How to Curb Sugar Cravings

by

Josh Bezoni- How to Curb Sugar Cravings

When sugar cravings hit, they can be nearly impossible to suppress. How many times have you tried to stick to a diet, only to be met with an an insatiable desire for something sweet, and found yourself scarfing down a Reese’s peanut butter cup you found in your child’s Halloween candy while they’re at school? If this sounds like you, you’re not alone.

Why we crave sugar

Depriving yourself of something makes you want it even more; this idea has been proven by scientists, but it’s also common sense. One of the main reasons people become addicted to sugar is because refined sugar depletes the body of chromium, magnesium, zinc, B vitamins, and manganese, leading to increased cravings. Another reason people crave sugar, Dr. Mark Hyman explains, is biochemical in nature. Sugar has an addictive quality; when you consume sugar, it impairs your dopamine receptors, causing you to build up a “tolerance,” to sugar, so to speak, and making you crave it more each time.

Why too much sugar is bad for you

The human body needs sugar to function; it regulates your blood sugar levels and is converted into energy that the body needs to survive. However, too much sugar is a bad thing. Natural sugar, glucose, can be found in many foods, such as fruit, but it is added sugar that you need to look out for, which serves no real purpose other than excess energy, and can be detrimental to your health. In addition to causing cavities and weight gain, a buildup of glucose in the pancreas causes a “sugar rush,” followed by a “sugar crash.” The brain responds to too much glucose by producing the chemical serotonin, which makes you tired, and the pancreas responds by producing insulin. Too much insulin will dull the hunger hormone, leptin, causing you to feel hungry and crave more sugar . Essentially, it tricks your body into thinking it’s hungry even if it’s not.

How to stop craving sugar

Although it can be very difficult to stop craving sugar, it is not impossible. The first thing you can do in transitioning to a low-sugar diet is to substitute other foods to satisfy your cravings. For instance, when you’re craving something sweet, reach for fruit instead, which contains healthy levels of natural glucose and can help combat deficiencies such as carbon, chromium, and sulfur linked with sugar cravings. Next, gradually remove all sugary foods from your house, or (if other household members are not adopting the same diet), make sure they’re stored in a place you will not be tempted to raid during the day.

Curbing your sugar cravings will take some hard work and dedication on your part, but your body will thank you for it, making it all worth it in the end!

You CAN Eat Out and Eat Healthy!

by

pexels-photo-332090

Going out to eat is one of America’s greatest pastimes. As much as you may value the home cooked meal, restaurants are a hot commodity. They’re not just a place to go- they’re an experience. What’s not to like about kicking back after a long day in a relaxed atmosphere with friends or family where you don’t have to cook for yourself and can choose from a plethora of food and drink options? Oh yeah…some of those options may not be so healthy if you’re trying to be conscious about what you eat.

It may be difficult, at certain restaurants, to find a tasty meal while also staying true to your diet. But it is NOT impossible. Most restaurants keep the health-conscious customer in mind and make an effort to offer a few clean eating options, but some are better than others. Here are five restaurants that have made healthy food a priority:

  • Panera Bread

You may think of Panera as a carb heaven with its giant bread bowl soups and indulgent mac and cheese, but the popular fast food chain has made some major positive overhauls to its menu since 2005, gradually removing items that don’t fit its health standards. The company has removed trans fats, artificial colors, sweeteners, flavors and preservatives from all of its recipes. Additionally, Panera prides itself on being completely transparent about what goes into their food, so they provide lists of ingredients for all of the items on their menu. Panera is also transparent about where all of their food is sourced from and advocates animal welfare, so it only uses meat from animals that were raised in reduced-stress, antibiotic-free environments.

  • Chipotle

Chipotle gives the customer the power to take control of their diet by providing an array of fresh, high-quality ingredients. Since 1993, the company has had the same goal: “show that food served fast [doesn’t] have to be a ‘fast-food’ experience.” To make good on their promise, Chipotle uses organic produce whenever possible and only uses meat from responsibly-raised animals. Sure, if you’re building your own burrito bowl and load it with every topping available, that may not be so healthy, but if you’re conscious about what you put into your order, you can have a really healthy eating experience at Chipotle. If you’re looking for a good clean eating choice, try this: a burrito bowl with grilled chicken, black beans, fajita vegetables, lettuce, slasa, and guacamole.

