When you are on a diet, the word- “cheating” seems to be most craving. How come? Well when you are constantly on the count of your calories and nutrients, and taking it like an exam, cheating seems heavenly.
Many nutritionists have revealed to how dieters come up with one significant question in their sessions, are we allowed to cheat? This is usually asked in desperation rather than a break from their diet plan. Surveys have found that being on diet plans becomes truly exhausting which makes dieters yearn for a cheat day. Their other concern comes down to being, will this one cheat day cost them all their efforts they made for the week?
Here are the benefits of cheating:
Cheat days are often like a getaway from restricted plan of food you can eat. Continuous eating of grilled chicken and vegetable every day for weeks can bring down any human being into a dull mood which is not what the diet plan is meant to do. The main aim to have a cheat day is to reward yourself for the hard work you did for the week and fulfill your cravings in a day.
One of the primary benefits of cheat days is their effect on leptin levels in the body. Leptin is a hormone secreted by fat cells that is key to maintaining energy balance in the body. The point of leptin levels is to reach a certain tendency which signals to the brain that you have an adequate amount of energy stored, allowing you to step away from the table and tell yourself you’ve had enough. Although, when leptin levels drop, hunger signals start to kick in, which results in overeating. According to research, upticks in eating, specifically with carbohydrates, could help to stave off decreasing leptin levels and help you continue on your see-food diet only.
How bad can the downfall of cheating be then?
The results have come out to be that periodic overfeeding can have some good effects after all on hormone production and metabolism, but what about the psychological effects of indulging? Indeed, cheat days do offer a mental reprieve for some individuals that spend the rest of their week counting calories or macros and saying “no” to the tub of ice cream in the freezer. However, “sustainable” might be the crucial word
So, this concludes, if you’re relying on periodic splurges to carry you through the week, then your dietary approach is meant to have a downfall in the long run. The aim here is not to eat healthy balanced meals and then have your conscience go blind and mind deaf while you jump to fulfill your cravings at a buffet table on Saturday night. It brings down your entire diet plan and becomes a hurdle instead of a savior break from the rules you set yourself. Therefore, it is important to know what limits and boundaries to set for your cheat days to sustain the maximum psychological and physiological benefits without throwing your hard work out the window.
Here are some special tricks to help you to cheat without completely cheating:
- Don’t cheat too frequently: I know it is not easy to just cut off your favorite dishes and leave your tummies growling but, cut down on the cheat meals as you go with your diet plan. This will help you fulfill your indulgent and spread it over the month rather than a weekly thing.
- Play around only on special occasions: Because they come oh so often, let your cheat meals be special occasions too. Learn to take it as a special thing for yourself rather than a cheat thing.
