Overindulged? Here’s Why You Should Never, Ever Feel Guilty About Having A Cheat Day

Come Friday night, after a week of eating Kale salads and drinking green juices, there’s one thing we want: pizza. And ice cream. And chocolate. And… you get the picture.

But here’s the thing, after our major foodathon, we always worry that we’ve undone all our healthy eating efforts and question whether not having a major food binge really was such a good idea.

Thankfully the debate has finally been settled: if you’re trying to staying in shape then cheat days are totally effective.

In an article for The Conversation, Nick Fuller, an obesity expert at Sydney University explains that having a break day is one of the best ways to shed weight and keep it off, because it helps to keep your motivation levels high.

But it’s not just the extra motivation that helps to see of those extra punds, Nick explains that there’s also a scientific reason cheat meals are so effective. It’s called the Caloric Titration Method.

He explains that “First the individual loses one per cent of their body weight, and is then encouraged to maintain their new weight for about a week.

“This period of weight maintenance allows the individual to eat more or perhaps exercise less than they would while trying to lose weight.

“The goal is then to achieve another decrease of one per cent in body weight, followed by another ‘break’.”

In other words, by having regular cheat days you can steadily achieve lasting weight loss.

Add to that one study suggests that having a cheat meal can actually boost your metabolism and help you burn off extra calories.

We’re just logging onto Dominos riiiight now…

• fitness
• food
• health
• Pizza