Cheat Day : A Curse or a Boon for People Looking to Lose Weight.
Planning to have a cheat day? Read on to understand how a cheat day may prove to be at the end of the day.
Pizzas, burgers, soft drinks, chocolates, ice cream, alcohol are some of the meals and beverages, which is mostly loved by everyone. But fitness enthusiasts are strict as far as their diet is concerned. However, being a human being, those people also have cravings for such meals. The day in a week when they decide to enjoy such meals is said to be a “Cheat Day”. Cheat Day is abuzz amongst the fitness lovers and workout enthusiasts.
Cheat Meals vs Cheat Days: The Difference
Cheat Meals: Stick to your plan of eating healthy the whole day, but one meal of the day can be a “cheat meal”. You can eat anything( usually any junk food) you want apart from your diet.
Cheat Day: This day is usually enjoyed in two ways
- From eating a burger for breakfast, to pizza in lunch and having fries and frankies for dinner, eat as much as you want. How the day is going to be is entirely in your hands. Some people gulp as many things as they get, however, it only doubles your calorie intake.
- Consume only to increase your calorie intake by eating foods which are high in calories and healthy. This version of cheat day is not as extreme as the first one. This way of having a cheat day is often adopted by hardcore fitness enthusiasts.
But does enjoying a cheat day have any effects on the body of the people trying to lose weight?
Cheat Day: Physical Effects
The theory says that, when you have a cheat day, it results in leptin production increase in the body and boosting up your metabolism. Which means, it should burn your calories more. Leptin consists of amino acids and is a peptide hormone. Fat cells of the body secrete leptin which controls the satiety feeling and hunger. But, upto what extent leptin controls such feeling is still not specifically stated by the scientists. After having a cheat day or cheat meal, does the amount of leptin secretion really increase? Is still a debatable topic. However, it is clear that overeating is sure to increase your metabolism to an extent of 10% (in a day).
If you have been a strict follower of your diet for a long time, who might just have a finite amount of glycogen stores in your muscles. Such a situation may make you more lethargic, which will in turn affect your workout routine.
To avoid such harm to your workout, you should definitely opt to have a cheat meal or a cheat day. Such meals help in increasing the number of carbohydrates and calories, which is used to restore the glycogen stores of the muscles. However, if you want to lose weight, having an excess cheat meal might give a set back to your goal.
Cheat day: Psychological Effects
Everything has pros and cons, so does having a cheat day. Having a cheat day might have different effects on different people’s minds. Some feel that Cheat days help them to follow their diets strictly which in turn makes their mind strong so that they can control their food cravings on usual days.
And some people start regretting after having a cheat day because of overeating. Such people start to think of avoiding the next cheat day or cheat meal, rather than concentrating on their usual healthy diet. Such behaviour is said to be unhealthy and can lead to some serious eating problems.
How often to have a Cheat Day:
We don’t recommend people to restrict themselves from eating the food they love, and we are sure that we are not the ones to hold you back in following your diet. Enjoy the food you have been craving for. Having a cheat day once a while is acceptable. Incorporate a cheat day in your weekly diet plan. This might help you to be more focused on your ultimate goal of losing weight. Cheat days have proved to be healthier and a better way to keep your body and your mind focused.
People having blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol should strictly stick to the diet plan prescribed, even small treats of junk food might cause some serious health issues.
Loose your weight while enjoying your cheat meals, but decide how much you want to binge on.
