Cheat day and cheat meal: what is it and what meaning does it have in the diet?

Cheat day and cheat meal can also be translated as a sin meal. It refers to a tasty, high-calorie and often "junk food" that an individual indulges in once in a while when on a weight loss diet.

In terms of weight loss and health, is a cheat day or a cheat meal better? How to apply it, the advantages, disadvantages and many interesting information about healthy weight loss can be read in the article.

Why use a cheat day/meal?

Weight reduction and weight loss is a normal part of lifestyle. If an individual adjusts the diet for calorie deficit and at the same time applies regular physical activity, the pounds will start to gradually drop off.

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However, it often happens that with a modified diet, an individual has cravings for various sweet snacks, high-calorie foods or fast food. Sometimes even the healthiest tasty wholesome desserts cannot replace the taste of the "forbidden".

Cheat days and cheat meals are based on the idea that if we have a lower calorie intake over a long period of time, cheat meals make weight loss more enjoyable. By following a few guidelines, we don't even gain weight.

The cheat meal is quite popular among fitness enthusiasts and weight loss individuals. It is a kind of mental and physical making the regular dieting process more enjoyable.

It is almost impossible to follow a healthy diet 100% of the time.

That's why some experts recommend not to avoid temptations in your diet, but instead to include them naturally in a small way in your diet as a cheat meal or cheat day.

But which of these two options is better?

In general, a cheat day or cheat meal makes sense, especially for those who follow a set eating plan and exercise regularly. This allows them to indulge in a small, beneficial break from healthy eating.

What is a cheat day?

A cheat day is one day during a one or two week period when calories are not counted and an individual can indulge in more caloric and tasty foods.

Examples include pancakes, pizza, hamburger and fries, high-fat pasta, desserts, or other sweet and salty snacks.

When a cheat day is designed as a day to indulge in quality foods to our liking without counting calories, there is a psychological reward, a boost to metabolism and regulation of hormonal activity.

Often, however, cheat day is conceived as a day when it is not about the quality but the quantity of food consumed.

The disadvantage of a cheat day is uncontrollable overeating and subsequent digestive problems (feeling of fullness, constipation, abdominal pain...). A common phenomenon is the subsequent remorse.

It is also a mistake to have two cheat days in a row. The individual indulges in a high-calorie breakfast and lunch on the first day and a similarly high-calorie dinner on the second day.

After the cheat day, it is advisable to include physical activity to improve digestion and boost metabolism.

What is a cheat meal?

A cheat meal is characterized by one meal that is not normally found in a weight loss diet. It is therefore a one calorie tasty meal such as pizza, fatty pasta, hamburger with fries, etc.

The benefit of a cheat meal, like a cheat day, is the psychological relief of weight loss and the reduction of cravings for regular overeating. It regulates appetite, jump starts metabolism and promotes ghrelin and leptin hormone activity.

This food will seduce fitness enthusiasts from the healthy path and then return them to it. The question is how often to apply the cheat meal so that it is not counterproductive and does not hinder the path to the desired figure.

The most common variation of cheat meal application is the 90/10 or 80/20 rule.

The numbers symbolize what percentage of the diet should follow the set eating plan and, conversely, what percentage of the time the individual can abandon the plan.

By appropriately consuming the forbidden foods in small amounts, you will not destroy your fitness goals, but instead support your journey.

Cheat day or cheat meal?

It should be mentioned that neither a cheat meal nor a cheat day consists of maximum gluttony of junk food. If a weight-loss individual were to take it that way, he or she would easily complicate his or her goal for the desired physique.

Why?

Because of calorie intake and expenditure.

In general, if an individual wants to lose weight, he or she must exercise a slight caloric deficit - and therefore burn more calories than the body takes in.

Therefore, if we take in countless calories during cheat days and cheat meals and frequently overeat, our caloric intake is higher than our caloric expenditure. And therefore we don't lose weight.

It's worth noting that even a healthy, wholesome meal can sometimes have the same number of calories as an unhealthy meal with low nutritional value. However, the advantage of a healthy meal is the supply of necessary nutrients to the body.

In terms of calorie volume and the tendency to overeat unhealthy amounts of food, the cheat meal is considered a more stable option.

Advantages and disadvantages of cheat day/cheat meal

Like other diets and weight loss diets, the cheat day/cheat meal brings with it a number of potential advantages and disadvantages.

The benefits include primarily psychological relief and mental stability during weight loss. Properly designed cheat days and cheat meals regulate appetite hormones, boost metabolism and reduce the desire to overeat.

Benefits:

• Psychological reward effect
• Reduced appetite for overeating
• Support basal metabolism
• Regulation of appetite hormones (ghrelin and leptin)
• Restore motivation to achieve goals

The disadvantages lie mainly in the risks of occasional non-compliance with the diet. These include overeating, excessive amounts of unnecessary calories, eating unhealthy foods and subsequent remorse or indigestion.

This is particularly relevant to a poorly set cheat day (not a cheat meal).

Disadvantages:

• Overeating and binge eating
• Excessive amounts of food
• Excessive amounts of junk food
• Indigestion
• Negative psychological effect (remorse)

Cheating while eating and the actual effect on weight loss

In one study, experts divided research participants into two main groups. One group was allowed to consume cheat meals and the other group of participants was not.

The group that was allowed to apply cheat meals reported that they were able to optimally maintain their motivation and self-control when eating more than the group that ate a modified diet regularly every day without a "reward".

However, both groups lost almost the same amount of body weight.

What always mattered, however, was the participants' energy intake and expenditure.

The key to successful weight loss is a properly adjusted caloric intake with a moderate caloric deficit, a wholesome regular diet and regular physical activity.

The few available studies have shown a positive association between cheat meal rewards and regular adherence to the eating plan. However, the risk of binge eating, binge eating and subsequent regret should be avoided.

More interesting articles on health and weight loss:

• How to lose weight at home and healthily? Proper diet, exercise and supplements
• How to lose weight and lose/burn fat?
• Weight loss and diet: How to eat right, healthy and diet?
• How does a healthy Mediterranean diet affect a person's health and weight loss?