Cheat days may help dieters lose weight, research finds

Dr. Jennifer Ashton discusses what to know about a new study that found that those who took cheat days during diets lost more weight than those who consistently restricted themselves.

[@rabbishekelstein255]

Cheat days actually remove the cravings, the next day you can burn all those calories off

[@underthestarsoverthemoon4259]

True!!

[@DaminionC]

Bull Shit

[@onefapman904]

@Young Simba the don’t eat 10k calories dumbass. stay on your calorie count but eat whatever kills your craving

[@vonn6219]

+1

[@overpoweredjelly3513]

That's kinda wrong

[@sierra6709]

Cheat days are so important! I hit a 4 week plateau had a few cheat day’s and lost weight again within a few days! I now have two consecutive cheats days every 8 days

[@chino2620]

Camille Trujillo just be in a calorie deficit and it won’t matter what you eat, but if you want to speed up the process by a large margin then just don’t have cheat days have a little snack once every week or just don’t eat anything bad for you

[@blessedbythebest1003]

@@chino2620 be In A calorie deficit?

[@chino2620]

@@blessedbythebest1003 meaning eat less then what you burn daily

[@crateog9680]

@@chino2620 Wrong. Your body gets used to being in a calorie deficit and you stop losing weight. Even with intense weight training. A cheat meal once every week can for sure help you

[@FightBackAgainstDiabetes]

*If You Have More Than 15 LBS To Lose Then You'll Want To See How This Fat-Dissolving Outback Loophole Can Change Your Life: **kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3S6haSjo7WigMU* 😃

[@kyleorr533]

I’ve lost weight using a cheat day every week, but obviously, the closer you get to your goal weight, the more you may need to space out your cheat days. When I cheat, I hold absolutely nothing back. I eat what I want, any amount I want, at any time I want. The first time I incorporated a cheat day, I over did it. My eyes were bigger than my stomach. I bought too much (pizza, donuts, cookies) and I could barely put a dent in it all in a day…so you’ll get used to managing your cheat days after trying it a time or two. I usually get my feel of those guilty pleasures and borderline feel sick from eating too much. The next day, I usually eat less because I’m less hungry and the cravings are all gone. I actually WANT to eat lite, healthy foods…until the next cheat day that is :)

[@mirrowhan]

Had you still lose weight

[@kyleorr533]

@@mirrowhan yeah, if you’re quite a ways from your goal weight, you can definitely still lose weight. I did. The closer you are to your goal weight, the fewer calories you need anyway…so your cheat days either have to be lighter, farther apart, or ideally both if you can manage. Too many people have a scarcity mindset that when you’re on too strict of a diet, you feel like when bad food presents itself (like at an office gathering, a holiday or social setting), you feel the NEED to splurge because it’s free or you don’t normally get presented with those options. By incorporating cheat days, you can prevent that scarcity mindset because you KNOW you’ll have access to those ‘bad’ foods and CAN eat them…just limited your consumption to your cheat day :)

[@Someone-qi1rr]

​@@kyleorr533I wanna get rid of my cheat days cause I don't wanna fall into old habits but I agree with you. I've been dieting for a week and lost 6kgs and yesterday had a cheat day, guess what? I gained yesterday one kilo just to wake up to being almost 2kgs down. My body is working crazy. I also walk a lot so it probably has to do with that too but I gotta say I am glad to still be losing weight.

[@Deagle-lj7tv]

This is the best news ever

[@salololo443]

Yes bro

[@UOTQAUIBO]

Well if it weren’t for cheat days I wouldn’t be on this diet to begin with. They’re the days I look forward to, to keep me sane whenever I get bad cravings....so they work in that sense!

[@underthestarsoverthemoon4259]

Did a cheat day today and I feel fucking amazing. I feel recharged!!!! Back to my healthy eating and exercising!! I’m on the treadmill right now just taking a smooth nice walk and will do some weight lifting🙌🏼🙏🏼❤️😎👊🏼💪🏼

[@Jo-bp7sq]

Yessssss! I did one yesterday! I feel deprived if I don’t allow myself one day a week break of the health foods. After the one day of not counting calories I feel ready to go again!

