What to do after a cheat day (2024)

FAQs

What to do after a cheat day? ›

The day after your cheat day, make sure you drink more water than usual. This can help flush out the sugar, salt, and any other toxins you've ingested. Not only that, but drinking water can fill your stomach and stave off hunger so you won't overeat once again.

The day after your cheat day, make sure you drink more water than usual. This can help flush out the sugar, salt, and any other toxins you've ingested. Not only that, but drinking water can fill your stomach and stave off hunger so you won't overeat once again.

In order to gain a pound of fat, you would need to add about 500 calories a day on top of your normal diet, every day, for about 7 days. This makes gaining any significant amount of fat from even the craziest all-out cheat days extremely unlikely.

So, yes, a single cheat day can completely negate your efforts to lose weight during the week if you're not careful.

Oftentimes after a cheat day or a binge, people think that they need a “reset” so they decide to restrict food the next day. However, fasting after a binge can backfire and perpetuate the binge-restrict cycle. It can lead to intense cravings and an obsession with food.

Increase Your Water Consumption

This step is one of the most important things to do after a cheat on your diet. Drinking water will help you lose the water weight you gained.

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.

After a cheat day, you may want to reconnect with your hunger and fullness cues. These cues help you avoid overeating, whether you're eating French fries or salad. Either way, the goal is to eat until you're lightly full, not stuffed.

it takes at least 3–5 days before your weight gets back to normal, your body wont deal with a large amount of calorie surplus that easy. even if you eat 1000 calore above your maintenance calorie, you will gain, but thats most likely water retention.

What is the limit on a cheat day? ›

How many calories should I eat on a cheat day? 'There is not an exact number of calories that you can eat on a cheat day but a good guideline to follow is to not consume more than 150 per cent of your regular calorie intake/limit,' according to Bodies by Byrne, run by a nutritionist and fitness instructor.

For example, if your daily caloric intake is 2000 calories and your intake on cheat days increases to 4000 or 5000 calories, then, despite the increased leptin levels and metabolism, you are bound to put on weight.

What is the 80/20 rule for eating? 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.

Sixteen hours of fasting post your cheat meal is an effective way to break the craving cycle and achieve discipline again. The day after your cheat day, choose a high protein and veggie plan; it will help to keep your insulin from spiking. Try to choose a low-calorie, high-fibre food to balance your cheat meals.

Perhaps the most important part of healing a relationship after cheating is to maintain a healthy relationship through open and honest communication with your partner. Be open to letting them know where you are, who you are with etc., until a foundation of trust can begin to reform.

Don't weigh yourself for at least 2-3 days after cheat day. As long as you do everything right, you should still make progress after this period. Remember, for every gram of carb your consume, your body holds nearly 3 grams of water. Plan for extra water the day after your cheat meal.

If the cheating doesn't interfere with fat loss and only enhances it, then you can either have a bigger cheat day or even consider having your cheat day more frequently than once per week. One cheat day every 4-5 days may work well for you.