Cheat Versus Treat

Should You Have A Cheat Day On Your Diet?

We’ve all heard of the magical cheat day – when once a week you take a day off from your healthy eating habits and go wild. Fish and chips? Yes, please. Doughnuts at the office? I’ll take two. Ice cream sundae for dessert? Pile on the whipped cream. They sound too good to be true. But are they?

In general, binging in the name of a “cheat day” isn’t good for your diet or health. Since people often go overboard on cheat days and consume large amounts of fat and calories, a cheat day can derail your goals for the rest of the week. One cheat day can easily add 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 or even more calories to your weekly intake, and we don’t recommend it.

But there’s good news: You don’t have to eat perfectly to reach your goals either. It’s OK to treat yourself once in a while as long as your weekly nutrition and exercise goals balance out. Many dietitians recommend sticking to the 80/20 rule. As long as you follow a healthy diet 80% of the time, you can be a little more lax the other 20%. So go ahead and order dessert once a week – but share it with at least a friend or two. 

Source: Healthy Lifestyles