"Cheat Days" and why they work!

As any serial dieter will tell you, "cheat days" are the most treasured and looked-forward-to part of the diet plan! I've been on possibly every single diet imaginable and only over the past year and half have tried the Dukan, Lively (the food delivery system based in Dubai), the food intolerance related meal plan , all with varying successes and with one thing in common- I eventually got tired and got off them. Some of them offer you a "cheat day" as part of the diet, and for some it's a complete no-no. For example, while I was on my food intolerance diet, I could have a cheat meal once a week, and that too consisted of things that I wasn't allowed to have the entire week and wasn't intolerant too- which basically meant a meal with rice and gluten free chocolate. When I was on "Lively" I didn't have a cheat day or meal, but on "Right Bite" (another food delivery service that I'd tried a few years back) I was allowed one every week. Mind you each of these diet plans have worked for MANY people out there, and I'm not knocking them at all!! I just met a friend 2 days back who looked gorgeous after having lost 20 kilos on the Dukan diet, so it obviously really worked for her... I'm merely sharing my personal experience.
There are some dieters who like "cheating" a little bit every day and will eat a cookie or a piece of chocolate or two, but are very conscious of the calories they consume and continue to lose weight. There are some, like me, who like to abstain and would much rather have a strict diet plan during the week with a meal or day where I'm allowed to indulge, before I get back on track. It gives me something to work towards and I look at it as being a reward for sticking through the diet strictly. I've always noticed I'm much more likely to continue longer with a diet that allows me that space to maneuver than those that tell me I can't have bread till eternity.
When I started training with Amir a few months ago, he said to me it was very important I get on his food plan as it would be imperative to me seeing any results while training with him. With emailed it to me and mentioned he encouraged cheat days but I'd only get one after 4 weeks, then one after 3, then after 2, before they become weekly events and I figured it wouldn't be too bad and got on my diet. The diet is VERY strict and the first 4 weeks on it were brutal and the cheat day seemed like a very pretty nutella-glazed light at the end of a very long, hungry tunnel! I was shocked when Amir explained to me what he expected my cheat day to be like. There was no, "eat what you want but make sure it's in moderation" speeches given! It was more of a "if you can't eat anything and everything in sight then there's something wrong!" "WHAT?!" I hear you say? Trust me, that's exactly what my reaction was too.
Cheat days help you stay motivated and that is usually how they are used in traditional diet plans that allow one. My diet plan of a cheat day following a 4-3-2-1 sequence ensured that it was affecting my body in a positive way, and wasn't just extra calories that would find it's way straight to my hips. I started noticing that my size dropped after every such day and I couldn't help but recognize that what Amir was saying was actually right- that a cheat day is almost as important to my weight loss as the diet itself. How does my cheat day now differ from the ones I used to have before? Amir prefers it that I eat stuff that has a higher fat content and I'm not worried that the "damage" I do on that one day will negate everything I do on the other 6 days, as I know it's quite the opposite. After I came back from New York for example, I got one after dieting for 3 weeks and he warned me to be honest with him and tell him if I "crashed" in the afternoon or early evening (and by that I mean was unable to eat anymore), as it meant my metabolism wasn't in peak condition yet. There are other telling signs he had asked me to look out for, the main one being that you tend to sweat a lot on that day as your body is working hard to turn the excess food into fuel. Another one that I noticed myself was that previously even a larger than normal dinner would have me wake up the next morning not being able to eat a morsel till evening as I was stuffed from my meal the night before. Now, I marvel at the fact that I wake up the morning after my cheat meal ravenously hungry and I realize that my body is in high gear having burnt off all the food. And as I mentioned before, the best proof of the pudding is in it's eating, and the fact that I'm losing size obviously means I must be doing something right!
So while I'm unable to share my diet plan with you guys I suggest you guys optimize your metabolism by following the 4-3-2-1 system and marvel at what it does to your body! Worst case scenario? You'll lose some serious weight!
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Please do check out Amir's very interesting blog at The Body Axiom
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