Eating a healthier diet and choosing the perfect regimen when on a weight loss plan can be hard on you. The greatest weight loss task is in making and adhering to new changes and habits that promote your weight loss goals without depriving out on the foods you enjoy and relish. The idea of fitting in cheat meals or cheat days in your regimen is quite popular among fitness freaks nowadays.

Cheat meals or days are generally followed to motivate and reward efforts taken for strictly following a healthier regimen for a certain period either a week or even months together in achieving your weight loss goals.

Cheating in a well-balanced and planned diet regimen includes letting one to strictly count and allow to temporarily pause rigorous diet principles. The theory after this reward-based diet plan is to grant you a short period of lenience which enables one to adhere to the diet restrictions most of the time. A cheat meal is a single meal where one tweaks from the scheduled diet regimen, while a cheat day concedes for free food preference for the whole day.

Cheat diet plans are flexible depending on one’s choices and goals. The kind of food people eat as cheat meals also vary from person to person due to difference in tastes, however, it mostly comprises foods dense in calories which are not allowed on a weight loss diet regimen.

Perks Of Cheat Meal

Cheat day aids in increasing the leptin levels (the hormone that tells your brain that you are full) which helps to boost metabolism. However, when you are on a calorie-restricted diet, leptin level decline, without a sign of satiety, you would never feel full and end up eating more and likely to gain weight. A cheat meal planned in between your diet regimen tricks your body assuming that food is abundant and aids to burn out fat stores.

On the other hand, a well-planned binge or cheat eating can increase leptin levels and harmonizing the release of hormones.

Healthy Ways To Cheat In Your Weight Loss Diet

Go For Filling Foods

Add a lot of wholesome foods heaped with fibre and protein like eggs, soups, lean meat stir-fries, veggie fries, and dairy products to control your hunger pangs and also prepare a healthy snack list so that you don’t starve for long hours. Also Read: 2 Incredibly Easy & Healthy Snacks To Make On A Lazy Weekend

Never Cheat When You Are Starving

Remember not to plan your cheat meal strategy during days of strenuous workouts or strictly depriving calories for days together. This may make you binge eat if you are deprived of food.

Moderation Is The Key

When planning for a cheat meal or a cheat day, the mantra is moderation, it is the key for any successful weight loss plan. If you are really serious about losing weight limit to one cheat meal or day per week.

Plan Your Calorie Fitter

The perfect way to reduce the damage of cheat day is to minimize the intake of calories from carbs and fat. So, the best way is to fast before a cheat meal, this will help the system to shift to the fat-burning state. However, remember not being in a starvation state before the cheat meal or day.

Workout Before The Treat

The most perfect way to lessen fat gain from a cheat day is to replenish the glycogen storage. Head to the gym before the cheat meal, do high-intensity repetition workout for 15-20 minutes which are considered as best running down workouts. Also Read: HIIT: 5 Incredible Health Benefits Of High Intensity, Killer Workout

Sometimes cheat meals can also backfire and lead to certain physical effects like nausea, flatulence and diarrhea and psychological effects such as depression and you may feel guilty, and lack self-control.

Conclusion

The reasonable way to approach a cheat meal is to find a balance. Healthy eating should not be a bothersome task, it should rather be enjoyable and viable. Make small changes at a time and it is not about completely confining yourself, it is all about providing you with the right nutrients you need while still enjoying the foods you eat. The most essential part is looking for sustainable and healthy eating habits that you can maintain in the long run to attain your health goals.