How Often Should Be Your Cheat Day? Since every weight loss program is unique, there is no conclusive response to this issue. However, most people recommend having a cheat day once a week. This will allow you to indulge without jeopardizing your diet or weight reduction objectives.
Will a cheat meal ruin my progress? Lets start out plain and simple, a cheat meal will NOT ruin your progress, assuming all else is right with your diet and workout plan. I would advise against devouring 2 large pizza's by yourself, but theres no reason why your cheat meal would ruin progress if you do it right.
Many people choose a weekend day to indulge in a cheat meal or cheat day because these days tend to be less structured. Dr. Sean Kandel, a board-certified internal medicine doctor, recommends one or two cheat meals per week for healthy individuals.
The Short Answer:
It's absolutely OK to have a cheat meal! If the rest of your diet plan is tight, there's nothing wrong with cutting loose once or twice a week. In fact, the shift in calories may help you avoid plateaus. Also, it keeps you sane.
'There is not an exact number of calories that you can eat on a cheat day but a good guideline to follow is to not consume more than 150 per cent of your regular calorie intake/limit,' according to Bodies by Byrne, run by a nutritionist and fitness instructor.
Many people complain that they gain weight around the holidays, but you'll be happy to know that you can't really gain weight from a single meal or day of overeating.
The Benefits of Cheating
Research shows that after a cheat meal, the body increases its metabolism, causing you to burn calories faster. This is caused by increased levels of leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells and responsible for maintaining energy balance in the body.
A cheat day causes some large weight increases, but weight because of water, not fat. Depending on what kind of diet you were on, loading up on carbs on a cheat day can increase your weight noticeably. If you were trying to lose fat, you likely were trying to cut carbohydrates out of your diet.
“Low energy, plateaus, the scale being stuck, and sometimes actually if you're feeling bloated or retaining too much water, these can be signs that a relaxed meal or refeed is needed,” Randy says.
What Are Cheat Meals? Cheat meals are any meals made up of foods that will not lead you towards your health or weight-loss goals. The meals are considered a cheat since you are not staying true to your desired eating plan. A cheat meal may not necessarily be made up of what we consider to be unhealthy foods.
A brief window of overeating may increase your body's leptin production, which in turn boosts your metabolism, but the science on this is still mixed. Newer research suggests that a cheat day here and there may actually aid weight loss, but how often and how much food you eat may be the key.
For many people following low calorie diets, “cheat meals” are a must. A cheat meal is essentially one planned meal (or meal deviation) a week where you can eat anything you want that you wouldn't normally eat as part of your diet — pizza, burger and fries, tacos, whatever you have a hankering for.
Cheating once in a week is the healthiest approach. That does not lead to weight gain and is even proven to be good for your metabolism. Studies even suggest that weekly cheat meals ward off feelings of deprivation and improve your ability to stick to your diet.
With The 90/10 Weight-Loss Plan, dieters learn to balance their food intake by eating 90% healthy, nutritious food, with 10% "Fun Food"--whatever they want, whenever they want. Nutritionist Joy Bauer has created a phenomenon that has taken the nation by storm: a diet that is healthy and easy to follow.
As we've said above, to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit; to maintain it, you need to eat the same amount needed for your BMR. When you have a cheat day, you have an excess of calories, so you need to burn them off.
A tip you can try is the 90-10 rule. "Eat a healthy diet 90% of the time and splurge 10% of the time," McManus says. "Eating three meals a day for a week means 21 total meals: avoid splurging for more than two of those meals."
Plan Your Cheat Meals Into Your Weekly Calories
You do so by now eating at your maintenance calories or at a slight surplus, as opposed to a deficit like you've been doing all week. This way, you'll be able to create a deficit and burn fat throughout the week.
You may be eating too much during your meals. Even if you only eat once or twice a day, you can still gain weight if you are eating more calories than you burn. It is important to be mindful of your portion sizes and to choose healthy foods that are low in calories.
Sixteen hours of fasting post your cheat meal is an effective way to break the craving cycle and achieve discipline again. The day after your cheat day, choose a high protein and veggie plan; it will help to keep your insulin from spiking. Try to choose a low-calorie, high-fibre food to balance your cheat meals.
Overeating causes the stomach to expand beyond its normal size to adjust to the large amount of food. The expanded stomach pushes against other organs, making you uncomfortable. This discomfort can take the form of feeling tired, sluggish or drowsy. Your clothes also may feel tight, too.
The day after a cheat day is also important. Kaiser recommends working out first thing in the morning, skipping breakfast and only drinking a cup of coffee fifteen minutes before. “It's going to rev up your metabolism and burn off some of those additional calories that you ate the night before.
Your levels of leptin (the hormone responsible for suppressing feelings of hunger) fall when you diet, and this can make it harder to resist eating. The theory goes that cheat days help keep your leptin levels up.