A refeed day is a strategic higher carb, lower fat day that is aimed towards “cycling” your carb intake, which helps aid in fat loss by boosting leptin levels. In general, we recommend that you only introduce a weekly refeed day once you have been 100% consistent with hitting your macro targets for at least 1-2 weeks. When you’re ready to add in a refeed day, select one day per week (generally on your hardest workout day), and try to keep your refeed day on the same day every week if possible.
Refeed days are also great for taking a mental and physical break from moderate carb intake. Resetting once a week with a few of your favorite higher carb foods can be good for both the body and soul! They are also a perfect time to use on your harder workout days (like a double session or a longer run), since the carbs are more “in demand” on that day and will be put to the most use by going straight to your muscles! Refeeds will also help you feel satisfied throughout the week and aid in fat loss by replenishing leptin levels. Leptin is the hormone that keeps us satiated, which gets depleted while eating at a caloric deficit. Studies show that carbs increase the amount of leptin in the body.
If you’d like a little more detail:
Leptin is a hormone that helps regulate appetite and metabolism. Leptin levels generally increase during times of energy availability (such as a refeed day) and decrease during times of restriction or starvation. When your leptin levels are higher (like on a refeed day) you are less likely to be hungry and your metabolism is less likely to slow down.
On the flip side, if your leptin levels are depleted your appetite is higher and your metabolism may slow down to prevent weight loss. So the goal of a refeed day is to remind your body that there IS plenty of energy available and there’s no need to slow your metabolism or hold onto fat stores.
Here is a blog post we wrote that deep dives into what a refeed day is as well as its benefits. Or, if you prefer to watch a video, our Founder went into depth on refeeds during a #macrochats series.
You can change your day to a refeed day by clicking on the day type at the top right of the planner.
For a detailed walk-through on how to change your daily settings including the number of meals and workouts, you can check out this video!