Cheating in a diet: what is it, how does it affect the process of losing weight

To cheat on a diet or not to cheat? This is an eternal question.

Almost everyone occasionally succumbs to the temptation to eat something from the list of foods prohibited on a diet. In this guide, you will learn whether cheating is acceptable on a low-carb diet and how to do it right if you decide to resort to it.

Truth be told, we don't like the term “cheating.” We use it because many people are used to it, but what does it really mean? Does this mean you avoid the consequences of doing wrong? Does this mean you have the right to break your diet? What this term really means is that you are simply deceiving yourself. Therefore, we prefer the term “deviating from the plan.” However, since the term “cheating” is commonly used by many who diet, we also use it in this guide.

Bad reasons

Politeness or desire to conform

Aunt Martha can handle your refusal of her sweet dessert. You'll surprise your lunch partner when you replace the potatoes with an extra serving of vegetables, but only for your first few meals together. Do not overestimate the interests of other people, put above your preferences and goals, which following a diet will help you achieve.

Remember, people tend to focus on their own experiences.

However, some people may be overly interested in your food choices. When this happens, be prepared to respond briefly: “Sorry, I have a sensitive stomach.”

Impulsiveness

When, after a working day, you involuntarily reach for a cup of sweets, this is unacceptable cheating. Deciding to finish off your child's plate with a few French fries isn't going to make you happy.

Planned and well-organized cheating can expand the possibilities of a diet, but accidental cheating only interferes with it. Always try to stick to your cheating plan.

Poor planning

The foods and dishes you choose for cheating should be tasty. Eating a two-day-old sandwich is not the best option.

Keep quality low-carb “just in case” foods in your car, purse, or briefcase so you don’t have to cheat just because you’re hungry.

Check out our guide to low carb snacks.
For information on how to eat in restaurants and eateries, read the material “How to adhere to the keto diet in establishments.”

Rules and recommendations

In order not to regret later that you gained weight after cheating, you should take into account the basic tips and rules given by the author of the method:

You need to plan your “loading” in advance, choosing products and creating a menu, so there is less chance of overeating. Before carrying out it, you can arrange a complete unloading, for example, cleanse the body using autophagy.
On the selected days, you can consume any of your favorite foods. However, if possible, preference should still be given to something useful. For example, instead of a cake or pastry, it is better to choose dried fruits with cream and nuts.
It is worth limiting the consumption of fast carbohydrates, giving preference to slow ones.
It is advisable to do no more than two days of cheating during the diet in a row. However, with tight calorie control, you can indulge a little more.
Keeping your calories in check is extremely important. For the correct process, 1000-2000 kilocalories can be added to the usual amount, depending on the initial indicators.
To maintain water balance, as during a diet, the amount of liquid you drink per day should be at least 1.5-2 liters.
Depending on the duration of your chosen diet, cheating can be done once or twice a week. For example, on a two-week diet, just one two-day cheat is enough. If the duration is from 30 days to six months, then it won’t hurt to arrange a download every week.

During cheating, it is not advisable to smoke, drink alcoholic beverages, energy drinks, coffee, strong black or green tea. It is optimal to replace all this with light diluted juices, smoothies, and herbal teas.

Good reasons

1.Desire to stick to the keto diet long term

The low carb lifestyle lasts forever, if you go back to your old eating habits and diet, the unwanted disease or pounds will come back into your life.

Although it sounds a little counterintuitive, occasional, intentional cheating can help some people stick to a low-carb lifestyle in the long term. For example:

Knowing that you can cheat from time to time reduces the feeling that you are limiting yourself.
A planned keto cheat helps you eat and enjoy regular foods from time to time.
Scheduled cheating allows you to add variety to your diet

Most of us don't set out to be perfect. Cheat consciously, and then immediately return to the low-carb diet you love.

Some may find it more difficult to return to their usual keto diet after a temporary cheat. Which camp do you belong to? You may have to experiment to find out, but the knowledge you gain will expand your options and help you decide whether your planned “sabotage” will work or not.

2.Take advantage of rare opportunities

You love the pumpkin pie that a dear family friend makes just once a year... Maybe this is a reason to deviate a little from your usual low-carb eating routine.

Or that carefully seasoned pyramid of couscous served with stew on your once-in-a-lifetime trip to Morocco... Then again, maybe a valid reason to break the keto diet (if you love couscous).

