Are ‘cheat days’ while on a diet or exercise regimen helpful or harmful? (2024)

FAQs

Are ‘cheat days’ while on a diet or exercise regimen helpful or harmful? ›

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.

Cheat meals that are higher in carbohydrates versus fats are preferable. Uncontrolled cheat meals or cheat days, especially after a long period of calorie restriction, could wipe out a calorie deficit, increase cravings, and make sticking to the diet more difficult. This varies highly from person to person.

Go Heavy. Training with heavy weights on your cheat day improves your muscles' ability to absorb carbohydrates in the hours following your workout.

A: An occasional cheat meal or cheat day probably won't have a detrimental impact on overall health in the long run, but when they become frequent or more "binge-like," there are undoubted consequences.

The bottom line is that a 1000-1500 surplus of calories for a day means you'll only gain about 0.70-112 grams of fat. The scales might say you've gained more, but that's because of the water weight excess sodium and carbohydrates bring along with it.

While a single day of poor diet choices probably won't ruin your progress, there are simple changes you can make in your diet today to help you lose weight even faster. These tips go hand in hand with weight loss diets to deliver results. Make protein the star of your breakfast.

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.

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.

What is the 80 20 rule diet? ›

The 80/20 rule is a guide for your everyday diet—eat nutritious foods 80 percent of the time and have a serving of your favorite treat with the other 20 percent. For the “80 percent” part of the plan, focus on drinking lots of water and eating nutritious foods that include: Whole grains. Fruits and vegetables.

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.

The 5:2 diet is based on a principle known as intermittent fasting. This is where you eat normally at certain times and then fast during other times. There are different versions, but the 5:2 diet involves eating a normal, healthy diet for five days every week and 'fasting' on the remaining two days.

If your goal is to lose 15 pounds this year and you're taking a single summer vacation where you plan to indulge some, you likely don't need to stress about these things. A singular week in the context of a year will have little impact on your overall weight loss and health progress.

Many people choose a weekend day to indulge in a cheat meal or cheat day because these days tend to be less structured. Dr. Sean Kandel, a board-certified internal medicine doctor, recommends one or two cheat meals per week for healthy individuals.

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.