  • Sweetgreen

This chain, founded in Washington D.C. in 2007, has expanded to several states since then, including California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Healthy food sells. The restaurant’s goal is simple: to inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food. This means they connect with small and mid-size farms to provide fresh and local ingredients and they are transparents about the ingredients that go into their food and where they came from. The menu changes seasonally to incorporate local, fresh ingredients. Looking for menu inspiration? Try the Harvest Bowl with wild rice, shredded kale, apples, sweet potatoes, roasted chicken, goat cheese, almonds, and balsamic vinaigrette.

  • LYFE Kitchen

Believe it or not, this “health casual” restaurant is actually the brainchild of former McDonald’s executives, who founded the company in 2011. The acronym LYFE stands for “Love Your Food  Everyday,” and it is the company’s mission to make that possible for their customers by consistently providing “flavorful, nourishing experiences and extraordinary service.” Unfortunately, you can only experience the restaurant’s fresh, high-quality food if you live in California, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, or Tennessee, but with food this good, the restaurant is bound to expand into new markets.

  • Freshly

So freshly is not a physical restaurant per se, but I figured it’s worth highlighting here because it makes healthy eating at home easy and accessible. You’ve probably heard of meal delivery services like Blue Apron and HelloFresh that send you a weekly box of ingredients and recipes so that you can prepare healthy meals from home, but Freshly essentially delivers the restaurant experience to your door by delivering healthy meals that are already cooked. Their mission is to “make you happy, healthy, and more free to pursue your passions.” Freshly takes all the work out of healthy eating and all of its meals are gluten-free and prepared by top chefs with fresh, all-natural ingredients.

These five restaurants offering clean eating options are just a few among many. Restaurants all around the world are catching onto the clean eating craze, with restaurants like B.good, Au Bon Pain, Pret a Manger using only fresh, high-quality ingredients, and even less traditionally healthy fast food restaurants like McDonald’s adding healthy options to their menus.

You May Be Mislead About Bread

by

Josh Bezoni- You may be mislead about Bread

Garlic bread. Bread sticks. Ciabatta. Focaccia. Pita bread. Naan. Sourdough. Rye. Brioche. Pizza. Grilled cheese. Bread comes in many delectable forms, but bread is a carb and therefore, we have been led to believe that it’s bad for us- encouraged to avoid the very thing many of us so often crave. However, unless you have a gluten allergy, there’s no reason for you to cut bread out of your diet if you want to stay healthy. Contrary to popular belief, not all bread is bad for you! It’s simply a matter of knowing which breads won’t wreck your diet, and which to avoid. Lucky for you, I’ve done my research and found some healthy breads out there and targeted some not-so-healthy options. So the next time you’re in the supermarket trying to decide which bread to pull off the shelf, keep this advice in mind.

Belly-bulging breads

There are certain red-flags to look out for when buying bread, namely hydrogenated oils/trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and wheat flour. Some breads may appear to be healthy, but you need to read the label first! For instance, just because the bread has “wheat” in the name doesn’t make it healthy. Read the ingredients to make sure the bread is made with 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain. Anything else is likely made with refined white flour. Whole grains are the best for your diet, as they’re naturally low-fat and cholesterol free.

Here are some culprits to look out for:

  • The Mission 96% Fat Free Flour Tortillas: Just because they claim to be mostly fat free doesn’t make them healthy! These tortillas contain hydrogenated oils/trans fats, which can cause belly fat, and other more threatening health problems like heart disease.
  • Sara Lee Soft and Smooth Honey 100% Whole Wheat Bread: This option may sound healthy since it’s 100% whole wheat, but again look at the ingredients: it contains high fructose corn syrup which can make you hungrier.
  • Wonder’s Original English Muffins: There are much better English muffin options out there, as this one is made with refined wheat flour (not 100% whole wheat) and contains high fructose corn syrup.

Belly-flattening breads

Don’t despair. There are some healthy options out there if you know what to look for! There are plenty of healthy supermarket options that are high in fiber, made with 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grains, low in sodium, and low in saturated fat.

Here are a few good choices to get you started:

  • Food for Life Genesis 1:29 bread: It’s made with sprouted grains and seeds.
  • Oroweat English Muffins
  • Thomas’ Better Start English Muffins

Well, that’s all for now! Always look at the ingredients of whatever you’re buying. If you know what to look out for, then there’s nothing keeping you from consuming some of your favorite foods! For more health and nutrition advice, check out my articles on joshbezoni.com.

