Cheat days seem like well-deserved rewards after a week of rigid discipline. However, not everybody feels the same way about cheat days. Some experts feel that abandoning your diet for a given period of time might not be ideal. Could they be right? Check out what scientists have to say about cheat days.
What Cheat Days Do to Your Body
Those who are pro-cheat days argue that cheat days help increase leptin levels in the body. Leptin is a compound that prevents you from overeating. It does this by sending signals to your brain telling it that you’ve had enough to eat. Studies have shown that consuming fewer calories reduces the leptin levels in your body. Therefore, it stands to reason that a cheat day will increase the amount of consumed calories, increasing leptin in the blood. The higher the leptin, the less likely you are to overeat. Research has shown that a temporary increase in calories leads to a 30% increase in leptin production.
However, you need to be careful about how often these cheat days come around. A 2017 study found that having a cheat day three times a week had the same effect as consuming a steady junk food diet.
What Cheat Days Do to Your Mind
Experts believe that by having cheat days, dieters get to satisfy their cravings, which helps them remain committed to their diets. A study supporting this theory showed that those who had cheat days stayed more motivated and eventually lost more weight. However, this doesn’t mean going all out and bingeing on chocolate cake. That could lead to a whole other psychological problem. Moderation is the key to success.
