Cheat Days For Better Efficiency?

I searched the forum and saw some threads and comments touching on cheat days but I needed some more clarity on this specific side of cheat days so I made this thread.

Supposedly, from some of the Youtube videos I've seen, having cheat days after a week or two weeks on an OMAD diet can not only help you get rest mentally but physically as well, in that it causes some of your body chemicals to reset and therefore make you more efficient when you finally go back to the OMAD diet the next day. Honestly, I didn't really understand a lot of the science being explained and mostly just got that it's like changing the oil on your car, which was actually the same analogy used by the few of the videos I watched. Aside from that, I heard some things about Leptin and the benefits of getting a mental and physical break from it all.

I'm approaching my first 14 days on OMAD and am planning to have a vacation day on my 15th day tomorrow, and I plan to do this type of cycle where I take breaks every two weeks until I'm more used to it and make my cheat days weekly.

My question is if there are physical benefits to resetting your body every so often in that it actually makes you more efficient at burning fat and helps you avoid plateaus, or are the benefits mostly just psychological?
 
I'll be the first to admit that I don't really know much about the biological chemistry behind cheat days. I always assumed that people took cheat days simply to be able to take a break from the rules and binge a little on some of their favorite foods. I can see the positive psychological benefits in that regard, as restricting yourself constantly can obviously lead to a burnout.

As for what physiological effects it may have, I can only spitball there. I'm assuming that it might be something like varying workouts in a strength training routine. If you do the same exercises for a month, your body gets used to it and they stop being as effective. Eventually you reach a plateau. Then when you surprise your body with a new workout, the results start to reach new limits.

I know that the body's metabolism adjusts itself after a while of eating a consistent amount of calories daily, so it could be that shocking it with excess calories might make it think "Start the engines! We've got more to burn off than usual!"
 
Honestly, I don't know if having "scheduled" cheat days affect the body physiologically to make dieting more efficient, and I can't find any reliable peer-reviewed scientific paper doing any research on this question. As for my personal belief, I think it has an effect but nothing significant, and it's more of a psychological benefit which helps you to take the diet seriously and not give up as you're looking forward to the next day when you can normally eat, rather than just dieting straight for longer periods of time.
 
My personal gym trainer always says that its best to have a cheap day on Sunday as its the last day in the week and the best day to surprise your body with something sweet or full of fat.He usually eats as much as he can on Sunday.From pizza's to burgers to sweets.
 
Cheat days are good to surprise your body with goods so that you'll not crave for something. But still you need to control also and burn what you will be eating.
 
I don't use the word cheat I like treat more. I have a treat meal "not day" Has I'm keto, sometimes I do miss bread or potatoes so once every month I will treat myself to bread or potatoes in my meal. I no it will not kick me out of ketosis has I don't have loads.
 
Honestly, I don't know if having "scheduled" cheat days affect the body physiologically to make dieting more efficient, and I can't find any reliable peer-reviewed scientific paper doing any research on this question. As for my personal belief, I think it has an effect but nothing significant, and it's more of a psychological benefit which helps you to take the diet seriously and not give up as you're looking forward to the next day when you can normally eat, rather than just dieting straight for longer periods of time.
I think you might be right. I've been looking for some scientific information on Youtube and most people giving advice on the physical benefits of cheat day were just regular people that didn't put up any studies to back their claims, although to be fair, a lot of them were successful at their weight loss so it's understandable that they would want to share their personal experiences. I did come across one doctor that talked about it but he also mostly just talked about the psychological aspect of it. I think I'd just have to research more on this further because I just had a cheat day and didn't really enjoy it that much so I want to know if it's really that necessary in terms of efficiency.
 
I think you might be right. I've been looking for some scientific information on Youtube and most people giving advice on the physical benefits of cheat day were just regular people that didn't put up any studies to back their claims, although to be fair, a lot of them were successful at their weight loss so it's understandable that they would want to share their personal experiences. I did come across one doctor that talked about it but he also mostly just talked about the psychological aspect of it. I think I'd just have to research more on this further because I just had a cheat day and didn't really enjoy it that much so I want to know if it's really that necessary in terms of efficiency.
I think it works for certain individuals, especially for people who have low impulse control and tend to fall back to their old habits of eating a lot when they take a long period of time off from eating the usual amount. In your case, maybe having cheat days won't make that big a difference because you already didn't enjoy it.
 
