How Much Belly Fat Is Risky?

 Whether it’s on the latest magazine cover, during a doctor’s appointment, or even just in the department store change room, belly fat seems to be getting a lot of our attention these days. But how do you know whether your personal stockpile of abdominal fat is a longevity threat or just a cosmetic nuisance?

As we get older, fat tends to migrate towards the mid-section of our body, whether we’re male or female.

Many women notice a “menopot”, or thickening of their waistline after menopause. This can be true even if they traditionally had a flat tummy, and haven’t gained any weight. Yes, as you get older your waistline can grow and you don’t have to gain weight. Other parts of your body are naturally shrinking. Your muscle mass can shrink over 50, especially if you don’t work out.

You can avoid that menopot by changing your diet and doing some exercise. It’s inactivity that will change your body’s shape.

Read more: Help! My body shape is changing!
While subcutaneous fat sits just beneath your skin and is not considered dangerous, visceral fat that surrounds your internal organs is hormonally active tissue associated with insulin resistance and a host of other serious problems. Visceral fat can lead to diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a collection of risk factors that increase your chances of cardiovascular disease, even death.

Read more: How obesity hurts your liver
One way to assess your belly fat risk is to measure your waist-to-hip ratio; a ratio of 0.8 or less in women, or 1.0 or less in men is considered within a healthy range. Other methods of measuring visceral fat include computerized tomography which uses multiple X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound technology.

Get the answer lying down: In her book Fit to Live, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland’s medical school Pamela Peeke, MD, has this advice on a low-tech way to determine which kind of six-pack you’re packing:

Lie down on your back
Feel for your pelvic bones with your index fingers
Contract your abdominal muscles as if you were lifting something very heavy
Feel your abdomen from side to side
Peeke writes that if your abdominal muscle stays quite flat as you’re bearing down, then the fat you feel on your abdomen is subcutaneous, or “outer” fat. If, on the other hand, your abdominal muscle sticks out (as though you’re slightly pregnant), it means you have dangerous visceral fat within your abdominal cavity.

Try it! While crunches and other ab exercises may tone your belly, they won’t remove the fat inside it. The good news is that getting rid of any body fat will help diminish the amount of visceral fat within your abdomen. Eating enough fruits and vegetables, fiber, whole grains, and fish — all part of a Mediterranean-style anti-aging diet — as well as regular daily exercise will help you lose pounds and dangerous belly fat.

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat, look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

About Protein Powder Supplements

 

This article from Verywell.com discusses what you need to know about protein powder's health benefits and potential downsides. Read on to learn four good reasons to use protein powder supplements, potentially bad protein powder ingredients, how to take it safely every day, and more.

This is a post from the VeryWell.com site, but before you read this I have been using protein powder for years. I talked to my doctor about it first and he said to use only plant-based protein powder. There are several brands on the market.

Four Reasons to Use a Protein Powder Supplement

Four reasons people use protein powder as a nutritional supplement are: 

Muscle gain (hypertrophy)

Weight loss 

Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia)

Wasting syndrome (cachexia)

Muscle gain: People with specific goals, such as increasing lean muscle mass, can benefit from using a protein powder supplement to complement their whole-food diet. One of the primary reasons to use a protein powder is to build muscle, which improves metabolism (basal metabolic rate) and burns calories, even at rest.1 To reap these benefits, you should lift weights or do resistance-training exercises a few times a week. 

Weight loss: Another reason to use a protein powder supplement is to promote weight loss. Some research suggests that protein powders are a quick fix that can help control appetite. However, protein-rich snacks, like yogurt, may have a similar effect, according to other research.3 Protein powders shouldn’t be used as a meal replacement but can complement a healthy whole-food diet. 

Sarcopenia: After age 30, adults can lose about 3% to 5% of their skeletal muscle mass each decade. Age-related muscle loss is called sarcopenia. Older adults who aren’t getting enough protein through their regular diet may benefit from a muscle-building combination of protein powder supplementation and full-body strength training workouts at least twice a week.

Cachexia: Protein powder supplementation can slow muscle loss in people at an increased risk of muscle-wasting syndrome (cachexia) due to illness.

What Makes Protein Powder Good?

In a perfect world, everybody could get all the protein their bodies need from real foods. However, in the real world, eating enough high-protein foods to meet your body's protein requirements isn't always possible.

If you can't get enough daily protein from food, using a supplemental powder that's high in protein is a good thing. For example, getting enough protein is important for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In a pinch, protein powder supplements can help achieve daily requirements.

One practical thing that makes protein powder good is that it's a simple add-water-and-stir nutritional supplement that can easily be blended into smoothies or shakes and added to recipes for pancakes or baked goods. When used as a supplement in moderation, protein powders are like an insurance policy that ensures your body has enough of all its essential amino acids, the building blocks of life.

Is Protein Powder a Substitute for Real Food?

Protein powder is not a substitute for real food. It is a nutritional supplement and shouldn't be used as a substitute for eating real, unprocessed high-protein food throughout the day.

What Makes Protein Powder Bad?

Protein powder loaded with sugar is unhealthy. Avoid protein powders with more than 5 grams of total sugars. Calorically dense protein powders with more than 200 calories per serving that are packed with tons of added sugars are not healthy.

Also, some protein powders contain heavy metals. In 2018, the Clean Label Project reported that many of the top-selling protein powders contain heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead. Some scientists have questioned the scientific validity of this study and report.9

In 2020, a Toxicology Reports risk assessment of heavy metal ingestion among consumers of protein powder supplements concluded that a typical intake of protein powder in recommended doses probably wouldn’t result in adverse health effects due to heavy metals.10Nonetheless, avoiding heavy metals in your diet is always a good idea.

How Much Protein Do I Need Each Day?

