The metabolic boost is unlikely to be significant enough to offset an excessive caloric surplus from an uncontrolled cheat day.

For most athletes, a single, planned cheat meal is the safer and more effective option. A cheat day is much harder to control and carries a higher risk of significant caloric excess and negative health effects. Sticking to one meal helps maintain balance and long-term consistency.

No, a carbohydrate-heavy cheat meal will knock your body out of ketosis. For athletes on a keto diet, it is generally recommended to avoid cheat meals to maintain the metabolic state. Re-entering ketosis can be a slow process with unpleasant side effects.