What Is a Refeed Day? Is It Good if I Have One, and Will I Gain Fat?

Refeed days may trick your metabolism into burning more fat. Refeed days where you eat more carbs should increase your body's metabolism.

Dieting is so common that it’s built into our daily lives. Every year, as many as 45 million Americans try out a new diet to see if it sticks. Recently, you may have heard that creating a calorie deficit and then splurging with a refeed day can help you lose weight.

So what is a refeed day? Learn more about refeed days, how they differ from the “cheat” days built into many weight-loss plans, and how to successfully schedule one for yourself.

If you’re someone who has tried strict diets to no avail, breaking up your schedule with a refeed day might work for you. You don’t have to follow a particular eating pattern to try a refeed day. You can be vegetarian, paleo, or gluten-free and successfully participate in this technique. Refeed days work by decreasing calories for a set period of time and then eating significantly more calories — usually in the form of carbohydrates — for a day or two.

Though refeed days might seem counterintuitive, experts think that when you schedule them correctly, you can trick your metabolism into burning more fat — or at least the same amount of fat as if you had restricted your diet in a consistent manner. A 2022 review of research on professional bodybuilders showed that the bodybuilders who did not use refeed strategies weren’t noticeably thinner than those who did use refeed strategies.

Refeed days can serve two specific purposes: helping the body recover after a time of calorie and nutrient deficit and boosting your metabolism to help you achieve fat loss.

Combatting symptoms of calorie deficit

Low-calorie diets can help with weight loss, but on the whole, they’re not sustainable. Most people feel OK and lose weight on a slight calorie deficit, but experience health problems if they eat under 800 calories a day. If you’re using a steep calorie deficit to lose weight, you might not feel great mentally or physically. You might also notice these uncomfortable symptoms:

• Feeling cold
• Having low energy or fatigue
• Experiencing mood swings
• Noticing stomach problems like constipation

Fortunately, refeed days can help you make up for a deficiency in calories throughout the week. They can also help you meet your nutritional needs for the macro- and micronutrients you might not be eating throughout the week.

Temporarily increasing your metabolism

Refeed days might help you lose weight. At the very least, they probably won’t make you gain more. A 2020 review examined whether taking a break from a strict diet to have a refeed day aided in muscle gain and fat loss. The results showed that the participant group that reduced their calories for five days of the week — and used the other two days to refeed by increasing their calories with extra carbohydrates — ended up with less fat mass than the group that dieted consistently.

The “cheat day” is a staple of many restrictive diets. Experts agree that cheat days, within reason, can give you the psychological motivation to continue with a weight-loss plan. They can also help your body ramp up its metabolism and burn more calories in the short term after the cheat day.

A refeed day is similar to a cheat day, but it’s more strategic and controlled. During refeed days, you should feed your body additional healthy carbohydrates — rather than desserts or large quantities of your favorite foods — to promote muscle gain and trigger fat loss.

Much of the research regarding refeed days focuses on using carbohydrates to increase calories on refeed days. Avoid sugary junk foods and choose healthy carbohydrates like these:

• Whole grains like rice, quinoa, popcorn without added butter, and whole wheat products
• Fruits without added sugar (not fruit juice, which is mostly sugar)
• White potatoes and sweet potatoes

If you fall into the following categories, you shouldn’t experiment with refeed days right now. 

You’re pregnant or trying to conceive

Experts generally caution against dieting to lose weight when you’re pregnant. Most women should gain around 10-30 pounds while pregnant depending on their weight at conception. It’s never a good idea to create a calorie deficit or experiment with your metabolism during this time.

You’re struggling with an eating disorder

If you’ve struggled with an eating disorder in the past or you’re still dealing with a disordered relationship to food, creating a pattern of deficiency and then refeeding yourself probably isn’t a good idea. If you’re truly concerned about your weight and you are struggling with disordered eating, it’s a good idea to work with a nutritionist to create a weight loss plan that focuses on health.

You want to use refeed days to cheat on your diet 

Cheat days are fun. They can also keep you motivated on a boring diet. If you find yourself scheduling refeed days that are really cheat days in disguise, it might be time to rethink your diet plan. Consider creating a less restrictive plan that includes more of your favorite foods.

Trying a refeed day shouldn’t be a problem for most healthy adults, and these periods of overconsumption can even be beneficial if you are trying to lose weight or train for a sport. If you don’t feel good after your refeed day, or if you simply feel that it’s not working for you, don’t feel pressured to stick with it. Speak to your doctor or nutritionist to determine the best eating plan for yourself.