Sometimes it is acceptable to deviate from the principles of diet in order to enjoy unique moments, tastes or aromas.

But keep in mind, birthday cake is not a rare or special occasion.

Advantages and disadvantages of cheating in training

Cheating has few advantages:

Allows maximum load on the target muscles.
Promotes progress.
Can add variety to the training process.

The method has more disadvantages:

Cheating in any exercise is a traumatic process.
It is performed only with free weights, and it is not applicable to every exercise.
Cannot be performed if injured.
Not suitable for beginners.
Cannot be used in heavy exercises such as squats and deadlifts.

Side effects of cheating

As we've discovered, there are bad reasons and good reasons to cheat on keto. What are the typical side effects of cheating?

Fasting and cravings for food (and carbohydrates)

Many carbohydrates make you feel hungry. You know this feeling if you've given up carbohydrates for any significant period of time. By resorting to cheating, you create conditions for increased hunger and uncontrollable cravings for food.

Weight gain

Cheating almost always results in immediate weight gain. First, a large amount of carbohydrates consumed puts the body into fat storage mode. Secondly, carbohydrates can make you feel hungry and want to eat again, causing you to overeat. Thirdly, weight returns from water, which is retained in the body due to a high-carbohydrate diet.

Want to look and feel better? Cheat rarely and with caution.

Increased blood sugar levels

If you're following the keto diet to manage your diabetes, cheating is generally a bad idea. When you eat too many carbohydrates, your blood sugar can rise to dangerously high levels. In the long term, you increase the risk of serious complications such as blindness, dementia, amputations, etc.

On the other hand, every time you manage to avoid cheating, you are one step closer to beating type 2 diabetes.

For people with diabetes or pre-diabetes, the cost of cheating may be prohibitive.

Diseases and acne

For some of us, cheating can lead to dramatic and rather unpleasant consequences - bloating, indigestion, gas, or even seizures (if you have epilepsy). For some, cheating can result in acne and other types of skin problems. Do you suffer from acne? Read our articles about the causes of acne, how to get rid of acne, and how the keto diet affects acne and skin conditions.

If this happens to you, will you still think cheating is worth it?

Bad feeling

One of the most annoying effects of cheating is that you often feel bad after cheating. Besides weight gain, blood sugar spikes, and so on, cheating can affect your mood. Enthusiasm, focus and self-confidence decline.

After such changes, it is difficult to return to normal again, so as time passes, the decision to engage in cheating seems increasingly dubious.

addictive

For those with a sugar (or carbohydrate) addiction, cheating is potentially very dangerous. Sugar addiction is most likely real. While the scientific debate continues, many scientists agree that sugar is psychoactive because it triggers the pleasure centers in your brain (similar to other addictive drugs). As a result, addiction relapse may occur immediately.

What can happen when an alcoholic drinks just one glass? The same effect can happen to a sugar addict. Not everyone can control the amount they eat; the only safe choice may be to completely abstain from consuming sugar.

Self-deception

Finally, let's be clear about what cheating means. Simply put, “cheating” in English means:

Take something from someone by breaking a rule
Prevent someone from getting what they want or expect to get.

Remember: when you deviate from your low-carb eating habits, you lose. You are not cheating on the “diet” - you are cheating yourself.

Cheating without cheating

Is it possible to deviate from your diet occasionally without feeling guilty or causing side effects? Certainly. These tips will teach you how to cheat without cheating.

Find Low Carb Substitutions

Do you really want a slice of pizza? Before you eat mediocre pizza that will add extra pounds, how about making a delicious and healthy keto pizza?

Can't do without bread? Avoid the blood sugar spike from eating your usual store-bought bread, and instead make and enjoy this amazing keto bread!

Would you like some dessert? Before you eat anything less healthy, try fat bombs, coconut milk and chocolate pudding and brownies! Once you try them, you won't be able to give them up.

We have a huge number of low-carb recipes on our website with the foods you crave. Cheat by choosing low-carb foods so you can enjoy the amazing flavors and flavors of your meals without ruining your keto diet. This is cheating without cheating.

Trick your mind with delay tactics

Craving a chocolate croissant at your breakfast buffet? Tell yourself, “I can take it, I’ll just eat something else first.” Grab scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and other low-carb favorites. Eat as much as you want. What will happen? The craving for a croissant has weakened that I no longer even want to try it. Great!

