The majority of diets going around today believe that to lose weight you have to simply eat less food everyday. What these diets don’t realise though, is the benefits an occasional influx of calories can bring. You are actually hindering your results if you do not allow yourself a cheat meal or day every now and then. Here’s why.

First of all, an occasional splurge is satisfying. Who doesn’t love to eat until they are full and content? I personally love to eat a large, challenging, to finish meal for dinner, then relax and watch some T.V. This sounds bad, but I almost am proud of how much food I can put away. If we follow a diet which never allows us to enjoy something we love, this intensifies our cravings.

Having the luxury of an occasional cheat day then helps keeps us sane. It keeps our cravings in check. It’s relaxing to be able to let your hair down occasionally and indulge. It also gives us the freedom to enjoy ourselves when dining out. All of these factors together will ultimately help us stick to a reduced calorie diet for a longer period of time.

Most importantly, it helps you burn fat even faster! I know this sounds unbelievable but it’s true. It helps lose weight because it gives your metabolism a kick start. When you go on a low calorie diet, your metabolism slows down. This is because the body realises that it is going to have to try and get by on the reduced calorie intake, so it conserves energy, so to speak.

You see, our body fat is primarily used as a back up energy source. It is saved for times of scarcity. So, if the body realises that there is a shortage of food, it will do it’s best to hang onto the fat. This is because it doesn’t know how long this period of shortage is going to last. It wants to keep it as its last ditch for survival. However, an abundant supply of calories every now and then convinces the body that there isn’t a shortage of food. It convinces your body that your body fat is useless and it should be used up.

So stop worrying about going way over your calorie limit once or twice a week, it won’t hurt you, your metabolism will chew straight through it. Having a cheat meal or day occasionally is one of the best ways to fire up your metabolism and start burning even more fat.