Healthy Hair, Healthy You

by

 

 

wbcjnydjuwk-josh-dorazio-compressorHave you ever watched a shampoo commercial and thought, How is her hair so smooth and shiny? No one’s hair actually looks like that! You wouldn’t be alone in those thoughts, but if you thought lustrous commercial-worthy hair was only possible thanks to professional products and some not-so-secret video editing, think again. Getting soft, strong, and shiny hair that’s healthy from root to tip is easier than you think. The cold winter weather and direct heat from the hair dryer can be especially rough on hair, but they’re not the only culprits. A poor diet may be the biggest offender, so simply adopting a healthy diet of nutrient-rich foods can do wonders for your hair, turning your dry, dull strands into the luminous locks you envy on tv.

Try incorporating these six healthy foods into your diet and marvel at the transformation of your hair!

1. Chicken Unless you’re a vegetarian, you should definitely be incorporating a healthy serving of chicken into your diet to get the protein benefits it provides. But any old chicken won’t fly. Unfortunately, chicken nuggets and fried chicken are high in fat and lose a lot of their health benefits. Try tossing some grilled chicken into a salad or with some healthy grains, such as quinoa or brown rice, on the side. Chicken is a high-protein food that is rich in the vitamins folate, B6, and B12 that are crucial for maintaining healthy hair. These vitamins aid in the production of red blood cells that deliver oxygen throughout the body so a deficiency of these vitamins could result in stunted hair growth, and weak and brittle strands.

2. Chickpeas Hummus not only tastes great, but it’s great for you as well! Chickpeas, whether ground up into hummus or tossed into a salad, are a perfect healthy snack. Chickpeas are a great protein substitute for vegetarians because they’re high in folate and zinc, as well as keratins, hardened proteins that keep hair strong and durable.

3. Peanuts Salted peanuts may be high in sodium, but eaten in moderation, they are full of the vitamins biotin and folate, both great for healthy hair. Biotin, another B vitamin, contributes to hair growth and a healthy scalp.

4. Beans You know that joke about beans being good for your heart, despite causing flatulence? Well, they really are good for you, and not just your heart, but your entire body…so maybe you should have listened to your mom when she tried to get you to eat your beans! Legumes are high in folate and iron, which both contribute to healthy hair. Folate helps produce red blood cells, while iron helps blood cells transport oxygen and other nutrients throughout the body, together working to prevent hair loss and strengthen your strands.

5. Kale You probably don’t need me to tell you healthy kale is. It’s one of those green superfoods touted by nutritionists everywhere for its health benefits. You should listen up, though, because kale is rich in iron and beta carotene. Beta carotene is converted by the body into Vitamin A, which is needed for cell growth and replenishment. Without enough vitamin A, you’ll be left with a dry, itchy scalp. Vitamin A also produces sebum, a natural oil put out by hair follicles, keeping hair well-hydrated.

6. Strawberries See, this list is really not so painful, right? Strawberries are a sweet, delicious fruit and they also happen to contain a high level of Vitamin C, which helps the keep collagen (the fiber that maintains hair structure) healthy. A deficiency in this vital vitamin can cause dryness and split ends, making hair more prone to breakage. Eight strawberries is all it takes to reach the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C, so fill up on strawberries or each just a couple and wash them down with a swig of orange juice, and you should be good to go!

Who knew that healthy hair and a healthy body were so closely related? A simple diet combining high-protein foods such as fruits, veggies, nuts, and legumes can transform your hair from blah to wow in a matter of days, while keeping you healthy at the same time.

Beware the Shady Scale

by

Feet_on_scaleIf there’s one thing dieters hate even more than the prospect of losing weight and altering their eating habits, it’s stepping onto the scale and obsessing over the little numbers that glare up at them. Who would think such a simple mechanism could hold so much power over our psyches and self-esteem? Taken out of context, the numbers that appear don’t mean anything-they merely represent a numerical value, but for many people trying to lose weight, those numbers are everything. Many place their entire self-worth into their weight.

Well, I have some good news. You may think that the only way you’ll ever lose weight is to keep daily tabs on the number on the scale, but I want everyone to know that’s not the case. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make in their weight loss plan is to weigh themselves every day. This torturous act is both unnecessary and inaccurate.

