Right but in that case you would have been at a surplus all the time, the study is referring to those that are at a deficit(pretty extreme on if you ask me). As for better after cheat/refeed that makes sense because your body can more easily use carbs.

That last part is good to know as I was not aware of that. My understanding was that your body take the same amount of time to get back in whether it's cheat after months or days.