When you eat healthy all week long, weekend is the time to treat yourself for all the hard efforts. But what happens when you go a little overboard with pizza and fries? Well, if a recent study is anything to go by, you are likely to weigh lesser the next day. Is this a dream?

The studyA study conducted by the researchers from University of Tasmania found that people who followed their diet for two weeks and did not restrict their calories for next two weeks lost more weight than people who were on a diet throughout.
For the study, 51 obese men were divided into two groups. Why you need cheat meals?Dieting means you need to create a calorie deficit by eating less than what you are burning in a day. But with the calorie deficit, your body must use stored fat as fuel to keep your energy up, which can ultimately help you lose more weight.
The cheat breaks boost your metabolism by convincing your body that the dieting is over.
Studies say that if you never stray from your diet, it might be one of the reasons that your weight loss might be stalling.
Cheat meals help to lose weight in two ways: metabolic pathways and motivation. The hormone Leptin make you feel full, so when you diet for a long time, the leptin levels decrease and you become sensitive to it. The increased sensitivity makes you feel more hungry.

So, when you eat a cheat (happy) meal, insulin is released, which increases the leptin in your brain and makes you feel satisfied. Having regular cheat days might actually make you eat fewer calories than you expected because when your leptin levels increase you feel satisfied quickly.

When your diet is too strict, you end up feeling deprived. You might feel screwed up and end up sabotaging your plan by eating more calories.

VerdictSo, yes go ahead and enjoy your cheat meals. Find the right way to indulge, which works for you and your goals.

Source: indiatimes.com