There’s a fine line between control and compulsion. It’s good to take control of your weight, and for some, monitoring one’s weight regularly is a strategy for staying in control. But this routine can easily turn into an obsession and that’s where the scale becomes dangerous, leading to discouragement or even the development of an eating disorder.

Here are some specific reasons why checking your weight daily can be dangerous:

Discouragement: It’s easy to feel defeated when the numbers on the scale don’t reflect all the effort you put into your weight loss plan. You may think, “But that’s not fair! I gave up sweets and exercised every day this week! How have I not lost any weight?” Sometimes, when we expect the numbers on the scale to go down, they defy our expectations and go up. This is normal and, as frustrating as it may be, you’re not alone. However, if you become discouraged every time you experience a setback in your weight loss goals, you could easily decide to throw in the towel completely and give up on your diet.

Not an accurate representation: It may be easy to become discouraged, but before you give into negativity, you need to realize that daily fluctuation of your weight is completely natural. The main reason you may have lost a few pounds one day only to gain it back the next day (with no drastic changes to your diet) is water retention. Minor fluctuations are natural and occur daily, so instead of weighing yourself every day and fixating on the short-term, you should focus on long-term goals.

There are much better ways to assess if your weight loss efforts are paying off. Primarily, it comes down to how you feel. Do you feel healthy? Does your body feel a little tighter and leaner? Are your clothes fitting more loosely? Do you feel like you have more energy and strength propelling you through the day? Is exercising becoming easier. These are the questions you should be asking yourself. Becoming a healthier version of yourself isn’t all about losing weight, and it’s most often a gradual process that’s more like a marathon than a sprint. Keep in mind, muscle actually weighs more than fat and the scale won’t be able to tell if you’ve lost fat and gained muscle.

So, what can you do to monitor your weight without becoming addicted to the scale? For starters, get into the habit of weighing yourself less. Cutting your weigh-ins down to once a week rather than every day will allow you to focus on your goals without becoming discouraged. It will also help to be consistent, so weigh yourself on the same scale at the same time of day on the same day of the week. If you want the most accurate reading, you should weigh yourself in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Make it one of the first things you do when you get up, because as you eat and drink throughout the day, your weight will fluctuate.

If there’s one piece of advice you should take away from this article, it’s not to become discouraged! Losing weight is not a competition and everyone goes at it at their own pace. What matters is that you make a concerted effort. Weight loss takes time, but if you stick to your goals and limit yourself to one weigh-in per week, you’ll start to notice results.

Stress-Eat in Style

by

Stress Eat, Josh BezoniSo many of us struggle with stress eating. The struggle of daily life can feel overwhelming and in an attempt to cope, we stuff our mouths and stomachs with fatty comfort foods. Yet, this only exacerbates the issue. As stress mounts, our waistlines expand and our self-esteem shrinks—but what if there were a way to eat and lose pounds? What if there was a way to eat comfort foods that make us feel don’t just make us feel comfortable, but make us feel better?

There is! Seriously. Here are some fantastic healthy alternatives to traditional ‘comfort foods:’

Oatmeal: Oatmeal has carbs, a LOT of them. Carbs tell your brain to make serotonin. Serotonin=happy hormone. Therefore, if you eat oatmeal, you will be happy. Though this is a simple explanation for why oatmeal is such an awesome substitute, it is more or less the extent of it. Oatmeal also coerces a steady blood sugar response, which one, is great for your waistline and metabolism, and two, means steady serotonin.

Oranges: The beloved fruit of Florida decreases cortisol levels in humans. Cortisol is the body’s number one stress hormone. So more oranges equal less stress. Plus, oranges have been proven to reduce blood pressure levels when people are subject to stressful circumstances.

Turkey: The staple of Thanksgiving boasts an amino acid that goes by L-tryptophan, and L-Tryptophan also triggers serotonin release which means it triggers happy for you.

Salmon: Salmon and many other types of fish have a very large count of omega-3 fatty acids. Although ‘fatty acids’ may not exude undertones of fresh, healthy, nutrition, these do. In fact, they incite a reduction in stress levels when consumed in appropriate servings. According to a study published in none other than the respected Diabetes & Metabolism, omega 3s prevent cortisol events from peaking. Another study conducted in Michigan went so far as to say that omega 3s decrease anxiety by an astounding 20%.

Avocados: Everyone’s new favorite food has wonderful nutritional benefits when consumed in moderation. Their high potassium content helps reduce stress-induced spikes in blood pressure. Although bananas may get all the credit for potassium, avocados actually have more!

