10 Reasons why you should not have a cheat day... hmmm

1. Feeding the Junk Food Addiction - Not everyone is a junk food addict. This is a reason JUNK FOOD ADDICTS should not have a cheat day. "You" is pretty general.
2. Doesn’t help reduce cravings - Yes it does. I've been spiking every week for over a year. Anything I crave during the week gets worked out on Spike Day & I'm more than ready to get back to another 6 days of healthy eating.
3. Eating way too much - This is most likely to be an issue for people with eating disorders...& the vast majority of people trying to lose weight don't.
4. Guilt afterwards - There's no guilt if it's planned & done responsibly. If I've managed my intake the entire week & allowed myself 4000 calories for Saturday & can still end up with enough of a weekly deficit to lose weight, what's to feel guilty about?
5. Doesn’t raise your metabolism - Read up on leptin.
Also, do you think that when scientists are doing research studies on diet plans, that they allow people to cheat once per week? Of course not! - Yes they are. Read up on leptin.
6. Junk food is unhealthy - Lots of things are unhealthy. There's nothing wrong with enjoying food that isn't "clean" in moderation because you like it. And yes, a gigantic portion (if you like) once a week is moderation.
7. Some things take a while to leave your system - What does this have to do with a cheat day? People can eat crap on a regular day & still be in a calorie deficit.
8. Taste sensation doesn’t manage to adapt - I still enjoy the taste of healthy, clean foods. As well as junky processed ones, once in a while.
9. Body doesn’t manage to adapt to the new fuel - Read up on leptin...& glycogen storage.
10. Knowing that cheating is not an option makes things easier - The opposite is true. Knowing I only have to wait 6 days at the most to eat something decadent makes it easier to resist it during the week.

After all, what we should be after is not try to go on a “diet”, but to actually make a lifestyle change in order to live a healthier, happier life.

Real life is not "dieting" 100% of the time. My lifestyle is eating healthy & exercising 6 days a week, & allowing myself to let loose & have fun (which includes eating crap food sometimes) on the 7th day. It's realistic, flexible, & it works for me.

If I wanted to (and sometimes I do) I could hit my macros eating so-called "unhealthy" junk foods. Bottom line, don't deprive yourself and don't feel superior while you're depriving yourself. Cheers :drinker:

1. Feeding the Junk Food Addiction

I believe that junk food addiction is real, and that many people can not succeed in eating healthy because of it. Having a cheat meal every week basically feeds that addiction, and may lead to full-blown relapse.

Now, you wouldn’t tell a nicotine addict only to have cigarettes on Saturdays?

2. Doesn’t help reduce cravings

This is kind of similar to tip 1 above. If you are physically or psychologically dependant on something, having it every now and then will not reduce cravings, but actually keep them coming back again and again.

3. Eating way too much

It is common when people cheat, that they completely lose control and destroy a week’s worth of dieting. I might be unusual, but I’ve eaten 5000 calories in a single meal. That’s TWO DAYS of calories.

4. Guilt afterwards

After doing really well on a diet for a few days, it can cause a lot of guilt to have that cheat meal, unless maybe if the person manages to keep self control and not completely overeat.

5. Doesn’t raise your metabolism

I’ve read it countless times that eating a cheat meal will raise metabolism and should therefore help with weight loss. I haven’t seen any evidence to support this and I don’t really believe in it.

Also, do you think that when scientists are doing research studies on diet plans, that they allow people to cheat once per week? Of course not!

6. Junk food is unhealthy

Junk food is unhealthy. That is probably the reason why you quit eating it in the first place (duh). Having it once a week is clearly worse than having none at all.

7. Some things take a while to leave your system

There are many nasty things in junk food, such as trans fats. They can take a long time to disappear from your system, and if you keep eating them every now and then, they will never completely leave your body.

8. Taste sensation doesn’t manage to adapt

When you stop eating junk food, one of the things that happens is that with time your taste sensation adapts, and food that isn’t overly processed starts to taste good. Cheating once a week interrupts this.

9. Body doesn’t manage to adapt to the new fuel

When changing the diet, one thing the body does is ramp up enzyme production in order to start using a different fuel. This is especially important for eating plans that don’t allow sugar and grains.

If you keep cheating once in a while, the adaptation won’t fully complete.

10. Knowing that cheating is not an option makes things easier

Trust me on this.. when a cheat meal is not an option, it makes sticking to a diet much, much, much easier.

Anything else?

If your cheat days/meals have been causing you problems, or downright preventing you from being successful in the long-term, then these tips above should really do you good.

After all, what we should be after is not try to go on a “diet”, but to actually make a lifestyle change in order to live a healthier, happier life.

If there are any other reasons you can think of why not to have a cheat meal, or reasons why you believe cheat meals are essential, please post them in the comments section below.


(BTW I DID NOT RIGHT THIS ARTICLE...just found it intresting since "the cheat day" controversy is big)

The reason MFP has worked for me is because I can eat what I want so long as I stay within the limits and the occaisonal cheat day is allowed and even encouraged.

If the plan instead was "Salads and clean eating for life! You can't ever have anything unhealthy!" I would not have succeeded. Hell I wouldn't have even tried.

Plus anyone who's been on a diet for a few weeks and says "I'm never putting that garbage in my body again for the rest of my life!!" is usually the person eating fast food in their car 3 weeks later.

You gotta live. Moderation. It really does work!