Cheat meal is a conscious violation of previously observed nutritional restrictions, which aims to improve well-being and satisfy the appetite for an unhealthy snack. A cheated meal is a popular practise used by slimming people who want to turn up their metabolism. Is a cheat meal a good solution? What is cheat day? How to use a cheated meal?
Cheat meal - what is it?
Cheat meal is a term derived from English. This is a conscious deviation from the guidelines and restrictions observed in order to temporarily consume previously prohibited foods, and then return to previously used eating practises. Cheat meal is usually a high-calorie meal that does not fit into the rules of the diet - it is a temporary violation of the existing restrictions, which is to increase the consumer's motivation to continue using the assumed nutritional plan.
Cheat meal is a term that can also be interpreted in the context of building muscle mass - then it is an unhealthy cheated meal, which is to mobilize the human body to use fat for energy purposes, without undesirable effects on muscle development.
Clean cheat meal and cheat day - what it is?
In addition to cheat meal, among people using reduction diets, you can often also meet the concept of cheat day. It's a term analogous to cheat meal, which means "deceived day". It is a day when you can loosen the current guidelines and unscrupulously eat your favourite dishes, including fast-food dishes, salty snacks or sweets.
Many people wonder what the energy supply looks like during the loosening of daily food restrictions. Cheat day - how many calories? Some data suggest that during a cheated day, the daily energy supply should not exceed 4000 kcal, while other analyses inform, that when eating high-calorie meals, should be maintained the same energy content of the menu as during the daily slimming diet.
Increasingly is also used clean cheat meal, that is, consumption of dietary, healthy food in much larger quantities. It is a variety of cheated meal, consisting in increasing the volume and portion of the dish traditionally consumed during the reduction diet.
Cheat meal - advantages and disadvantages. Is cheat day good?
Cheat meal, as well as cheat day are deviations from the reduction diet, which can have a positive effect on the human psyche, contributing to the secretion of endorphins, called hormones of happiness, and thus to improve well-being and reduce emotional tension.
Foods consumed by man affect, among others, the hormonal balance of the body, affecting the level of leptin, insulin, as well as ghrelin or thyroid hormones. The use of a reduction diet can cause, among others, a decrease in the level of leptin in the human body, and thus increase the feeling of hunger. However, there is a leptin theory suggesting that the occasional inclusion in a restrictive menu of a high-calorie meal, which is a cheat meal, may contribute to an increase in leptin concentration in the body, and thus to a reduction in hunger. Interestingly, scientific research reports that a similar phenomenon can only occur due to the consumption of carbohydrates, not fats. Therefore, in theory, it can be stated that a cheat meal in the form of a waffle with whipped cream can reduce hunger, but a hamburger with chips will not affect the level of leptin in the body.
Many people also wonder if cheat day speeds up metabolism. The available data suggest that the human body can get used to the low-energy diet, and this can result in a slowdown in metabolism. Eating a high-calorie meal can stimulate a slowed metabolism, mobilizing the human body and accelerating fat burning. It is worth remembering that a temporary increase in metabolism may be the result of not only the consumption of high-calorie food, but also its digestion, absorption and transport of nutrients to the body, and the rate of metabolism may depend on the type of food consumed.
Despite numerous benefits, there are also data suggesting that both cheat meal and cheat day may adversely affect the functioning of the human body, contributing to the disorder of glucose-insulin metabolism in blood serum. The results of some analyses state that short periods of overeating may increase the risk of developing insulin resistance and metabolic diseases, including diabetes. Moreover, uncontrolled overeating can lead to a slowdown in metabolism and the opposite effect from the intended, increasing the risk of excess energy being deposited in the form of adipose tissue. Regularly practising a cheated day or meal can also increase the risk of developing an eating disorder, contributing to compulsive overeating.
