30 Seconds SummaryDoes A Cheat Day Boost Metabolism?
- Cheat days involve deliberately overeating, usually foods not typically consumed during a stringent diet, to theoretically boost metabolism and provide psychological relief from dietary restrictions.
- Psychologically, cheat days offer a temporary reprieve from the mental fatigue of constant dieting by providing a reward that keeps motivation up.
- Physiologically, although overfeeding briefly raises metabolic rates via increased thermic effect of food and leptin levels, these boosts are transient and don't offer long-term benefits for weight loss.
- Studies indicate that while cheat days increase calorie burn slightly, they often lead to a net surplus of calories which ends up being stored as fat, negating any fat loss achieved prior.
- The main benefit of cheat days is possibly helping to manage willpower and diet compliance, but they can also promote unhealthy eating habits and don’t significantly impact long-term metabolism or fat loss.
- Instead of cheat days, a well-balanced diet that allows for flexibility and manageable calorie control is recommended for sustainable fat loss and muscle gain.
MennoHenselmans.com
Joe Flaherty