[@justanomorifan3059]

I'm planning to do it like once a month should it be once a month or 2 weeks lol

[@Da-Creams]

@@justanomorifan3059 once every two weeks is fine for me. One full cheat day every week is too much in my opinion as you end up spending the entire week restricting which can lead to a bad cycle.

[@valenciamulalo9587]

I did eat today am really sick 🥺🥺🥺

[@BodybuildingSteve]

I did a cheat day, every 2 weeks when I was really fat then once a week when I had the last 10lbs to go, I'm 5.8 102kg down too 68kg in 4 months 💪

[@caramellove3946]

Wow that's great

[@norlimaetiongson918]

wooww

[@gujjar9454]

Wow🔥👌

[@qasimmalik5277]

What kind of exercise did you do ?? And your diet plan please

[@BodybuildingSteve]

@@qasimmalik5277 honestley if i posted here you wouldnt believe me but here is a link too my post on reddit a year ago of my progress with pics, it says what I did there :) www.reddit.com/r/fasting/comments/bzi79g/23_day_fast_done_5_months_total_fasted_am_i/

[@PalatablePuddle]

I was dieting for 2 weeks straight and doing HIIT every day. I started to burn less and less calories doing the same workouts. This week I went off on some zaxby's and snacks and now I'm back to burning 330 cals per HIIT session.

[@mypoophastumor502]

You Should be burning 714 calories on HIIT sessions if you’re under 220lbs

[@immanueladithela8706]

Always increase the intensity of your workouts weather it's doing them for longer intervals or doing then faster.

[@rderree]

@@mypoophastumor502 too precise

[@MT-yx5cu]

​@@immanueladithela8706you could burn more than that just walking fast on a treadmill or outside for 30 mins-45 minutes

[@lowrider3900]

I will not call it cheat day cos I eat whatever I want just as long as I’m in a caloric deficit

[@underthestarsoverthemoon4259]

Treat! Not cheat!

[@imadrawer9721]

Preach!!👏👏

[@overpoweredjelly3513]

IFYM is so wrong and u still get fat

[@KOTJ412]

Cheat day works since your body gets use to your eating habits if you’re on a deficit…but if you have no self control & fall back to bad habits…then it might not be a good idea to do them.

[@nummyskully4389]

ty

[@saywhatnow5789]

👍💪👊👏👏👏👏

[@rderree]

just tell people to insult you and you won't fall into bad habits

[@Steveman27]

@@rderree Did you tell people to insult you?

[@brightstarlit]

I always end up losing a few lbs after two cheat days. I go right back to my 1 hour and 20 minute workouts and have a new burst of energy and my high protein low carb diet. I’ve consistently been losing weight almost 100 lbs! Down 92 and 40 or so more to go!

[@Thetruthyave]

My cheat days motivate me to work out twice as hard the next day

[@lukeyoung4154]

Watching right now because I'm feeling guilty 😂

[@MiaBxo8]

LOL same asf. I have been on Keto for two weeks and lost 16lbs but I was feeling like shit so today I got chipotle and got a salad with a tortilla on the side and had a Diet Coke now I feel so guilty but sooo good 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@FightBackAgainstDiabetes]

*If You Have More Than 15 LBS To Lose Then You'll Want To See How This Fat-Dissolving Outback Loophole Can Change Your Life: **kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3S6haSjo7WigMU* 😃

[@sharonflorence8897]

I am on a liquid diet and today is my 4th day & I decided to eat some Lance peanut butter crackers. I have already lost 7 lbs. Sometimes I eat peanuts but for my cheat day I am going to have a salad or a spinach wrap & a smoothie from smoothie King.

[@PowerPointSh0w]

I have just started my low carb diet, oh, yes I think cheat days kinda rewarding and motivator to sustain what I am now doing. Thanks a lot Doc

[@harikrishnanchandramohan4209]

Cheat days are the best. Instead of cheating with chocolate cakes and Mcdonalds, you could do it with much healthier homemade satiating food like steaks, fried rice, etc.

[@josie9583]

Steak is not a cheat food, it's a health food as long as it's grass fed

[@rderree]

@@josie9583 even if it's not

[@rderree]

steak can not make you fat, no matter how much you eat

[@nicj5354]

In Sweden they eat sugar on Saturdays. I can get through the week without added sugar as long as I can have a time of it on Sat.