These are just a few foods that provide a tremendous alternative to more generic comfort foods. The next time you open the freezer to look for a gallon of ice cream, consider eating something that not only tastes good, but is good for you.

Double Fat Loss Today

by

Josh Bezoni, Diet, Fat LossWhen we are first being taught about nutrition, the Food Pyramid always springs to the forefront of conversation. Claiming that grains (made up of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta) make up the base of the food pyramid, it was thought we were supposed to receive an astounding fifty percent of our diet from carbohydrates.

Crazy! It’s this sort of fattening advice that perpetuates nutritional misperceptions which relegate people to an unhealthy lifestyle, condemned to believe they are doing the right thing and properly monitoring their diet when, in reality, they are actually making losing weight more difficult, more frustrating, and downright exhausting. What’s the most ridiculous part of all this? We know better.

Fortunately, government agencies and the United States educational system have released massive updates to the outdated policy; it’s just slow to take effect. In fact, the USDA is rightfully now recommending that half of your diet come from fruits and vegetables, and only 30% should come from grains—much better advice. Not to mention, the ‘experts’ are now also suggesting that protein makes up about twenty percent of our diet, a fantastic increase from the nearly nonexistent portion that was advised before.

All this said, there are still some considerable improvements to be made even to this new and improved My Plate System (the new and improved version of the Food Pyramid). For one, it does not really allot for healthy fats like nuts, oils, and organic dairy products—think butter and cream. These sorts of fats are a vital part of any diet, and most certainly should not be eaten sparingly. In actuality, you should be consuming about 25% of your calories through these open fats.

In regards to grains, I would chop it down to size and say they should only make up about 15% of your diet. There are only two meals a day where you should even consider eating grains, anyway, and those are breakfast and the meal after your workout. The reason for this is that research has proven glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity are at their highest during these two points in the day.

With respect to protein, let’s beef that up to at least 35%. By increasing protein, you will have an increased thermic effect of feeding (which means you burn more calories just by eating protein), have better blood sugar control, see a decrease in body fat, and witness a significant increase in calorie-burning lean muscle.

Really, just by lowering grain consumption, you will improve your body’s capacity for processing carbohydrates, and then when you increase your protein intake, you can nearly DOUBLE your fat loss. It’s that easy.

Time to Place Whey by the Wayside

by

If you’ve ever even thought of lifting weights or undergoing any sort of weight training regimen, you have probably thought about purchasing the most fundamental supplement to ever grace the vitamin industry, whey protein. Known for its incredible popularity and its supposed ability to foster a more rapid development of stronger, more resilient muscle fibers, its negative associations often, all-too-often, in fact, slip under the radar.

So, in light of these aforementioned negative associations, I would like to elaborate. There are, in reality, two major hindrances to whey protein as a product:

Whey Protein Absorption: According to a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, the rate of protein absorption is eight grams every hour. While there are certainly a variety of factors that contribute to this, the single largest influencing factor is undoubtedly the fact that the whey is not broken down into small enough peptides by our body’s natural enzymes in order to be absorbed in time, and if the protein is not absorbed in time, then it essentially useless.

Whey protein can only be absorbed efficiently over the course of 1.5 hours, so even if a particular protein has 60g in a single serving, only about 12-20g of that 60 will be put to good use. That means the vast majority of the rest of that whey protein is bound to be excreted, nutritious value and all. It’s wasted.

Insulin Release Associated with Whey: Let’s play a game. If I presented you with a serving size of generic white Wonder bread, and a serving size of standard whey protein isolate, and asked which if these causes a greater spike in insulin, what you say? Would you choose the well-touted, known to be terrible for you, nutritionally devoid white bread, or the muscle and nutritional supplement, whey protein? Remarkably, the answer is…you guessed it! Whey protein.

As outrageous as it seems, whey protein actually causes a greater spike in insulin than white bread. According to a study published in Nutrition & Metabolism as of 2012, the specific amino acids in whey protein actually emulate beta cells to such a degree that they secrete more insulin than a similar serving of carbs from white bread.

Of course, I am only referring to insulin release in this scenario. Obviously, when taking into account nutritional value as a whole, white bread is no match for whey protein. Yet, that said, there really is no ignoring the fact that your fat-burning capability is noticeably afflicted when there is a presence of excess insulin; so ideally, choosing foods with a lower insulin response is preferable.

