- The Controversial Concept of ‘Indulgence Days’ in Diets
- Benefits of Incorporating Cheat Days into a Healthy Diet
- Research and Studies on the Effects of Indulgence Days on Weight Loss and Adherence
The ‘indulgence day’ is a controversial concept within the diet community.
Some view it as a brief reprieve from a strict diet, such as consuming a slice of chocolate cake or pizza on the weekend.
With the rise of social media, however, the concept has become more extreme, sometimes requiring the consumption of thousands of calories in a single hour.
Yet science demonstrates that there are advantages to scheduling a junk food indulgence into a healthy diet, with studies showing that it can help you burn more fat, replenish hunger-inducing hormones, kick-start the metabolism, and give people more energy to exercise more intensely.
On days when she deviates from her strict high-protein, low-carb, and low-sugar diet, Jennifer Aniston, 54, enjoys martinis or tequila, according to a source who made the revelation last week.
And she is hardly alone. Dwayne ‘The Rock Johnson, 51, disclosed that he indulges in a cheat day every week after six days of careful dining. The social media posts of his favorite foods include pancake mountains and multiple pizzas consumed in one sitting.
Although not a novel practices, it has taken over social media. There are more than 4,2 million #cheatmeal posts on Instagram. #cheatmeal has 1,3 billion views on TikTok.
Lindsey Joe, a dietitian in Nashville, Tennessee, told, “It’s the concept of being extremely strict for the majority of the week and then having the freedom to eat whatever you want, however much you want [within a certain time window] on the weekend.”
Calorie restriction can reduce the quantity of leptin in the body. Leptin is a hormone secreted by body tissue that contributes to long-term weight maintenance.
Leptin controls appetite and sends signals to the body that it is replete.
As you reduce your caloric intake and your body fat begins to decrease, some research indicates that leptin levels also decline. According to these studies, indulgence days can help restore leptin.
A study published in the journal Sports suggested that alternating days of calorie restriction with days of increased calorie consumption aided athletes in reaching their weight objectives more quickly.
According to the researchers, cheat days restore energy and stimulate the production of hormones such as leptin, which can result in fat loss, increase satiety, and increase metabolism.
In a 2018 study, researchers divided obese men into two groups: those who adhered to a strict meal plan and those who took brief diet vacations. After the trial, those who took intermittent vacations lost more weight and regained fewer pounds.
A series of three experiments published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology examined whether participants’ ability to adhere to their objectives would improve if they were permitted cheat days.
