The Ultimate Guide To Cheat Days And Meals

"I'm trying to lose fat. Is it okay to cheat once a week? Will it undo all my work?" It is one of the most common questions in weight loss, and the honest answer is: it depends on you.

Many people start a diet with six strict days and one free-for-all day. It feels great at first. Then, as the weight starts coming off, Sunday becomes a source of anxiety instead of joy. Here is what we know about cheating, physically and psychologically, and how to make it work for you.

What a "cheat" means

• A planned window where you eat what you like: a whole day, or one or two meals a week.
• A conscious decision. You know in advance you are having the burger and fries, and you stick to the plan.
• A mental break. The goal is to feel less deprived and more motivated for the week ahead.

What happens in your body

• Insulin rises after a large high-carbohydrate meal, which temporarily reduces fat burning while the body stores the incoming energy. This is normal and not harmful in itself.
• Energy expenditure rises a little after any big meal, through the thermic effect of food. Research suggests the size of this response varies between people.
• Leptin, a hormone involved in appetite and energy balance, falls during dieting. Short-term overfeeding, especially with carbohydrates, can raise it temporarily. Some people find a planned higher-calorie day helps their energy and mood; the evidence that it speeds fat loss is limited.

The take-home message: a single big meal will not undo a week of good eating, and it will not magically accelerate fat loss either. What it does to your head matters more.

What happens in your head

Very restrictive diets can make "normal" eating feel frightening afterwards, and they can turn a planned treat into a slide. Pancakes with syrup for breakfast becomes pizza for lunch ("I've already blown it"), which becomes steak, chips and a few beers for dinner. A conscious cheat meal becomes an unplanned binge day. For some people that never happens; for others it is a real risk worth knowing about. If you find eating feels out of control, it is worth speaking to a doctor or a specialist in eating disorders.

The 90 percent rule

A gentler alternative to a weekly cheat day is to eat in a way that fuels your goals about 90 percent of the time and allow flexibility for the other 10 percent. It is similar to the 80/20 rule popular in the paleo world.

• Main meals: three meals a day for seven days is 21 meals. Allow two flexible ones, perhaps a brunch with friends and a work lunch.
• Snacks: if you have two snacks a day, one or two a week can be whatever you fancy.

The key is planning. Decide in advance when your flexible meals are, so they stay conscious choices.

Treat it like a bankroll

Experienced casino visitors share one habit worth borrowing: they decide on a bankroll before they walk onto the floor. A fixed amount for the night, split across sessions, and when it is gone, it is gone. The money was spent the moment they set the budget, so there is no chasing, no "just one more spin" and no drama.

A treat budget works the same way. Decide at the start of the week how many flexible meals or snacks you will have, put them in your calendar, and enjoy them without guilt because they were always part of the plan. What you avoid is the gambler's classic mistake of chasing: "I've already had dessert, so the day is ruined, so I might as well keep going." That is exactly how a cheat meal becomes a binge, and how a fun night becomes an expensive one. Planning a weekend in Las Vegas? We show how to apply this to a whole trip in how to stay fit on a Las Vegas trip, and how to handle the most famous treat of all in how to eat well at a casino buffet.

Should you cheat or not?

• If you are mid-programme and doing well without cheats, there is no need to add one.
• If you are lean, active and a weekly treat has never caused a problem, a planned cheat meal is unlikely to hurt your progress.
• If your main goal is losing a significant amount of body fat, the 90 percent rule is usually kinder than a full cheat day.

Be flexible

There is no single right approach. Some people thrive with a weekly treat; others do better with none at all. Try one approach, change one thing at a time, and remember that whatever you do should be something you can keep doing after the weight is off.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before starting a new diet or exercise programme, especially if you have a health condition.