How to cheat on your diet and not care

Cheat day – Otherwise known as a “free” day, it is a day designated to let yourself relax and eat the foods you love but can’t have under strict dietary guidelines. But won’t that undo all the hard work you’ve been doing? Maybe, but it will improve your chances of success in the long run.

A strict diet is a way to succeed. But we are only human, and human nature dictates that we fail once in a while. If we are too strict on ourselves, we are prone to participate in binge eating. It may come in a week, it may come in a month, or it may come in several months, but it will come. And then, your prior success will be undone.

Rule: Never lose weight by starving
Most people think of restrictions, renunciation, and – hunger when they think of losing weight! But if you believe that you can lose weight best by eating as little as possible, you are wrong! You lose weight even better if you eat correctly and do not starve!

This is because your body goes into an economy mode when your calorie intake is deficient. Every nutrient is meticulously managed in this state. Carbohydrates and fats the body then usually store directly to endure the hunger period longer. If you eat more again at some point, the nasty yo-yo effect will throw a spanner in the works. To prepare for the next hunger phase, your body then converts almost all the nutrients it has absorbed into fats produced naturally in the body. These land later again directly on your hips! So – starving to lose weight is not a good idea!

Know your calorie needs. If you want to lose weight without feeling hungry, the first step is to calculate your calorie needs and follow them! Your calorie requirement depends on your calorie consumption and personal goal.

Every person has an individual calorie consumption. This is influenced by various factors, such as your gender, your height, and how active you are during the day. Whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, or live healthier, you match your calorie needs to your consumption.

For example, your body uses 2,000 calories a day. To lose weight, you need to go into a calorie deficit. In other words, eat less than the 2,000 calories you calculated earlier. If you consume exactly 2,000 calories, your weight will remain the same. However, a calorie surplus is necessary if you want to gain some weight. In this case, you need to take in more calories than you consume. In our calorie calculator, you can determine how high your calorie requirement is.

Our tip: In addition to the number of calories, selecting the right food is also crucial. Our free Body Check helps you with this and gives you nutrition tips that help you lose weight without hunger so that you are guaranteed to succeed!

It may surprise some, but some of the most successful (and most strict) diet plans, such as Weight Watchers, allow a cheat day once a week. This could range from one meal of whatever you want to a whole day of whatever you want.

This is designed to give users a guilt-free excuse to eat their favorite foods and then go back on the diet when that time is over. It is also designed to prevent your body from getting used to a set amount of calories per day and reaching the plateau effect.

Change of diet, instead of dieting. Are there diets without starvation? Yes! Because the best diet is still the change of diet. A healthy and balanced diet should always be the basis. Balanced means that you don’t have to starve yourself or give up anything! Chocolate or a pizza will not make you fat, just like a little bit of a salad or a protein shake will make you thin. You can find a practical guide to the topic in our article about a successful diet change. Healthy weight loss without dieting is not only possible but also makes sense!

And hand on heart – how high is the probability of you never again eating sweets or junk food? Pretty low, right? And that’s perfectly okay, too. Because comfort food sometimes has to be and is also suitable for the soul! But as with everything, the same applies here – in moderation, not in masses! So you can find the right snacks for in-between to lose weight without hunger in our snack bar. How about a chocolate protein bar with almonds or a fruity Paleo bar?

Distinguish between hunger and appetite. Eating not when you’re hungry but out of boredom or habit will make your pants tighten again. So always ask yourself if you have an appetite or are really hungry. If you are hungry, of course, you can eat something! Unfortunately, however, we often eat just out of routine. This includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner, of course. In between, a piece of cake with the colleagues, a bit of chocolate at work, and a glass of wine on the couch in the evening. These are all additional calories that often fall by the wayside. And when we go to the scales, we wonder why we keep gaining weight instead of losing it.

So losing weight without hunger also means consciously distinguishing between real hunger and pure appetite. Eating a bag of chips every evening on the sofa because you don’t want to forbid yourself anything and still expecting your pants to close again doesn’t work. However, if you get a little hungry in the evening on the couch, you can, of course, eat a snack. Think about whether it has to be chips or whether an apple will do.

Related: How to break free and overcome the dreaded weight loss plateau

What you eat on these cheat days is entirely up to you. Some people throw all caution to the wind, and others spend the whole day eating one thing they’ve missed, such as Fritos. But, depending on how you conduct your cheat day, it may even benefit your body and overall weight loss goals.

Cheat on your diet and don’t feel guilty

Erik Fromm, a champion heavyweight, uses “clean cheating” every 3rd day. However, he doesn’t throw all caution to the wind, instead “When I cheat, I eat foods such as fat-free frozen yogurt or I’ll have a carb drink.

Rule: Find your way. Do you want to lose weight without hunger and complicated diet plans? Then always be honest with yourself. This is the only way to find a diet that suits you. That means: Closing your eyes to lousy eating habits won’t help you any more than convincing yourself that you like salad from now on! Instead, you have to find your middle ground between all the “bad stuff” you want to eat and the “good food.” This can sometimes take some time.

You’ll undoubtedly have to try a food or two to do it—test new recipes. And even give up a tempting snack now and then. Maybe it’s also time to start exercising. Or if you’re already exercising to seek out new challenges. And to master them.

What fills you up best? Above all, the right foods will help you lose weight without hunger. Instead of eating “empty” calories, go for nutrient-rich things. High-quality carbohydrates and proteins make you full. But healthy fats should not be neglected either.

Carbohydrates – wheat versus whole grains. If you are looking for foods that will keep you full for a long time, you should keep your hands off wheat flour products. They consist primarily of short-chain carbohydrates, i.e., single and double sugars. They are mostly found in wheat flour products and confectionery. They cause our blood sugar curve to rise sharply and drop again quickly. So you’re briefly wide awake and full of energy but hungry again after only a short time.

Long-chain carbohydrates, on the other hand, keep you full longer. These are so-called multiple sugars. This is because your body needs a little longer to utilize them fully. They also contain essential vitamins, trace elements, and minerals. You can find long-chain carbohydrates in all whole grain products and in certain types of cereals such as bulgur or oatmeal.

Both of these options have no fat and a moderate amount of carbs in the form of sugars.” His diet is mainly protein-based on the other two days in the cycle, but these small carb-filled items boost his metabolism and replenish glycogen stores in the muscles.

So, given all the ways you can approach your cheat day, I suggest. But, first, don’t go crazy and throw all caution to the wind. You will end up making yourself sick due to all the extra carbs and fat your body is not used to. Instead, conduct your meals as you would on a regular day.

But add one extra element to one or two of your meals that would not usually be there. In other words, if you love the excellent wall chocolate cake from PF Chang’s, add that as a dessert to a smart diet dinner. This way, you won’t add a significant amount of calories to your diet or make you sick, your metabolism will speed up, and you will be less likely to participate in binge eating.

Did you know that many people have had great success using the Biotin program to lose weight? Click here to learn more and watch the free presentation.