How To Manage Your Cheat Day

No one wants to be spinning their wheels by working out hard in the gym, dieting hard during the week, and then ruining all their progress through one cheat day just to satisfy cravings. Not only is this incredibly frustrating, but it’s also very mentally and physically exhausting to continually work hard throughout the week only to get nothing in return. This is the very reason why people often quit their diet or workout routine: they feel as if they are putting in so much effort but failing to make progress, and ultimately, become discouraged.

So to avoid this on your cut, whether it be during the spring, or at any time during the year, try implementing some strategy into your diet plan. There are two ways you can do this. 

The first method is to try planning out your cheat day.

It’s ok to eat at maintenance calories on your cheat day, or even slightly above, as a slight surplus of a few hundred calories for one day won’t largely offset your cut, however, by decreasing the deficit, know that the results that you are grinding for will only come slower.

When planning out your cut, it is crucial to commit yourself to a calorie limit for the day. This will help you “cheat” on only a moderate level so you do not over-consume, ruining your progress for that week. By setting a calorie limit, it will also be easier to determine your weekly deficit. Additionally, plan out the exact foods that you hope to eat, and make sure you are well aware of the calories per serving.

READ Twenty Secrets You Should Know To Cut 500 Calories A Day

By doing this, it will help you better satisfy the cravings you’ve had all week, as well as make calorie counting much more easy and efficient.

The next method to help manage your cheat day, is to not have one at all.

Instead, incorporate the foods that you enjoy in moderate amounts throughout the week. Many studies show that people trying to lose weight are much more successful when they include the foods they love in their daily diet, rather than abstaining from them.

One way to do this is to eat very lean and low-calorie protein sources to leave more calories for foods such as chocolate, ice cream, or tacos.

Another way to do this, which has become popular only recently, is by intermittent fasting. Essentially, you push your first meal later into the day, skipping breakfast, and having a late lunch or an early dinner. By doing this, you can save nearly all your calories for later in the day, and instead of eating several small meals, you can eat one or two large meals (still within the caloric deficit), and incorporate more of the high-calorie foods that you would typically eat on a cheat day.

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In this way, you never feel deprived of the foods you enjoy, and finish every meal feeling full and satisfied. Whether you decide to incorporate these ideas into your cut or not, fitness and dieting should not be a grueling process that makes you feeling stressed and miserable everyday. Fitness should enrich your life, not detract from it, so whatever steps you take along the way to achieve your fitness goals, it is critical that you are happy and enjoying the process!