Ah, your cheat day has arrived after a long, challenging week of hard core weights and cardio behind you. The question is, is your cheat day sabotaging your exercise, or giving you the motivation to push through another round of pull-ups and squats? Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about cheat days—and how to lose weight faster than ever!
Does Your Cheat Day Turn into Cheat Days?
This is the hardest thing about cheat days. You indulge in tacos for dinner (and maybe even a dessert) and before you know it, your cheat day has turned into multiple cheat days. The question you have to ask yourself before indulging at all is: can you stay on track the other six days out of the week? If you’ve tried having a cheat day every Saturday or Sunday, and it turns into a ‘cheat week’, consider another alternative.
Why not give yourself a boundary you can more easily stick to (which will prevent over-consuming and binge eating) such as picking one day of the week with a higher caloric intake? For example, if your co-workers go to happy hour every Friday after work and you don’t want to miss out on the sharable plate of nachos, make every Friday your cheat day (which will give you a treat to look forward to without binging all day long).
If You Have Self-Control, Consider the Benefits
There are many benefits to a cheat day (or even a cheat afternoon). When done right, here’s what cheating on your diet once a week can do for you, and your waistline:
• It gives you extra nutrients you may not get during the week. Many diets can be very restrictive (no carbs, no fatty foods, etc.) Having a cheat session in your week can also you to bring variety into your day and give you nutrients you may not be getting (nutrients your body needs). So, if you’re eating lean chicken every day, switch it up to a nice steak.
• It allows you to feel satisfied. A diet can be tough to continue, but by giving yourself a cheat day (or even just a cheat meal), it’ll allow you to feel satisfied, and can give you the motivation to continue on your diet with the remaining six days of the week
Cheat days can be a positive and even motivational incentive for sticking to a diet. Just make sure to follow our guidelines, and if you slip up (and that’s ok), jump right back on your diet plan as quickly as possible.
