So I have been killing it with the carb cycling program I’ve been doing. You can check out info on that in my last post HERE.
By far the thing I like most about this “diet” is the fact that there is a Cheat Day. You actually get a day where you can eat whatever the heck you want!
Now my cheat day wasn’t all that bad….
At least I didn’t think it was!
I ended up feeling extremely ill and getting sick. Now I didn’t eat any more than I did before I started cycling. In fact, I probably ate less junk. But I just felt miserable. I couldn’t believe it.
It really goes to show you that the food we eat completely controls how we feel.
With that being said, there are advantages to cheat days. Check out this article I found…
How Does One Diet Cheat Day Affect Weight Loss? | Women’s …
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/cheat-day
Nov 13, 2013 …The question: Will one “cheat day” a week ruin your weight-loss plans?
The expert: Rachel Beller, M.S., R.D., author of Eat to Lose, Eat to Win.
The answer: No, in fact, it’s encouraged! “Usually after three to four weeks of an intensive weight-loss plan that I design for my patients, I introduce the food vacay,” says Beller. She tells her clients to pick one (mandatory!) day a week to take a break from calorie counting. Just like you need a break from work, your diet needs some wiggle room to keep you focused and motivated. So why does she wait a few weeks to introduce it? When you’re just starting a weight-loss plan, you’re already driven and you’re fueled by seeing results, says Beller. But later, when you may be losing steam, introducing a cheat day can help make dieting more sustainable.
But Beller does have a few rules to make sure these vacations don’t ruin your waistline. It’s not an invitation to binge, she says, so you shouldn’t plan to pig out all day long. “Organize it around a meal, or just say that you’ll be more relaxed about your lunch and dinner,” says Beller. And just like a real vacation, do a little planning. Knowing that you’ll order your favorite pasta and maybe cheesecake on Friday night will make it way easier to resist those stale cookies on Wednesday. Finally, let go of the guilt. You’re giving yourself one day a week to relax, so it shouldn’t feel like you’re screwing up. And that’s key since messing up on your diet can lead to a “What the hell?” attitude that makes you call it off altogether.
One last tip from Beller: Have someone who helps you stay accountable—like your doctor, dietitian, or a super healthy girlfriend. They’ll help make sure you cheat the right way without going overboard.
Now depending on which program you are doing with Carb Cycling, you get either a Cheat Day or Cheat Meals every day. This really made me think that there was no way this thing was going to work. But the more I researched, the more I found that cheat days actually do have benefits…it just has to be in moderation.
