As the search for active weight loss strategies is in constant struggle with our hectic and high-stress lifestyles, eating the right kind of nutritious food becomes a key factor in determining one’s physical well-being. Contemporary diets like Atkins and Keto can only sustain a fitness regimen for a finite amount of time and hence, maintaining a diet that is easily adaptable, includes all kinds of ingredients and food as well as works in maintaining optimum body weight is of utmost importance. As per a review published in the National Library of Medicine, having a diet that is compatible with our everyday lifestyle and sustains us based off of what we eat, is one of the most effective strategies for weight loss.
When you take a ‘cheat day’ or a planned break from your diet, the idea is based off of eating clean and healthy meals six days a week and taking a break from the austerity to indulge in grease and carb-loaded meals. Large quantities of calorie-dense food is pretty much categorised as a cheat meal, that is often associated with people who practice hyper-fitness routines. The psychological process of tricking your mind into believing that it receives foods like burgers, pizzas, sweets and other ‘rich’ foods, as a reward for eating right throughout. Although cheat days don’t essentially constitute a feature in the larger scheme of a fitness plan, they’re sure to leverage the practitioner to eat better on other days.
However, having a diet plan that strikes a balance between what you must eat and what you like eating, eliminates the need for a cheat day or cheat meal, as food taken for any meal provides a sense of fulfilment and nourishment to the body. When you have cheat days, you normally look forward to eating and drinking to your heart’s content but also reflects the pattern of a very restrictive diet that you must take a moment to escape from. Simply put, the journey to losing weight must not be approached with a perspective where maintaining one’s will power is a struggle.
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In addition to this, there is also the unnecessary pressure of ‘getting the cheat meal right’; constantly trying to improve upon what your dish of indulgence is going to be or experiencing dissatisfaction when it does not meet expectations. Visualising a cheat day as ‘treat day’ flips the approach towards food in general, on its head, helping to have a healthier relationship with eating. Besides, enjoying food just how it is meant to be enjoyed, without imposing too many restrictions or finding healthier alternatives to avoid feeling guilty, can allow an individual to fully harness the advantages of food that is usually enjoyable. In conclusion, while having cheat days isn’t something that should be done with altogether, perceiving it as a way to let some steam off from your routine of healthy eating, acknowledges your hard work and discipline.