Research shows just three cheat days a week is as bad for your gut health as a consistently unhealthy diet. Gaining a small amount of weight, like a pound or two, is not a big deal.
To gain a pound of fat, you would need to add about 500 calories a day on top of your normal diet, every day, for about 7 days. This makes gaining any significant amount of fat from even the craziest, all-out cheat days unlikely.
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.
In order to gain a pound of fat, you would need to add about 500 calories a day on top of your normal diet, every day, for about 7 days. This makes gaining any significant amount of fat from even the craziest all-out cheat days extremely unlikely.
No, three days of unhealthy eating will not make you fat. However, if you continue to eat unhealthy foods regularly, you may gain weight over time. To avoid weight gain, focus on eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Simply stated, The 3 Bite Rule is a strategy to enjoy your favorite “bad boyfriend” foods out of the house by taking three bites, and then stopping. Note: I find it works best if the portion is already small at the get-go, and if you have dining companions who are good sharers! Back to the 3 Bite Rule.
Will a Cheat Weekend Ruin My Weight Loss Progress? Having a cheat weekend won't affect your journey as long as you have a calorie deficit at the end of the week. Calorie targets must be calculated based on weekly consumption rather than daily, to provide more flexibility.
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.
This depends on the individual and what a regimen is, but it can vary. Some people can have cheat days once a week, others can do so once a month, while others should limit them even further. Lowe suggests once a year is good, because each day, people don't realize how many calories they are consuming.
A cheat day is when you allow yourself an entire day of eating anything you want without counting calories or watching what you eat. It's something to look forward to, like a reward for being healthy and staying on track with your diet. Also, it helps to keep you from constantly feeling deprived.
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.
'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.
Since most of us can't eat so much in a day or two that we actually gain a couple of kilos a day, a dramatic increase in weight could be due to water retention. Eating, drinking, urinating, bowel movements, exercise—everything can affect your body's water composition and, therefore, weight.
Crash dieting
Transitioning from a very low calorie and low carbohydrate diet to a low calorie and moderate carbohydrate diet often leads to a weight gain of 1-2 kgs in a matter of one day. This is mainly because of a sudden increase in the carbohydrate content which is stored along with water in the body.
For example, if your daily caloric intake is 2000 calories and your intake on cheat days increases to 4000 or 5000 calories, then, despite the increased leptin levels and metabolism, you are bound to put on weight.
Cheat meals can help the body get over the “famine” reaction by making it believe that “food” is available and it's okay to burn fat. Summing up, an ideal cheat meal should neither ruin your weight loss efforts, nor leave you with feelings of guilt afterwards.
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.
The 5 Bite Diet
On this diet, you skip breakfast and are allowed only five bites of food at lunch and five bites of food at dinner. You can also drink as much as you want as long as you stick to beverages without calories.
5-7 bites per person is ideal for more satiating moments such as happy hours. 10-12 bites per person would be good for a breakfast or lunch event, while we recommend planning 15 bites per person for an evening event, especially if alcohol is included on the menu.
With just a few days of excessive eating, you most likely can't consume enough calories to gain weight. However, any extra calories you eat end up being stored as fat, making it easier for you to acquire weight over time if you continue to habitually overeat.
The first three days are always the hardest. This is because the body is still craving what it is used to having. That daily donut, big bottle of Coke or slice of pizza are pretty hard to say no to when you start a program, because your body is used to having it.