I think cheat days can complicate your OMAD diet because if your body has adjusted already to the diet then breaking it would make your body crave again for food. I think it's better to stick on your OMAD until you decide to stop.
 
I think it works for certain individuals, especially for people who have low impulse control and tend to fall back to their old habits of eating a lot when they take a long period of time off from eating the usual amount. In your case, maybe having cheat days won't make that big a difference because you already didn't enjoy it.
Thanks. From the limited research I did, I found that most of the benefits seemed to be mostly only psychological so maybe you're right that it's better for most people who have trouble with their impulsiveness. I did find one video of someone who recommends it immensely for physical reasons as well, but he is not a doctor although he did lose a ton of weight doing OMAD with cheat days so I was inclined to believe him a bit. I think I might just do it once or a few times a month for the rest at least and hopefully that will also be enough to help with the physical aspect as well just in case there is truth to that.
 
Thanks. From the limited research I did, I found that most of the benefits seemed to be mostly only psychological so maybe you're right that it's better for most people who have trouble with their impulsiveness. I did find one video of someone who recommends it immensely for physical reasons as well, but he is not a doctor although he did lose a ton of weight doing OMAD with cheat days so I was inclined to believe him a bit. I think I might just do it once or a few times a month for the rest at least and hopefully that will also be enough to help with the physical aspect as well just in case there is truth to that.
Yup, you'll never know if you don't try; hopefully, it works for you and all the best!
 
Cheat days are basically just to relief you from your cravings. I think there's nothing more into it, but its better to have one because as you cheat you enjoy and relieves you from stress and anxiety.
 
I think having a cheat day once in two weeks wouldn't be much of a problem provided we don't stuffed ourselves with too much food,just a little portion of our cravings will be helpful and not complicated at all.
 
Cheat days are fun and as well stressful for me. Whenever I do it I feel really happy and I sometimes think of ending my diet. However, whenever I see myself on the mirror gaining a little fat, I get depressed and continue my diet once again. It's the same cycle ever since I started and I guess I've been used to it that cheat days are just normal days for me - days where I give my body what it craves and then gives it what I want afterwards. I do mine at least once a week.
 
Those on keto know that carb refeeds are really important to your body physically and are good for you psychologically. If you know you are due a break you are then able to stay on your chosen way of eating. I think when you are on OMAD its even more important to keep your body burning fat.I'm not a scientist, from the little I've read your metabolism can get tired and stop burning fat.Its really important to rest it so that it can continue to work the highest capacity.
 
I guess cheat days would be a great motivation to continue following your diet. If you have a day to eat the things you want and not be restricted by the diet that you are following, it might help you to stick with the diet because you have some form of reward.
 
Interesting idea. It can be a slippery slope for some people where the cheat meal goes past the eating window then into the next day, etc. I can do a cheat meal and walk away no problem. Sometimes, if I am stalled, I increase my fat by quite a bit and take my carbs close to zero and don't worry about calories for a few days. This sounds counterintuitive but it tends to shake things up and I start losing again.
 
I think in every diet, should have that cheat day. but not every week just once a month. It's gonna be your reward, but before do that, your mind should highly motivated on your diet, because you might cheat every week once your mind start to crave again.
 
For me, cheat days are a necessity lol. I cannot manage to stay on a diet for a long time, I'm not that good with commitment. And cheat days are great for relieving stress and when you crave something so much that you start thinking about quitting the diet :p
 
I find it helpful. It was like a motivation to finish your goal for six days because you know there is a reward waiting for you on the seventh day :)
I can't imagine myself having no cheat day at all. How can I boost my enthusiasm if I know I am not getting any reward at all. This sounds funny but yes, for me it is really efficient.
 
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