Rule #4 – Take One Day Off Per
Week
Tim
recommends taking one day off per week as a “dieters gone wild.” I take my
cheat day every Saturday. In order to prepare and thaw meals, it is just easier to take a day off on one of the weekend days since my Monday through Friday schedule is rigidly structured. It is also nice to be able to go out to dinner with friends, etc. and be
able to enjoy myself on Saturdays – it makes me look forward to the weekends
that much more. Though the cheat day initially sounds amazing, and I look
forward to them all week long, there are some pros and cons. Yes, you’re able
to consume whatever, and I mean WHATEVER you want and in as much quantity as
you would like.
Thank you, Google for the lovely picture.
However, since my body has grown accustomed to eating healthy, unprocessed, low sugar food all week long, splurging on Saturday often leaves me feeling sick to my stomach with a short-lasting sugar high. At first, I was skeptical of the cheat day because I did not want to ruin everything I had just done for myself for the last six days prior. However, Tim addresses this concern by stating, “paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction.” To give you an example of how much I go food crazy every Saturday, here is a list of everything I ate on my January 19 th cheat day:
However, since my body has grown accustomed to eating healthy, unprocessed, low sugar food all week long, splurging on Saturday often leaves me feeling sick to my stomach with a short-lasting sugar high. At first, I was skeptical of the cheat day because I did not want to ruin everything I had just done for myself for the last six days prior. However, Tim addresses this concern by stating, “paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction.” To give you an example of how much I go food crazy every Saturday, here is a list of everything I ate on my January 19 th cheat day:
- 4 strips of bacon
- 2 glazed doughnuts, one of which was Bavarian-filled
- Amaretto-flavored pancakes - thanks to my roommate, Jason! =)
- Slice of Deluxe Pizza from Sal’s
- Two Diet Cokes
- 1/2 bag of Crunchy Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos
- Loaded Baked Potato Griller from Taco Bell
- Orange Juice
- Burnin' Love Burger and Fries from Red Robin
I go out of my way to purchase as much candy, chocolate, ice cream, chips, and fast food as possible on my one day off per week. I have to make sure I don't have the desire to consume even a single chocolate morsel until the following cheat day. I'm sure if you ever tried the SCD, you’d probably have a fairly similar list
of items.
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