A Nutritionist’s Guide to Incorporating Cheat Days into Your Diet
When it comes to healthy eating, the key to following the rules may be in breaking them. The notion of “cheat days” has recently garnered popularity for those dieting or wishing to sustain a healthy lifestyle. While incorporating a periodic cheat day has proven to help dieters stay on track, if you don’t indulge the right way, you could find yourself back at square one.
The first rule of integrating cheat days into your diet? Don’t think of them as cheating, more so a meal that you earned and should enjoy – without the guilt. By following this advice on how to incorporate cheat days into your diet, you’ll come to think of them less as cheating, and more as part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
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. After eating a larger meal than usual, your body increases leptin production by as much as 30 percent for up to 24 hours.
For those on a highly restrictive, low-calorie diet, psychologists and nutritionists often believe that cheat meals allow individuals to eat better throughout the week. This planned splurge in calories often allows people to forgo other unplanned and often binge-inducing meals – meals that take much longer to bounce back from and could throw you off the wagon altogether.
Cheating Too Frequently
While cheat days can prove a helpful tool to keep binge-eating at bay, if you cheat too often, you can find yourself back to where you started. As an easier way to plan out cheat meals, nutritionists often recommend the 80/20 Rule. When following this rule, 80 percent of the meals you eat should be healthy and adhere to your eating plan, while the other 20 percent give you the flexibility to satisfy your cravings.
Instead of devoting an entire day giving in to indulgences, nutritionists recommend satisfying a single craving. Also, remember that the frequency of which you cheat should depend on how close you are to your health goals. Someone trying to maintain their weight may be able to splurge more often than someone just starting a diet.
Cheat on a Training Day
If you plan to consume a larger amount of calories, try to do it on a day you can burn them off. Nutritionists agree that you should indulge in your cravings, but if you do, do it on the day of an intense workout. Even better, choose a meal that’s high in protein to rebuild muscle mass and satiate hunger.
Plan, Plan, Plan
It can be especially difficult to stick to a diet at a special event where cake and alcohol prevail as major food groups. Instead of torturing yourself, plan ahead to count it as your cheat meal. When an imminent binging event like Thanksgiving rolls around, even though you might be tempted to reach for a second or third plate, limit yourself to one. Having the dishes laid out in front of you doesn’t give you license to adopt an all-you-can-eat mindset. Tell yourself you’ll savor one helping and be done.
Forgive Yourself
Lastly, don’t give in to guilt. It can be easy get discouraged, but one bad meal or one bad day is not indicative of failure. Accept what you ate, and move on.
FAQs
Cheat Meals While Losing Weight
Cheat meals are purported to bring a dieter psychological relief, a temporary boost in metabolic rate, and replenishment of glycogen stores so that they may resume the diet again afterward. However, there is very little empirical evidence to support any of these claims.
Will one cheat day ruin my weight? ›
While your metabolism may go up in the immediate aftermath of a splurge, it doesn't stay that way for long enough to make a significant difference. “Cheat day calories can add up fast and bring your weight loss progress to a screeching halt — or even reverse it,” Taylor warns.
How many cheat days can you have without gaining weight? ›
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.
How long to lose water weight after cheat day? ›
The length of time that it takes to lose water weight depends on how much water you're retaining, the cause of the water weight gain, and the action taken to lose it. If you have one high-sodium meal and then return to normal, healthy dietary habits, you'll likely return to your normal weight in 1-2 days.
Can you have 2 cheat days and still lose weight? ›
Yes, Weekend Weight Fluctuations Are Normal
So it is possible to lose weight during the week, slide back a little on the weekend, and still make progress overall. And plenty of people love their cheat days and swear they couldn't survive without them.
Why do I weigh less after cheat day? ›
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.
Will I look fatter after cheat day? ›
This can cause some large increases in weight, but weight due to 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.
Should I fast after a cheat day? ›
Oftentimes after a cheat day or a binge, people think that they need a “reset” so they decide to restrict food the next day. However, fasting after a binge can backfire and perpetuate the binge-restrict cycle. It can lead to intense cravings and an obsession with food.
How much is OK for a cheat day? ›
However, it's recommended that you shouldn't exceed 150% of your usual calorie intake for the day. It's suggested that you would have to overeat by 500 calories a day to gain one pound of fat a week, meaning your occasional cheat day really shouldn't make too much of a difference to your goals overall.
How many cheat days are OK in a week? ›
A cheat day is a scheduled break in a diet. The concept emerged around the same time as 'clean eating', and is based on the idea that a dieter can 'cheat' for one day a week as long as they eat to their diet plan for the remaining six days.
Cheat Often
A planned cheat day can sometimes shock your body into breaking through the plateau and going back to weight loss mode.
What to eat after a cheat day? ›
15 Healthy Foods to Eat After a Binge
- Yogurt. 1/15. The probiotic power of yogurt can help tame tummy troubles brought on by too much food. ...
- Bananas. 2/15. Blood pressure on the rise from a sodium surge? ...
- Oatmeal. 3/15. ...
- Green tea. 4/15. ...
- Nuts. 5/15. ...
- Beans. 6/15. ...
- Eggs. 7/15. ...
- Spinach. 8/15.
Cutting down on salty and sugary foods, drinking plenty of water, getting enough sleep, and staying physically active are some ways to shed water weight. You put on water weight when your body retains fluid that normally goes to your kidneys. It's normal to have water weight.
Why do I gain so much weight on my cheat day? ›
Chances are, you've eaten some sugary or fatty, greasy, and salty foods for your cheat day. These unhealthy foods can cause your body to hold onto more water weight than normal, which will push that need on your scale higher. The day after your cheat day, make sure you drink more water than usual.
Why am I so bloated after a cheat day? ›
The sudden addition of complex carbs on a cheat day may lead to a bit of gas and bloating. However, the fiber these foods contain will help with blood sugar control, which is an important factor when it comes to carbs.
Is one cheat day a week okay? ›
He says letting off steam through a cheat day can work, as long as your cheat diet is sensible and doesn't include lots of high-calorie or unhealthy foods, such as those high in saturated fat, salt or sugar.
How many calories are in a cheat day? ›
'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.
Can a cheat day break a weight loss plateau? ›
Take a break now, and plan to take another break soon. A planned cheat day can sometimes shock your body into breaking through the plateau and going back to weight loss mode. It can also give you a mental break from being so careful with what you eat.