[@narutgaming8824]

My weight was stuck at 90 kgs after i lost 17 kgs from 107 then i had a trip in which i did not go to the gym and ate calories in some surplus but as soon as i returned it started decreasing again and now i am at 86-87 already lost 20kgs and 7-8 more to go btw i am 5’10 and 17 years

[@anavictoria7688]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VALUABLE INFORMATIONNNN✨✨✨✨

[@lee207ful]

If anyone’s watched the biggest loser US, at least upto season 9. You may have noticed when in a temptation challenge when someone goes from eating ~1600 cals a day and burning like 800 and then in one sitting ends up eating 3000 cals, at the weigh in they end up losing a lot more than everyone else

[@nummyskully4389]

yaaah

[@bigkuyac2224]

Now I understand thank you soo much ! Makes sense . I was working out hard and cutting calories, then I stopped dropping weight. This is simply explained .I'm apprehensive about an entire day 😏 but I'll start with just a cheat meal 😋. Ounce again thanks a alot.

[@almoment2728]

Little advice, it's not about calories it's about insulin levels. The less your insulin the more weight you lose

[@gretchen725]

I do look smaller after my cheat days or on the days I don’t work out I don’t get it lol

[@adolfosilva3883]

This is a perfect example of how science gets misreported. The study they are referencing is the Matador study (DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2017.206). It's a study that looks at what happens if you diet for two weeks and then have another two weeks at maintenance calories and then repeat that vs a continuous caloric restriction diet. It's NOT about "cheat days", which are single 24 hour days in which your caloric intake goes to maintenance level or above that, which does not have the same effect as as maintenance periods of weeks. This is the type of reporting that spreads more confusion to the general population.

[@backinblood3218]

So I shouldn’t cheat every two weeks?

[@adolfosilva3883]

​@@backinblood3218 There is a terminology problem here. Cheat days, cheat meals, and maintenance periods are not the same thing. I'll assume, you're are talking about a single day where you consume your maintenance calories (but not above it). There are studies on cheat days. I would suggest looking them up and make your own conclusions. Some people seem to enjoy and get some value out of them, others not so much. Answering a different question: "So I shouldn't do maintenance periods every 2 weeks?" It depends. What are your goals? If you have a substantial amount of weight to lose, you probably should implement one or more maintenance phases. How many, how long they should last, and when you should do them is still being studied. This study is one of the first of its kind. Every expert right now, suggests different ratios of caloric deficit weeks to maintenance weeks. No optional ratio has been found. How long do you want the process to last? Adding more maintenance weeks may make you weigh loss process longer. At the same time it will help you on the long run (read the study to know why, it's fun). I personally do them. Not only they allow me to have multiples days to be with family/friends where I can eat a bit more, but they also teach you the extremely valuable lesson of how to be in maintenance, which is where people fail in the end. Currently, I am doing 4 weeks of diet, 1 week of maintenance. I plan on doing a 3:1 ratio further down the weight loss journey.

[@backinblood3218]

Adolfo Silva oh ok I see I have to do some more research on it. Currently though, I’ve been doing OMAD (one meal a day) I lost 10 pounds so far and I’m in week 2. I went from 300 to 290. The reason I thought about a cheat meal is because I been 290 for a couple of days. Trying to get to 220. I’m 5’11 and I’m 19 so maybe that’s why it’s coming off fast idk. I’m just doing Omad to get to 220 then switch to 16/8 IF. I eat a lil under 1500 a day.

[@adolfosilva3883]

@@backinblood3218 First off, congrats on the decision to lose weight! If I could give you some advice is that losing weight is a long and hard journey, so being patient is key. You lost 10 lbs in two weeks, that's quite a lot! As time goes by the rate of weight loss will slow down. The reason that you are not seeing much change in weight in the last days is probably due to that those 10 lbs that you lost have been primarily water. How are you feeling with eating just once per day? Are you feeling ok, is it something you can pull of without much difficulty? Right now you're doing a very high caloric deficit. I would highly suggest eating more. This may sound strange. Why? The more restrictive you are, the more your body will fight back (metabolic adaptations). A lower caloric deficit, that will be increased over time is a better choice for losing weight. You will not lose as much initially but you will have less weight loss stalling/plateaus which are quite frustrating and offer a real threat of failure. Also, just curious, any reason for wanting/doing intermittent fasting? (I'm not saying you should stop btw)

[@capricorn1970i]

@Adolfo Thank you for your comments. This is really valuable! I didn't read the study myself and yes, this TV show is misreporting!

