Whether it’s from fitness superstars you follow on Instagram or your friend Dave on Facebook, the term ‘cheat day’ is often thrown around quite often.

It generally refers to a day in the week where you eat, pretty much, WHATEVER you want, having been very strict on yourself for the other days in the week.

It’s sort of, a day where you can let go and indulge in your favourite foods. But, how easy is it to OVER-INDULGE? Hands up if you’re guilty. I know we are.

For many, that day of over-indulging can lead to several days (or even weeks) of the same behaviour as you fall out of love with your day-in-day-out-healthy-eating. But there’s more to that, specifically the effect it has on our ‘calorie deficit’..

The Reasons Behind Saying No To Cheat Days

You need to be (roughly) in a 500 calorie deficit each day to lose 1 pound of fat in a week (3,500 deficit by the end of the week.)

[A calorie deficit is basically where you eat less calories than your body burns, causing you to lose weight]

As an example, let’s say that you burn 2,000 calories per day.

So to lose weight, on average, you need 1,500 calories to be in that deficit, so..

Monday: 1500 calories = 500 calorie deficit

Tuesday: 1500 calories = 500 calorie deficit

Wednesday: 1500 calories = 500 calorie deficit

Thursday: 1500 calories = 500 calorie deficit

Friday: 1500 calories = 500 calorie deficit

Saturday: 1500 calories = 500 calorie deficit

GREAT! 3000 calorie deficit for the week! Only 500 more calories to go tomorrow and you’ve lost a pound. 

Sunday AKA. CHEAT DAY: 5000 calories = 3000 calorie SURPLUS

Let’s do the maths..

-3000 weekly deficit PLUS +3000 calorie Sunday surplus = 0 net calories.

If you think 5,000 calories sounds outrageous, it definitely isn’t.

If you have a fry up for breakfast, a Sunday lunch or carvery, some ice cream and chocolate treats plus a meal later on in the day, you can soon pull together 5,000 calories.

THIS is why cheat days aren’t the best.

Not Only The Calories..

On ‘typical’ cheat days, a lot of people tend to go for “less healthy” options. It isn’t 5,000 calories of nutritious food, high in vitamins and mineral. It’s generally processed foods, alcohol, high fat, high sugar, high salt, greasy or a combination.

Not only does it contribute to wrecking your weeks progress, but it can contribute to wrecking your overall health too.

Is There An Alternative To Cheat Days?

YES.

“Cheat meals”. Treat yourself throughout the week to foods you really enjoy, but don’t see them as a cheat. Whether it’s a dessert (FULL FAT ICE CREAM) or a fry up on Sunday – do it. But try and ensure it fits within your daily calories!

Sound too hard? Okay then – cue ‘weekly calories’

Rather than sticking to the 1,500 in the equation above, we could drop calories on some days to enable us to eat more on others. An example would be the following:

Monday: 1500 calories = 500 calorie deficit

Tuesday: 1200 calories = 800 calorie deficit

Wednesday: 1200 calories = 800 calorie deficit

Thursday: 1200 calories = 800 calorie deficit

Friday: 1300 calories = 700 calorie deficit

Saturday: 1500 calories = 500 calorie deficit

GREAT! 4,100 calorie deficit for the week so far! 

Sunday: 2,600 calories = 600 surplus

SO..

4,100 deficit + 600 surplus = 3,500 deficit

That would give you an extra 1,100 calories on Sunday to go a little wild, but still letting you lose weight!

Overall

Enjoy food in moderation, but don’t go all out and binge on 10,000 calories. This can help:

1. Maintain a good relationship with food
2. Maintain a healthy lifestyle / balanced lifestyle
3. Keep you in a deficit (if you want to lose weight)
4. Help you manage cravings in a healthy and sustainable manner

If your plan is to gain weight, the same applies. You don’t want to go into a 3000 calorie surplus through the use of a ‘cheat day’. To gain weight at a steady pace, a 200-500 calorie surplus each day is generally absolutely fine.

However..

Some people like the idea of saving up all your treats for a set day, or ‘earning your rewards’.

The bottom line is, if cheat days work for you – then go for it. You’ve found something that works, where you can find a balance and indulge without the consequences. If the results come, then perfect!

For many, cheat days are the way forward. For others, cheat days set you back to the start each week. ULTIMATELY – Find what works best for YOU!