Benefits of 'cheat' meals

People often ask me about cheat meals/how often I have a 'cheat/treat' meal or day.
The answer to that is, I do IIFYM and although my foods are mainly wholefoods that are considered 'clean' I do incorporate 'non clean' foods too. I don't usually plan a cheat on a particular day, if say..I have a party to attend or it's someone's birthday and we go out for food or maybe my mum goes out and buys my fave cake ..then I'll eat it. Sometimes It'll fit my macros, which is great. Other times I'll go over my macros. I don't stress about it though, 'cheat days' are actually beneficial for bodybuilding and here's why: 

When you're training every day, your glycogen stores often become depleted..resulting in decreased performance and strength. Increasing your food intake and eating 'non clean' foods can really boost your glycogen stores and be very beneficial to your workouts. 

Also, when you've been dieting for a while, your metabolism tends to slow down. Because your body goes into 'starvation mode' it slows your metabolism down in order to preserve food sources. When you have a cheat/refeed day it kickstarts your metabolism! This means, your body will be less used to running on a low calorie diet, meaning it'll be easier to get lean. This is why physique competitors can remain relatively lean even when they're eating over 300g of carbs daily, they've trained their metabolism. 

Leptin

What is it? 

Leptin's main function in the body is to play a significant role in regulating both hunger, food intake and energy expenditure. As leptin levels fall, the greater your cravings become for all those wonderful foods that you used to eat when you weren't dieting!
How to raise Leptin levels: The goal is to raise the leptin levels to avoid this feeling of intense hunger and kick start your metabolism! 

Why is it important for women? 
When leptin gets too low the female reproduction hormones and therefore the menstural cycle comes to a halt. This can lead to a variety of problems such as decreased bone mass/density and osteoporosis. 


Therefore, don't be afraid of treating yourself once in a while, it's really okay...It may be just what your body needs. You may have reached a plateau and some rest and more food could be very beneficial to you. The body is a remarkable thing..fat loss/muscle gain is not as simple as eating more or eating less. Sometimes, upping your carbs can make you leaner! crazy right? 

My fave cheats: Ben and Jerry's, Cookies, Pizza, M&M'S (although, I eat these often) , Doughnuts, Custard slices.