[@lilvAmP1400]

Thanks to this, I did a cheat day to try it out, the next day i checked my weight, and i gained 6 lbs, thanks alot! :)

[@henriettahenson]

That will be water... If you start eating loads of carbs on a '' TREAT DAY '' (don't like the word cheat 😂)your body with retain water in its cells makes you weigh more so... The next day after,,, eat a No carb diet.. And you will shed that 6lbs really easy...

[@peytonriggins4761]

Also another thing a cheat day needs to be good but not massive if you just splurge out and eat 4000 calories that’s not good instead eat healthy things that are soemthing you wouldn’t eat so instead of destroying cookies maybe have something you enjoy but is healthier just not soemthing you would normally eat I am bad at explaining sry

[@henriettahenson]

@@peytonriggins4761 OH NOOOO Payton .. ''NOTHING HEALTHY 'I need chocolate on a treat day... NOT heeps but a couple OF CABURY TWIRLS.. 😂😂😂

[@rderree]

@@peytonriggins4761 it's called a fucking cheat day

[@halfbloodholic5166]

Thanks so much i felt down when i had no cheat day for the entire quarantine

[@electricmusiccover6832]

Hello? What is cheat day?

[@Yee-lt7by]

@@electricmusiccover6832 when you break your diet for a day. So you could eat junk food and stuff that you don’t usually eat on a diet

[@electricmusiccover6832]

@@Yee-lt7by ahh ok, now i know thanks po. Salamat

[@Yee-lt7by]

@@electricmusiccover6832 you’re welcome

[@DaminionC]

1:03 we all know that man was just gonna throw that fruit in the trash and come back for the cake

[@user-cz3fm4iy1x]

Lmao

[@eiranlowesaa686]

I cheated today and was feeling very bad but after watching this I am happy 😂

[@arianaweiler3659]

SAME HAHAHAH

[@jakeadams7229]

Me too now back to my healthy eating 👍

[@ffalawadi5457]

I was 79kg now i am 57kg i am going on 1 cheat meal per week but is it okay to take 2 cheat meals days per this week ? Or it will affect Sorry for my English

[@candacedawn357]

Cheers!

[@quinyonnaparks4365]

Everybody is different. It's what safely works for you.

[@marnv2956]

Thank you and God bless

[@blessedbythebest1003]

Great to know!

[@DaminionC]

Bottom line, cheat days slow down your progress, if your on a diet at all, the slowed progress is better than no diet at all.

[@tomakhaliel2043]

It helps with plateau effect.

[@Michelle-sh3zj]

The Hip hop Guitarist Same, lost 25 pounds in little less than 3 months, had a cheat day every week just continued my “diet” next day been 11 months and haven’t gained weight.

[@0x1lovesong34]

after 2 cheat days i see my weight being the same as before the cheat days, if that’s what you mean by slowing the diet down. But, cheat days help A LOT because you’re more likely to keep your diet going for longer.

[@Notbothered1]

It's definitely a must 😊

[@uoebsjs3059]

MY CHEAT DAYS ARE WHEN I'M HAVING ONE WEEK. AND I HATE THIS MENSTRUATION CRAVING IT RUINED MY PERIOD😭

[@kakarotlovesgames6962]

Well you still need to have some control but yes this is true. I went from 235 to 186 and i consistently did refeeds for 3 days straight once every 2 weeks. It kept my metabolism and cravings in check. I even lost weight faster after refeed days . The other 11 days i mix omad and 2mad together to greatly aid me so i can cut consistently until refeed days again. Im doing this until i hit my real goal weight

[@MT-yx5cu]

How is that going so far. Im starting something similar

[@tristanfarquhar202]

I can put weight on easy im a 20 year old male, I've struggled a lot with my food relationship,I've tried a lot of different things Evan to the point of vomiting of every meal that I ate just because I did not want to

[@maicharm776]

It's true. I was on a very strict diet and I felt so exhausted and also my weight doesn't go down so i quit.

