Cheat Meals 101: Why They Help And How To Use Them

Should you be using a cheat meal? Find out how these can help boost your progress here.

Cheat meals. It’s something that almost every dieter wants to know about – and may be dreaming about the entire time they are on the plan. Many have the notion that having a cheat meal is basically experiencing a set-back and could even result in fat gain.

But, this isn’t always the case. In fact, cheat meals, when used properly, can help you see faster success than if you didn’t use them.

Here’s the low-down on how cheat meals can benefit you.

A Lesson On Leptin

Whenever you go on a reduced calorie diet, your body will slowly begin to adapt. Your metabolic rate will slow down thanks to a hormone called leptin, which is produced in your body fat cells. When leptin levels start to decline, your daily calorie burn drops, hunger goes up, fatigue sets in, and basically, you want to come off that diet plan entirely.

Leptins goal is to stop the perceived starvation (your diet) from occurring.

Enter The Cheat Meal

The best way to get leptin back to normal amounts is to simply gain the weight you’ve just lost back again. Since this is clearly not desirable, there is an alternative. You can temporarily reset leptin levels through eating a very high calorie meal, specially high in carbohydrates.

When you do this, the body thinks it’s no longer starving and leptin returns back to baseline. With it, you’ll also see food cravings decrease, hunger become more manageable, and your energy level will increase.

Often when weight loss slows, it’s because leptin is too low and your metabolism is running at slow speeds. When you have a cheat meal however, you raise your metabolism back up and then when you go back down to that lower calorie intake, fat burning continues.

Cheating For Success

So how can you maximize your chances of success? First, focus that cheat meal primarily on carbohydrate rich foods. Keep fats lower as this will help ensure that you don’t gain excess body fat from the cheat meal itself. Carbohydrates have more of an influence, so they should be the focus.

Then, know how often to cheat. Obviously you can’t cheat too often or you will just gain weight.

Those with 20 pounds or more to lose should cheat once per month while those with fewer than 10 pounds to lose can cheat every other week.

If you plan your chest meals correctly and use the right foods, they can both satisfy your food cravings and help you see faster results.

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.