The fact is that whey protein is by no means the best supplement around despite whatever its incredible popularity might suggest. The next time you’re shopping around for strength training supplements, I’d recommend you check out time-released proteins where your body is able to absorb the nutritious value of whatever you’re consuming over an extended period of time, and then you will be able to gain the most out of what you buy.

The Breathing Exercise that Eats Belly Fat

by

In the swirling chaos of our daily lives, stress often rises to the surface and influences our mood, our attitude, and our hormones. When we try to compartmentalize this mental duress, it soon becomes physically apparent, whether we like it not. In fact, it can incite inflammation, accelerated aging, poor judgment, bad decisions, and impaired slumber. Put frankly, stress makes you fat, sick, dumb, and weak.

For example, scientists at the University of California at San Francisco have found a proven association between cortisol (the stress hormone) and belly fat content. Yet, despite this terrible news being proven (we all knew it was true anyway), there is something we can do to take control of our lives and our own fitness. We are not subject to the whim of inevitable stress.

Essentially, you can combat stress and relax through something called “deep belly breathing.” When engaging in “deep belly breathing,” you are able to overcome your body’s stress response, decrease your cortisol production, and bolster your melatonin creation (the sleep hormone that also protects against aging). Alright, alright, now here’s how you do it:

  1. Sit or lie down in a dark and quiet room. Place the palm of your hand on your stomach.
  2. Take a deep, slow breath through your nose and pay particular attention to how your stomach rises and falls underneath your hand.
  3. Exhale. Slowly, and for as long and steadily as possible (like, for at least five seconds). Breathe out until your lungs are entirely devoid of air.

And that’s it! Just repeat steps one through three every night for at least a week and I promise you will not only feel better and more energized, but you’ll even notice your waistline shrinking! Yet, that’s not all. There’s actually another trick that has been proven to burn 400% more fat when used, and it takes less than a minute!

Another study published in the Journal of International Medical Research illustrated that people who used the same aforementioned trick actually managed to lose 20% of their body fat in only 12 weeks. If you want to burn 400% more fat than you would otherwise by dedicating a simple minute, check out this neat and easy to understand video.

LOSE Weight with a Cheat Day

by

Naturally, when we are surrounded by the ones we love we want to eat what they eat. No one wants to worry about their caloric intake or their excess carbohydrates when they are relaxing around a low-key tailgate or barbecue. I mean, just let me eat my bacon-wrapped cheeseburger, right? Who possibly diets as a lifestyle without ever cheating? I’ll tell you. No one; and that’s because cheat days don’t have to be bad for you. They can actually help you to LOSE weight. Really. Here’s how I do it following a day of excess:

Day 1: Take a protein shake day.

During this day I only consume healthy protein powders mixed with almond milk to cleanse my system and reinvigorate my muscle fibers. This actually, and naturally, “shrinks” my stomach so that in the succeeding days I am less hungry overall. My appetite decreases. For the record, I eat four shakes about three hours apart give or take.

Day 2: Eat protein and veggies.

Throughout the course of the day I eat about five very small meals, also three hours apart. The meals are composed of solely low fat, lean protein. Occasionally I’ll add some cottage cheese and eggs but I generally like to keep each of these meals pretty restrictive in terms of size. Although, I will include healthy fats like coconut oil and/or organic butter for a little flavor. There’s no reason food has to taste bad just because you’re dieting!

Day 3: Binge Day

This is the fun one. On the third day after a cheat day I’ll dive into some thicker carbs over the course of my five mini-meals. However, I will also make sure to include an additional half-cup of “high-energy” carbs through slow-absorbing mediums to take care those carbs that are not converted into body fat. Then, I’ll eat one, just one, splurge meal, and obliterate whatever I want. There’s no holds barred. I just make sure to not get overly full. Basically, it’s a mini meal that’s just a little smaller. I also ensure that this binge meal is not my last food of the day.

By following these rules, I not only get back on track to losing whatever extra weight I may have gained from my cheat day, but my metabolism is actually accelerated. This way I lose weight even faster than I was before my cheat day. Sometimes, our metabolisms begin to plateau in the way of speed when it becomes too used to the same diet. So when you switch it up a bit, it has to adapt and thus runs at optimum efficiency.

Anyway, I hope these tips and tricks help you to capitalize if you fall a little off-track. Good luck!