Cheat meals for weight loss?

immahappyhappyhorse

Is it true that having a cheat meal once in a while is able to help you lose weight? Or will you lose weight faster without cheat meals?

I've read a bunch of articles about hormones released when you lower your calorie intake and when you have a higher calorie meal, and a lot of these articles say that cheat meals boost your metabolism. Not sure if this is true as there are opposing articles but I'm curious to know if this really is the case.

I'm trying to lose about 40lbs / 20kg in 6/7 months. It's not exactly rapid weight loss but I'm not really taking my time either. So would having a cheat meal once a week slow down my weight loss rate? I wanna be able to indulge in foods once in a while but I don't want to end up undoing a few days of work.

Currently I'm thinking of having a cheat meal once every 2 weeks, if I can. What are the recommended cheat meals that are considered "safe"? Such that I won't go overboard with the calories? And how often is a cheat meal encouraged on a diet?

ladyreva78

As far as I understand it, one cheat meal every so often won't be enough to counteract the hormonal effects of a prolonged calorie deficit.

This thread http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1 has a load of information about it.

From what I understand, it's better to plan a 2 weeks diet break every several months to help with hormone regulation. Especially the closer to your goal you are and the less room for maneuvering you have.

It's a pretty long thread, but the relevant information is found on the first few pages and I'm pretty sure that the lovely posters in that thread would be more than happy to help you with any questions.

Personally, I ended up on a nearly 6 months break after being in a deficit for more than 2 years and struggling. I'm only slowly starting to reach the point where I feel I can hit a deficit again.

Hormones are real. And they're a *kitten* to deal with if you're not careful.

malibu927

It depends on your definition of cheat meal. Some people can put a serious dent into their deficit with one and end up losing slower. Personally I don’t do “cheats”. I fit the foods I want into my weekly calorie goal.