[@seokjinsforehead7482]

Thank heavens, cause i ate too much fruits and carbs today😩

[@ballbro613]

a good rule I started follow: do the opposite of what ever the main stream media says to do.

[@salsabihabonna7733]

How many days later i should go for a cheat meal?? When I am trying to lose weight..... I was 85 kg and now I am 69 kg.....

[@shanvichaudhary3959]

Can you share your diet plan plz sis...I m very thankful to you.but I m vegetarian.My current weight is 80 kg.and I want to loose weight

[@Michelle-sh3zj]

I lost 25 pounds in little less than 3 months, had a cheat day every week just continued my “diet” next day been 11 months and haven’t gained weight. So maybe once a week but I usually only had a cheat meal and snack, not all 3.

[@misscreepy2392]

If you have a lot of weight to lose (10 kgs or more) you can have one cheat days in 2 weeks and if you have less than 10 kgs then one cheat day a week

[@iamgorgeous]

@@misscreepy2392 can you eat more than calories you need during your diet? Like, If usually you eat around 1200 calories can you eat until 1800-2000 calories per day? I want to do cheat days once a week but too afraid that I would be craving too much later

[@rderree]

@@misscreepy2392 one per week atleast, wtf are you talking about, 1 every 2 weeks will literally drop your metabolism to an all time low

[@LoveLife-gv8jg]

I don't weigh myself. I just buy a smaller dress as a goal. Weight lift and IF

[@dripzdripz9268]

I come back to this vid here and there when I've been a bit naughty just so I don't feel bad about myself :)

[@spamandlamntumni8215]

Cheat day after 2 weeks. I feel so fucken guilty

[@Ammulu0713]

Same and I gained 2 kgs I wanna cry I'm back to my diet and workout but I don't know how soon I'll loose that weight again😭 Will it take 2 weeks again😭😭 Then I'll be stuck with that weight forever because when ever I try to cheat I'll gain and then loose then gain How do i-🤡

[@conniejohnson1552]

Cheat Days are so necessary otherwise you give up. The thinking is oh I blew it wo never mind. I do a 36 hour fast from thurs 6pm to Sat 6am. I am lowcarb no sugar the rest of the time. I cheat like heck on thursdays. Well reltively so. Fri kicks stats me back into keto and I have lost 40 lbs in 4 mos.

[@jakeadams7229]

Me to i do the same👍

[@TheKetoJudge]

Down 70ish in 6👍🏻

[@willsgaming1481]

i would have cheat days maybe just once every 2-3 weeks, it helps when your body tries to slow down weight loss. But even after 3 ays and walking 8 hours the day after cheat day i still gain half a pound but by day 6 after cheat day i usually lose a pound sometimes 2 if im lucky and less than 1 pound by day 6 after cheat day if im unlucky. Cheat meals once a week is ok if its for breakfeast or lunch, now those actually help me lose weight fast bc 1 chicken drumstick and a chocolate bar didnt hinder my weight loss actually helped but counted calories for the rest of that day

[@Steveman27]

Cheat days can be great. It's too bad some people say you should never eat the foods you love ever again just to stay at a certain weight. Can you imagine how helpful it would have been for the main character in the 1980 movie Fatso, if only he would have had a cheat day once every few days?

[@spicyramen5135]

I feel so bad cause this week I’ve been eating junk again unlike before

[@Peppermon22]

I’ve not been as hungry with my life being crazy. I ate tons of food (mostly protein) one day. Lost a pound even though I know I ate way more than a few pounds of food.

[@khanayesha2726]

I am also on diet I was 70 kgs and now 57 this week was different for me I ate alott on my cheat day whatever I wanted chocolates and everything next day my weight was 59.6 then after that day it was 58:6 then I did diet for 6 days then on cheat day I checked the weight it was same as last week 57.5 idk why is it becoz I gained weight becoz it cheat day then should I not eat alott on cheat day someone plzz tell

[@yasmina88801]

it’s water weight, not actual fat

[@henriettuh4976]

You should weigh yourself 2-3 days after your cheat day

[@jaimelannister9066]

Watching this because i just binge eat at night and decided to do cheat days, it’s actually only my 5th days of diet lol. But i promise myself next time i’m gonna do cheat meals only. Pray for me guys this guilt feeling is unbearable.

