Beauty & Health

In nutrition, a ‘cheat meal’ is actually a controlled breakdown, that is, in other words, is a kind of psychological unloading. Cheat meal during a diet helps not to break loose and, after a short interruption, continue proper nutrition. The Fashiongton Post will tell you when exactly you need a cheat meal, and what are its key rules.

Schedule a cheat meal in advance. Ideally — during a family celebration or meeting with friends. Thus you will not stand out at the table, and the next day you can safely return to your proper diet regime.

When preparing for a cheat meal, try to cook your favorite dishes yourself from high-quality and pre-purchased products — then you will have a choice whether to prepare your favorite salad with homemade mayonnaise, or with the one that came to hand in the supermarket. Don’t avoid high carb foods, as you will slightly increase your leptin levels, and possibly store glycogen in your muscle mass.

Even during the cheat meal, try to maintain the diet, and eat the selected treat as an addition to it. Your daily calories should not go off scale, and can only exceed the norm by no more than 15%. Alternatively, you can lower your daily calorie intake on regular days so you don’t create a big surplus during the cheat meal. Thus, the total number of calories for the week will not change, and the cheat meal will go unnoticed by the body.

Do not eat your favorite foods at night, give the body time to digest food. Nutritionists advise eating junk food between 4 pm and 5 pm, or after an intense workout in the morning or afternoon. It is at this time that the metabolic rate is high.

Don’t spend your cheat meal in front of the TV or while surfing the Internet, so you don’t get carried away and eat more than planned. Eat with pleasure, in a relaxed atmosphere.

Never scold yourself for what you have eaten, even if you have eaten more junk food than necessary, because then you will not get the proper emotional release, and the aim of the cheat meal will be lost.

Bon Appetit!