Is It Ok To Have Cheat Meals While Dieting?

Is It Ok To Have Cheat Meals While Dieting?

A common question that is mentioned a lot while people diet is “Is it ok to have cheat meals when I am on a strict diet?” Now, it would seem rather counter-intuitive to consume an excess of calories while on a diet, but it’s actually a good thing to do. But not for the reasons you think…

Everyone seems to think that the main benefit of a cheat meal is to raise your metabolism. But, the simple fact is, it doesn’t. Well, that statement isn’t entirely true.

Your metabolism will be slightly raised for a short period of time to deal with the excess calories, but it will not sustain its elevated levels after your meal is digested.

The truth is, it takes a whole lot longer than one meal containing excess calories to have any sustainable effect on your metabolism. It takes a lot longer than that, sometimes a few days, to even start to see any effects that a raised caloric intake would achieve.

So, what is the benefit? It is all psychological!

Being on a strict diet is very hard to take mentally. There are so many temptations to cheat, and so many days you just want to give up your diet, eat whatever you want and be happy. Everyone’s been there…

But, if you include one or two preplanned cheat meals per week, where you eat what you want but don’t go overboard, those urges to binge and quit your diet will go away, you will be able to stay on your diet longer, and it will be more effective.

It is always a good idea to include moderate cheats once or twice a week while you are dieting. In the grand scheme of your weight loss, it won’t make that much of a difference, but it will make a huge difference in keeping you sane!

What’s your favorite cheat meal or snack?