What is a cheat day? Understand what they mean, how often they happen, and how to make your diet more efficient!

If you’re going to take up cheat days, do it right!

You may have understood that daring to eat without restraint during the weight loss period has the effect of deceiving the body and further accelerating weight loss. However, you should be careful because you may gain weight, let alone the aforementioned benefits, if you eat a random binge. Therefore, we will now explain the proper way to do cheat days.

The timing to take a cheat day is “stagnation period”.

The timing to start cheat days is when you enter a period of stagnation. The exact timing is difficult to determine because it depends on your body fat percentage, physical condition, and how much weight you have lost at that time, but checking your body temperature is an easy way to tell. It is best to continue taking your body temperature from the first day of dieting, as a good rule of thumb is to have it drop approximately 1 degree below normal. Also, the second and subsequent periods of stagnation may not occur with the same frequency as the first, so it is still best to measure your body temperature regularly to be sure. Generally, the stagnation period is a 7- to 14-day routine, so it is wise to set aside a certain day of the week as a cheat day.

How often should you do cheat days?

Basically, cheat days should be incorporated only after the body fat percentage falls below 20%, and the frequency of cheat days depends on the body fat percentage. The higher the body fat percentage, the less frequently they should be done; conversely, the lower the body fat percentage, the more difficult it is to lose weight, so it is important to increase the frequency. Basically, most people start dieting when their body fat percentage is 20% or higher, but since there is no need to include a cheat day every week above 20%, be careful not to increase the number of cheat days until you reach around 10~15% to avoid unnecessary weight gain. Also, below 10%, the body functions significantly less, so it is best to avoid long-term weight loss just because of cheat days.

Dietary details to consider when doing cheat days are also important

Basically, you can eat whatever you want on your cheat day, but you need to consider nutritional balance. In particular, the key to a successful cheat day is to prioritize the intake of carbohydrates, which are the most easily converted into energy. Of course, protein is also essential for maintaining muscle mass, so increase your intake. It is not necessary to consciously consume fat, so it is better to think mainly of carbohydrates and take protein as a sub-subcategory. Recommended foods for cheat days are rice and noodles, which are staple foods. If you are concerned about the sudden intake of carbohydrates that you normally suppress, your blood glucose level may rise rapidly and put a strain on your body. If you are concerned, brown rice or soba noodles, which are rich in dietary fiber, may be a good choice for the first meal. If you cannot eat a large quantity, Japanese sweets, which are low in fat, are also recommended to compensate for the sugar content. We have compiled a list of approximate calories and nutrients for each major diet so that you can refer to it according to your own diet.

Foods to avoid as much as possible during cheat days

Basically, you can eat anything, but you should avoid foods that contain a lot of fat and carbohydrates together and alcohol as much as possible. Fat and carbohydrates are easily absorbed and turned into fat when consumed together, so avoid fried foods, butter, and cream-filled confections. Alcohol also inhibits the breakdown of fat and has a negative effect on muscle mass, so drinking large amounts of alcohol is a no-no.

There are 4 points to keep in mind when doing cheat days

Knowing how to do cheat days is just as important as knowing what to do on them. The following is a list of the minimum precautions that should be taken.

Points to keep in mind when doing a cheat day (1) “Basically, do it for one day only.

If you release your appetite after a long time, it will be difficult to curb it again. However, if you continue to have cheat days for too long, it will just be a series of over-calorie days, and all your previous diet efforts will have been in vain. Therefore, it is better to decide on only one day and pick up what you want to eat in advance. Incidentally, some ketogenic diets have cheat days of two days to build up sufficient glycogen in the liver, so you should consult with your body to decide on one or two days.

Do not do a cheat day when your body fat percentage is high “.

If your body fat percentage is more than 25% or if your body fat percentage has not decreased by more than 5% since you started the diet, it is not necessary to incorporate cheat days because the homeostatic effect is unlikely to be demonstrated. Beginning dieters may be stressed out by the unfamiliar diet and exercise, but it is important not to give up aiming for that, as cheat days can be incorporated once the body fat percentage is reduced. Dieting is difficult to sustain, but the higher your body fat percentage, the easier it is to lose weight, so make the initial effort and establish your own diet routine.

Cautions for cheat day (3) “Do not eat a huge meal at one meal!

Ideally, cheat days should be divided into three or more meals; eating them all in one meal will not break the homeostatic state and will also increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, making the disadvantages more noticeable than the advantages. Introducing high calories all at once into a body that has been in a state of continuous dieting increases the burden on the body and may be detrimental to health. Also, eating a large number of meals at one time is meaningless if the resulting total calories are not sufficient. Therefore, it is better to eat while calculating each meal to ensure a cheat day. The ideal meal pattern is to eat carbohydrates at breakfast, which are less likely to raise blood glucose levels, and eat whatever you like during the day, while giving priority to easy digestion at night.

Cautions for Cheat Day #4 “Find a method that fits your body type”

As with muscle training, in dieting, you cannot achieve the same results by doing things the same way as other people. For this reason, you can find many cheat day plans on the Internet, but it is a good idea to refer to all of them. If you don’t feel the effects of a cheat day, it is likely that you are not eating enough calories, so the solution is to re-calculate your caloric intake. Or you can increase the number of cheat days, but don’t overdo it.

What should I do the day after a cheat day?

Finally, we will discuss how to spend the day after a cheat day. To keep your diet on track, you should prepare for the next cheat day by making a good switch.

Don’t worry about weight gain.

In general, most people gain about 2 kg the day after a cheat day. This is because the amount of water has increased significantly due to the high carbohydrate intake, but it does not mean that you have gained fat. The weight will return to normal in about three days, and then you will begin to lose weight again, so it is important not to be in a hurry. If you feel that your body is swollen, it is simply because you have consumed more salt than usual, which can be resolved by taking potassium-rich fruits, vegetables, and supplements. It is important not to eat less than necessary because of weight gain.

Go back to the original low-calorie diet and be aware of healthy eating

While it is important not to reduce calories more than necessary, the key to smooth weight loss is to set your calorie intake at a calorie level that is pleasantly less than it was before the cheat day. It is also important to be aware that your organs may be tired from eating a large meal all at once, so be sure to consume foods that are easy to digest. If you don’t have an appetite the day after a cheat day, that is a sign that your organs need a break, so there is no need to force yourself to eat. In that case, it is recommended to drink only protein or fruit juice to get the minimum amount of protein and carbohydrates.

Exercise only after digestion is complete

For those who train at the gym in the morning, it is safer to do so in the afternoon the day after the cheat day. In the morning, there is a possibility of indigestion from the previous day’s meal, and forcing yourself to exercise may damage your health. Therefore, it is recommended to exercise after you feel sufficiently recovered. Also, the next day, you may find it easier to power through muscle training than during calorie restriction because you have taken in a lot of carbohydrates, but it is important not to overexert yourself.