How 'cheat days' can actually speed up weight loss by revving up metabolism, ... trends now
Taking short breaks from your diet could help speed up metabolism leading to more long term weight loss, according to dietitians.
A break of a day or two could help mitigate the biological detail that causes most dieters to gain weight when they stop a restrictive diet.
So-called 'cheat days' increase levels of a hormone in the body that helps us burn calories - in other words, keeping the metabolism high.
'Our metabolism slows down as we become smaller, we don't need to burn as many calories,' said Brittany Werner, Pennsylvania-based registered dietitian and Director of Coaching at Working Against Gravity, an online nutrition coaching company.
This makes it easier for a surplus in calories to build up, leading to weight gain.
And this is why 'drastic calorie reduction does not work long term,' Werner said.
Nutritionists have dispelled the myth that 'cheat days' are for lazy dieters - in fact, they could help you lose even more weight.
However, eating more for a little while not only retains more muscle mass - which burns more calories - it also 'tricks' the metabolism into thinking it expanding more fuel.
Taking a break from a restrictive diet can reinvigorate you psychologically, Werner told Business Insider.
Previous studies have shown that when dieters look forward to a cheat meal at the end of the week, their eating habits are better overall, compared to those who keep a strict, unending diet.
Cheat days 'can really help you
