Does Your Contest Prep Actually Need a Refeed?
Refeeds and cheat meals are often treated like mandatory parts of contest preparation. The athlete diets all week, reaches the weekend, and automatically receives more food simply because it is Friday or Saturday.
But the calendar is not a coaching assessment.
A refeed should never be included just because an athlete has completed another week of dieting. It needs to solve a specific problem and support the athlete’s current condition, recovery, performance, and timeline.
As an IFBB Professional Figure athlete, kinesiologist, and performance coach, I understand both sides of contest preparation. I have experienced the physical and psychological demands of getting stage lean, and I have coached athletes through the decisions that determine whether a prep progresses smoothly or becomes unnecessarily aggressive.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is treating a refeed like a reward.
A Refeed Is Not a Metabolic Reset
Many athletes believe one large meal will suddenly increase their metabolism and prevent a plateau. While temporarily increasing carbohydrates can replenish muscle glycogen and may support training performance, a single meal does not magically repair the metabolism or erase the effects of prolonged dieting.
If the meal adds enough calories, it may simply reduce or eliminate part of the weekly calorie deficit.
For example, an athlete can follow their nutrition perfectly for six days, create a consistent deficit, and then consume several thousand unplanned calories during one unrestricted meal. That does not mean the entire week was wasted, but it can significantly slow the rate of progress.
The athlete may then be required to reduce food further or add more cardio to compensate. This makes the rest of the prep harder than it needed to be.
The Psychological Cost of the Weekly Cheat Meal
There is also a psychological component that coaches need to consider.
When an athlete spends the entire week thinking about one unrestricted meal, food can begin to feel like a reward for suffering. The diet becomes something they tolerate until they are finally allowed to eat what they want.
This can create an unhealthy cycle of restriction, anticipation, overeating, guilt, and compensation.
It may also make adherence more difficult because the athlete is constantly focused on what they cannot have rather than building consistency with the plan in front of them.
A successful contest preparation requires discipline, but it should also involve structure and purpose. Every adjustment should move the athlete closer to the required stage condition without creating unnecessary physical or psychological stress.
When a Refeed May Be Appropriate
A planned increase in food can be useful when there is a clear reason for it.
A coach may consider a refeed when:
• The athlete is ahead of schedule
• Training performance is beginning to decline
• Muscle glycogen appears depleted
• Recovery has meaningfully worsened
• The athlete’s rate of weight loss is becoming too aggressive
• Additional food may help preserve training quality and lean tissue
• The athlete is already very lean and the current deficit no longer needs to be as aggressive
In these situations, increasing carbohydrates strategically may improve muscle fullness, support training performance, and provide useful feedback about how the athlete’s body responds.
That is very different from having an unrestricted cheat meal simply because the weekend arrived.
When a Refeed May Not Be Necessary
If an athlete still has considerable body fat to lose, training performance is stable, recovery is manageable, and the current calorie deficit is producing the appropriate rate of progress, there may be no reason to add more food.
Doing so could slow progress without providing a meaningful benefit.
This does not mean an athlete should suffer unnecessarily or that food should always remain as low as possible. It means adjustments should be based on evidence from the athlete’s check ins rather than assumptions.
The decision should consider:
• Current condition
• Time remaining before the competition
• Rate of weight loss
• Training performance
• Recovery
• Hunger and adherence
• Muscle fullness
• Stress and sleep
• The athlete’s response to previous adjustments
Refeed, High Day, or Free Meal?
These terms are often used interchangeably, but they should not automatically mean the same thing.
A structured high day usually involves a planned increase in carbohydrates while protein and fat remain controlled. The athlete still follows specific targets.
A refeed may also involve a controlled increase in calories, usually through carbohydrates, based on the athlete’s needs.
A free meal provides more flexibility but can be more difficult to quantify. For some athletes, it improves adherence. For others, it triggers overeating, digestive discomfort, water retention, or anxiety.
The correct choice depends on the individual. I generally prefer having a clear objective and enough structure to evaluate the athlete’s response.
Coaching Is About Diagnosis
The question should never be, “Does every athlete need a weekly refeed?”
The better question is, “What problem are we trying to solve by adding food?”
If there is no clear answer, the refeed may not be necessary.
Sometimes the correct coaching decision is to increase carbohydrates. Sometimes it is to maintain the current plan. Sometimes the athlete needs improved sleep, better stress management, more consistent execution, or an adjustment to training or cardio instead.
Effective coaching is not about repeating the same formula with every athlete. It is about assessing the individual, identifying what is limiting progress, and making the smallest appropriate adjustment.
I have worked in fitness and performance settings since 2005, combining my kinesiology background, competitive experience, and years of coaching to create programs that are specific to the person in front of me.
Contest preparation is not simply about eating less and doing more cardio. It is about knowing when to push, when to hold, and when adding food will genuinely improve the outcome.
A refeed should have a purpose.
If it does not, it is simply more food.
For online coaching, contest preparation, posing, and personalized programming, visit www.trainitright.com or contact Alicia Bell at @trainitright.
