In a new study published in Journal of Consumer Psychology scientists found that having a cheat day incorporated into your diet helped participants lose weight!
Just in time for Christmas we have been given the greatest gift of all, the knowledge that if eaten correctly and within limits, junk food can help to make you lose weight in the long term.
A study was carried out where scientists put study participants on a diet that was limited to only 10,516 calories a week – so around 1,500 calories a day – with half the participants allowed to eat ANYTHING they wanted on Sundays.
After two weeks, both groups had reduced their average BMI count. While there was no noteworthy difference in the amount of weight the two groups had lost, those who could eat what they wanted on Sundays were much happier and more motivated to continue to stay on the diet and lose weight in the long term than those who weren’t.
Why? Because chocolate and donuts makes us happy and life worth living…or in more scientific terms, occasional indulgence makes dieting more sustainable.
Sticking to a strict diet that is very different to your normal habits requires a lot of will power and self-restraint, and this in turn wears you out. If you tired and irritable, you’re more likely to give up. But if you can look forward to a cheat day free where you can eat those annoying week-long cravings, then you’ll be more likely to be good and stick to the calorie control for the rest of the week.
The key is to plan and designate a specific day for your rule-breaking, says study author Dr Rita Coelho do Vale. That’s because giving in to an impulsive packet of chips or chocolate can make you feel as if you’ve ruined all your hard work and tends to cause you to stop the entire healthy eat plan.
But don’t confuse this cheat day with a binge day. The study participants kept their portions of junk food within reason so they could stay within their weekly calorie totals. Some days they may have eaten less than the 1,500 calories a day to combat the cheat day when they could be eating 2,000 calories. The moral of the story is not to stop eating certain food all together, but to prepare for the days where you know you will be eating more and you can still lose weight!
BRING ON THE CHRISTMAS FEAST!
Main image source: Secret Wedding Songs