Want to have dessert at dinner when you're visiting someone? Tell yourself, “I’ll wait and drink hot chocolate when I get home.” Later, at home, you won’t even remember how your friends ate that tempting dessert. This psychological trick helps reduce the desire for something sweet and makes it easier to give up chocolate or forbidden dessert!

These are examples of mind games that many of us play to avoid cheating. They really work. Use these techniques to help you stay on track with your keto diet.

If you really want to avoid cheating, for example, with sugar addiction, use the classic tool. Tell yourself that yes, you can get what you want, but tomorrow. Definitely not today, but tomorrow you can try it.

Of course, tomorrow you will use the same tool.

Trick your hunger with low-carb snacks

Are you haunted by hunger, do you want more carbohydrates? Keeping low-carb snacks on hand is a great way to satisfy your hunger before it gets the better of you.

Bring low-carb snacks like walnuts, macadamia nuts or Babybel cheese. When hunger strikes, eat low-carb foods to help curb serious temptations.

Check out our guide to low carb snacks.

When doing intermittent fasting, eat more fat while cheating.

If you're doing intermittent fasting, it can sometimes be a little difficult to go all day without eating. If you feel tempted to end your fast earlier than planned, try eating some pure fat - add coconut oil or butter to your coffee or tea.

This will help you satisfy your hunger without taking you out of the fat-burning state that is achieved through intermittent fasting.

By calculating the caloric content and writing a list of foods that you can eat, it is easier to control yourself. There is less chance that you will give in to temptation and empty the refrigerator completely. Take a calendar and a piece of paper on which to write down the day of cheating and the dishes you plan to eat. Be sure to calculate their calorie content so as not to go beyond 2500 kcal. Try to eat only a light salad in the late afternoon, or even better, limit yourself to yogurt or kefir - this will make it easier to readjust and continue your diet.

For 1 day

You don't have to eat junk food to boost your metabolism. A cheating diet may contain proteins, fats and carbohydrates. You can include higher-calorie fruits and vegetables in your grocery list. A one-day menu might look like this:

Breakfast: oatmeal or any other porridge with the addition of peeled fruits or berries.
Lunch: a slice of dark chocolate.
Lunch: sorrel soup, popularly called green borscht, and for the main course - any meat, which is better baked with vegetables.
Afternoon snack: any sweet treat: ice cream, cake or pie.
Dinner: vegetable salad with feta or cheese and fish baked in foil with lemon and herbs.
A few hours before bedtime: a glass of kefir.

For the weekend

It often turns out that weekends are accompanied by visits or trips to nature. All this implies lavish feasts, during which it is difficult to control oneself and diet is out of the question. Some people who lose weight allow themselves to relax on the weekend. An example menu might look like this:

1 day:

Breakfast. Oatmeal with nuts and dried fruits, yogurt, candy.
Dinner. Puree vegetable soup, seasoned with croutons, sea salad, freshly squeezed juice.
Afternoon snack. Cocoa with cupcake.
Dinner. Mashed potatoes with fish, cucumber salad, green tea.

Day 2:

Breakfast. Buckwheat, any fruit salad, yogurt or ice cream.
Dinner. Soup with meatballs and vegetables, fish baked in foil or steamed.
Afternoon snack. Cream cake, tea.
Dinner. Vegetable salad, baked chicken fillet, apple.

Cheat wisely

While we don't encourage cheating, we want you to do it in the most correct way possible.

Cheat consciously

Be responsible and cheat wisely. Are you better at following a diet with a strict daily routine and an occasional day off when you can afford to eat something less healthy? Or will you feel less food constrained by making small daily changes to your low-carb diet? Can you maintain your weight by breaking the keto diet twice a week? Know yourself and your preferences.

You can make notes in your diary. Try this:

Write down why and when you broke your diet. Keeping a log will help you evaluate how often you cheat and understand the side effects.
Set clear rules about the frequency and type of cheating that is acceptable for you, as well as what you will never allow yourself. Write these rules down and post them in a visible place.

When cheating, use low-carb foods

This rule is obvious, but many people do not follow it. If you have to eat regular pizza, it is better to choose a thin crust than a thick one.

If you decide to enjoy dessert, wouldn't it be better to drink a cup of chocolate mousse or eat a piece of cheesecake, since they contain less carbs than that piece of layer cake? All three desserts are sweet, but mousse and cheesecake contain more fat and fewer carbohydrates than layer cake.

