Cheat Day for Yummy Food?!
Question: I work Out hard 7 days a wk. Running, walking and wt training. I consider myself very active and am trying to lose 15 pds for the summer. Is it OK if I have a cheat day once a wk where I can eat some cookies, pizza, chips and just enjoy myself? Or should I stick to my diet plan all week. On my cheat day I really want to enjoy iy! Thanks
Answers: I work Out hard 7 days a wk. Running, walking and wt training. I consider myself very active and am trying to lose 15 pds for the summer. Is it OK if I have a cheat day once a wk where I can eat some cookies, pizza, chips and just enjoy myself? Or should I stick to my diet plan all week. On my cheat day I really want to enjoy iy! Thanks
It's a fantastic idea to have a cheat day. Not only because you get to eat the foods you want, not only because you get to unwind and stay sane on your diet, but it also makes sense from a weight loss / health perspective.
If you stick to a rigorous low-calorie diet all the time, your body goes into 'starvation mode' and lowers the calories you burn from basal metabolic activities, reducing the overall burn. I can't remember the name of it, but there's a chemical that regulates the degree of 'starvation mode' you're in. It's been shown in some studies that even one day per week of a cheat day can bring this chemical back up to normal levels, allowing you to diet on the other days more effectively, because your body will be less concerned about holding on to every calorie it can. I think over the course of a week the levels of this chemical drop by 50%, but I'm not 100% sure on that.
Just remember, a 15,000 calorie cheat day would outweigh the benefits that this metabolic boost would provide. Cheat, but moderate it a little. Have foods you want, have some pizza, add dessert to your dinner, grab a couple brewskies with/after dinner. I treat cheat day as a fun day, not a day where the goal is to binge on food. Go to coffee with some friends and grab a slice of cake and a latte, don't buy a cake and sit in a darkened room bingeing. You'll be much happier.
I too have a cheat day and it hasn't hurt me. I think it's OK to indulge, but not to binge!
Yes! You should always have a cheat day! Because if you never do you will break! And just quit your diet! So it is okay to have a cheat day! As long as it is like one chocolate bar. Not a WHOLE cake and pie and 5 chocolate bars.... just like a candy bar of a piece of cake.
i think to make any diet work.. you have to allow yourself something good once in awhile... once a week would work as long as you didnt pig out all day... just allow yourself something you really love once a week and not worry about the calories:)