[@Fatimakhan-bd8hx]

Make dua to Allah alone. He will slim you down

[@tanaziaelmore]

Well I eat a each day of the week and still lose weight,workout

[@TheRealJohnHooper]

Body needs a rest from diet..

[@keishaparker5489]

I will be having 2 cheat days as I am a new coming vegan due for weight loss. I have to parties to attend and for sure they will have cake and all sorts of food and I can’t say no. 😂I will be starting my diet next week. Hope it works and I hope my dr helps me with the right suggestions

[@feliksdzerzhinskij800]

Let's say your maintenance is at 2000 calories and you're eating 9000 calories for 6 days (1500 everyday). And on the seventh day you decided to eat cheat meals that added up to 4000 calories. That would amount to 13000 calories you eat in a week but adding it all up you're still short of 1000 calories since 14k calories is your maintenance for the week. Obviously this is a grossly over estimate of the science and there are a lot of other factors as well but you get the idea. If you don't want to slow down your progress then stick with the discipline, but if you want to enjoy the progress then cheat meal every once in a while won't hurt as long as in moderate amount.

[@ofeliafortino3284]

i do 3 cheats days is that bad?

[@zachrider3416]

Its ok in if 1 week ...1 day cheat day...bcz u can burn tommorw

[@juliasuedebliss6512]

I gained 2kg after having 2 cheat meals. Feeling disheartened 😭

[@MrBasically810]

you did not gain 2kg unless you ate 30,000 calories in those 2 cheat meals. Its water weight, not actual weight. Ur fine.

[@rderree]

that's water weight, you fucking donut, you didn't gain anything

[@eliasrivera3064]

Id say you’d play it smarter if you have a cheat meal, instead of a cheat day; If you’re trying to stay lean while burning off that fat the next day.

[@dreadschythe7390]

Dont Trust the TV!

[@4781981]

is not cheat days is better call it feast day as par of your diet

[@alejandroyanez2941]

I Love the English 🥰

[@professorpedropontes4402]

To me it’s not really about cravings, I don’t need junk food so much, psychologically, anymore. It’s breaking through this plateau that I want. But does booze count as cheating? Then yeah, I still have cravings… 😝

[@reneeontop39]

Wow

[@MrPoohbear78]

Duh

[@Sugarplumz]

For me every day is cheat day 😏🤪

[@anthonyuccello8450]

Cheat days are beneficial to cheaters

[@Steveman27]

Are you a cheater?

[@usamashakeel9466]

Cheat meal**

[@usamashakeel9466]

@@idklol7165 Cheat meal***

[@usamashakeel9466]

@@idklol7165 It works for everyone... This cheat day is a massive misconception.. I'm a certified personal trainer and nutritionist specialist.. I know what i am talking about... No offense to anyone but i am not wrong...

[@usamashakeel9466]

@@idklol7165 It's not gonna kill anyone? Are you eating to die? I mean like.. Seriously?! I'm not talking about life & death i am just telling the difference between cheat meal and a cheat day.. Which is not supposed to be a cheat day.. It's supposed to be a cheat meal.. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@usamashakeel9466]

@@idklol7165 Thankgod kisi ko tou meri bakwas samajh aayi.. 🤨

[@Steveman27]

For some, cheat days might have been better than cheat meals. Besides, it might also depend on how the person eats and exercises for the other 6 days a week if it's one cheat day a week. Besides, all of us have had cheat days where were carefree on what we consumed throughout the day, whether it during a vacation, a party, a camping trip, etc.

[@Future-Classic-Comics]

Long story short eat a load of crap one day so you can go back to eating like a rabbit the rest of the week, so you don't end up eating sh!t 2 in the morning from starvation.

[@MK_1Ultra]

1:48-1:53 😂😂😂

[@Moccalocca100]

I just ate an kfc variety bucket and realised its 5000 calories. But i ate it so easily lmao

[@EIREESPANA]

Cheat days are VITAL

[@erickva]

Interesting topic. Funny how Americans have to dumb it down though. 😀

[@brianc5186]

Cheat day= weak minded person day.

[@somebody2345]

Ok oh-so-perfect Brian

[@Steveman27]

You are literally insulting everyone, including yourself, when you say that, because everyone, including yourself, have had cheat days, so how does it feel with you knowing that you just insulted yourself as well as everyone else?