Choose small portions for cheating

The fewer carbohydrates you eat, the better. If you decide to eat something that doesn't fit into your diet, how about a small portion that's just enough for one bite?

For example, if you want something sweet, it is better to ask a friend or colleague for a small piece than to order a whole portion for yourself. Or you can order one dessert to share with your companion.

Don't be afraid to leave sweet or starchy foods on your plate after a bite or two. Throw away the remaining portion without regret. You also need to end cheating on a keto diet consciously, realizing the need to end it.

Cheat after meals

Yes, grandma was right when she insisted that we eat chocolate chip cookies only after we had finished lunch. Meal timing really matters.

Starting with healthy low-carb or keto meals can reduce your desire to eat unhealthy foods. Thus, the violation of the diet may be minor. In addition, the initial consumption of protein and fat slows down the absorption of glucose into the blood and reduces the intensity of the rise in blood sugar.

Cheat at the end of the day

Stick to a low-carb diet throughout the day, planning to eat carbohydrates only after dinner. Firstly, it limits the time you cheat, and secondly, it allows you to stay in a low-carb mode for most of the day. If you're aiming for mild ketosis, cheating later in the day increases the amount of time you spend burning ketone bodies.

Cheating with less sugar

Once you've adapted to a low-carb diet, your tastes change, especially your sensitivity to sugar. Sweet treats that once tasted just sweet will now have a rich, sweet, cloying taste. Enjoy dark chocolate; add less sugar to yogurt.

However, when it comes to sugar, the less sugar the better.

Add some fat while cheating

Add butter to bread, top peaches with cream, and serve crackers with cheese.

When you combine your favorite high-carb foods with tasty, healthy fats, you'll eat fewer carbs but feel more full. You'll slow down the absorption of glucose into the blood and reduce blood sugar spikes, which means less insulin production, less hunger...and you'll only benefit.

Eat only high-quality food while cheating

Count the number of carbohydrates. Don't splurge on the regular supermarket lemon pie your neighbor brought you one day. Instead, grab your favorite slice of lemon pie from that street corner bakery.

Choose what you love, appreciate cheating for moments like these.

Cheat before or after physical activity

The best time to cheat is before or after physical activity. If you eat carbohydrates before your workout, your activity will burn some of them, they won't turn into body fat.

If you schedule a cheat immediately after your workout, your glycogen stores are depleted at this point, so some of the carbohydrates you eat will replenish glycogen rather than being converted into fat.

But the effect of exercise should not be overestimated. This is not as important as many people think. While physical activity can reduce the damage caused by occasional cheating, it simply won't reverse the effects of poor diet.

Finally: Returning to your diet after cheating should be immediate.

When it comes to cheating, the old saying applies: get back on track! If you break your own rules while cheating, don't punish yourself. Remember that this happens to everyone - yes, everyone - sometimes. So go back to low carb.

Follow these guidelines:

Be prepared to feel hungry

Prepare yourself for the increased feeling of hunger and appetite that usually comes after cheating. Think again, evaluate everything, and don't look back. Can you do it!

Learn from your cheating experience

Analyze the situation that led to cheating. Understanding your desires and eating habits will help you avoid future failures. This is a normal process - you need to continue to learn and improve.

Forgive yourself

There is no need to punish yourself for resorting to cheating. Be kind to yourself. A low-carb diet is a journey, just like life, with different moments happening. Don't get upset over little things. Think about your long-term goal and return to a low-carb diet with confidence.

This will not only help you feel better - it will also help you succeed. Negative emotions weaken willpower and make it easier to become addicted to new temptations, creating a vicious cycle. Instead, strive to forgive yourself immediately. The cheating is done, it's over, it was just a small event in life. The important thing is that you return to your diet.

What is cheating in bodybuilding?

Cheating is a technical element in the training process aimed at achieving maximum fatigue and muscle development. Cheating can also serve as one of the elements of the method of breaking through a “plateau” in the development of sports performance.

The cheating technique is not always performed by engaging non-target muscles in the movement; there are also options such as beating weights. For example, in a barbell press, when the bar jerks away from the chest. This exercise is rarely used by powerlifters in their training. For powerlifting, cheating is not a popular technique, since it does not help to perform the exercise correctly from a judge’s point of view.