Who would have thought that there are rules to follow on a day with cheat in its name? Well there is a method to this day of indulgence. Below we will show you the three simple steps to take so that you will potentially go out of cheat day losing weight. Say what?
Step 1: Gauge How Strict Your Weekly Diet Is
Essentially, how clean do you eat? If you find yourself straying away from your nutrition goals on a daily basis, well a cheat day will not benefit you. If you find yourself eating one clean meal per day, a cheat day will not benefit you. The objective is to eat clean 6 days per week and reserve one day to abolish all inhibitions. If six days per week you’re staying true to your diet by eating clean and one day you’re not; at the end of the week you’re still on the right track. Think of it as 6 steps forward and one step back. By the end of the week you’re still 5 steps forward, you see? Once, and only if, you can confidently achieve this step can you celebrate cheat day; and move on to steps 2 and 3.
Step 2: Increase Carbohydrate Intake to 3x Bodyweight (In grams)
Take for example, if you weigh 150 pounds then you would consume 450 grams of carbohydrates. We’ve already covered this topic in our previous article; Naturally Increase Testosterone Levels While Cutting. Essentially, eating copious amounts of carbohydrates will spike insulin levels. Insulin releases testosterone from Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), which traps testosterone in the bloodstream. So, we devote one day where we eat all the carbohydrates we can. Spike that insulin, and abolish the testosterone!
Step 3: Increase Salt Intake
This step may be a new idea for you; you may even be uncomfortable with it. However, increasing salt intake one day per week will actually draw excess water, toxins, and other free radicals out of the cells in your body. It is important to remember that salt should otherwise throughout the week be kept low in order for this to work, try to shoot for around 500mg of sodium per serving; so, if you’re eating four meals per day that comes to about 2000mg of sodium per day (what the FDA recommends). Consistent high levels of salt present in the body will have an opposite effect due to osmosis. So if done right, by eating anything more than 500mg of sodium per serving, you will lose weight (mostly water weight) for a couple days following cheat day. The day after your cheat day you should drink an abundance of water to flush out any residual high concentrations of salt.
One last thing to note, these numbers are all starting points. Follow this for two weeks, and take note for any improvements. If your body isn’t responding as you’d expect, with any changes to your physique or strength, then up the carbohydrates. If your body is responding adversely then cut back on the carbohydrates by a little bit (Start at 2.5x Bodyweight for carbohydrates). In either case, maintaining the sodium shouldn’t affect you too much unless you’re hypertensive. That’s it. Follow these three steps and your cheat day will be successful. You’ve earned it.
Once you can achieve step 1 you may celebrate cheat day.
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