To calculate your minimum protein requirements based on ODPHP guidelines, enter your stats into this personalized DRI calculator. Based on this calculator, someone weighing 150 pounds who isn't very active needs at least 54 grams of protein each day.

You might need more protein depending on your personal goals and activity level. For muscle building, some research suggests that weightlifters may require 0.73 grams of protein per pound of body weight to gain lean muscle mass. This would be about 110 grams of protein per day for a 150-pound person.

For people trying to gain muscle mass who work out regularly, consuming 25 to 30 grams of protein from a powder before or after a workout is safe as long as daily intakes don't go above roughly a gram of protein per pound of body weight in 24 hours.

Although the upper limit of safe protein intake isn't clearly established, an easy-to-calculate rule of thumb is not to exceed 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. For someone weighing 150 pounds, this would be 150 grams of protein.

To safely use protein powder supplements daily, make sure you aren't chronically consuming excessive amounts of protein compared to other macronutrients. Excessive protein powder intake may cause digestive problems or adversely affect kidney function in some people. For healthy adults without chronic kidney disease, eating a high-protein diet shouldn't cause renal problems.

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

About Weight Loss

 I get emails almost daily, and several people are still asking basic questions about losing weight. They can easily lose 10 pounds but it stops there. 10 pounds seems to be a barrier. 

I want to clear up something that most of us still don't understand. It's easy to lose the first 10 pounds because you're not losing fat or any other body mass. You are only losing fluids and solids in the digestive tract. Your body will typically hold 3 days of solids at all times, add the liquids and you have close to 10 pounds that you can lose by fasting. 

After that, it gets harder to lose because now you have to reduce body mass. The reason I wrote about lifestyle change frequently is that losing mass from this point on requires that you lose unwanted mass like fat and soft muscle mass on your body. This is the mistake most of the beginners make. They might lose weight but the fat is still there. Muscle mass will burn easier so you lose weight but it's not the mass you should be losing. 

Trainers will tell you that yes you should diet but you have to workout. Why you might ask? If you are helping your muscles grow you might not lose weight as fast as you want but you are changing fat for muscle. 

You see when you are trying to lose weight you're missing the point, you should be trying to lose fat. Forget the scale and start using a tape measure. After you lose a couple of inches in the waist you might not lose much weight but with a smaller waist, you'll look a lot better. 

That's where your diet comes in. You won't lose fat if you don't change the food you eat. 

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

How To Count Carbs

 Great post, this is essential for dieters. Most of our unwanted calories come from carbs. Yes, carbs are essential but the fruits and vegetables in your diet will provide all the carbs you need. Excess carbs will only fill your fat cells and cause weight gain.

How to Count Carbs

WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Michael Dansinger, MD

When you have diabetes, it’s important to balance your carbs with your medication. Have too many carbs and not enough medication and your blood sugar can soar. Too few carbs and too much medication and it can crash. Neither is good.

Counting the carbs you eat at each meal or snack can help you balance them with your medications and keep your blood sugar stable.

How Many Carbs Should You Eat in Each Meal?

Half of each meal. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that you get between 45% and 65% of your calories from carbs. You could think of this as half your plate at each meal can be taken up by carbs.

Carbohydrates in grams. To be more precise, count the carbs. You can see how many grams of carbohydrates are in packaged foods by reading the nutrition facts labels. For non-packaged foods, you can look this information up online.

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for carbs is 130 grams per day. Per meal this comes to about:

• 60-75 grams of carbohydrates per meal for men
• 45-60 grams per meal for women

Carbohydrate choices. This can help you eyeball the number of carbs you’re going to eat once you know approximately how many carbs are in different foods. Using this method, you have a certain amount of “carb choices” you can have in a meal or snack.

• Men can have 4 to 5 carb choices per meal
• Women can have 3 to 4 carb choices per meal
• Whether you’re a man or woman, snacks should be 1 or 2 carb choices

So what is a "carb choice" or serving of carbs? A carb choice is an amount of food that has about 15 grams of carbs in it.

For example, 1 slice of bread is one carb choice. But 1/4 of a large baked potato is also one carb choice. So having a whole baked potato could blow your whole carb choice budget for one meal.

You can find lists of carb choices for different foods online. You can also ask a nutritionist or diabetes instructor.

In general, it may be easiest to keep the amount of carbs you eat at each meal somewhat consistent. That way you don’t have to adjust your medications too much.

However, these are just basic ranges for the number of carbs to eat, says Dawn Sherr, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Association of Diabetes Educators.

“It’s individual to your needs and depends on what your goals are. Are you trying to lose weight? Are you trying to manage your cholesterol? Are there other issues going on with your health?” she says. “Always talk to your doctor, diabetes educator, or dietitian because they can help you adjust your carbohydrates to meet your goals.”

How Do You Know How Many Carbs Are in What You’re Eating?

Be mindful and check your portion sizes. Knowing how many carbs you’re eating can be tricky because it depends on serving size and how many servings you eat, says Toby Smithson, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

“Nowadays we can get into the habit of eating our meals really fast and eating more than we think without even realizing it. We’re used to seeing larger portions in restaurants and packaging, and what we think is one serving may actually be two or three.”

Reading labels helps, but it’s best to experiment in your own kitchen, Smithson says. “Pour a serving into a measuring cup, and then pour it onto your plate or into your bowl to see how it looks. This will help you prepare for going out to restaurants or to your friends’ or relatives’ houses.”

Another strategy is to pour what you normally eat into your bowl first, then scoop it out with a measuring cup, Sherr says. “One person’s bowl of cereal is different from another’s. One person might be used to eating one serving of cereal for breakfast while another is used to eating two.”

Keep in mind that foods like fresh fruit can vary greatly by size, Smithson says. “An apple can be anywhere from 15 to 30 or even 45 grams of carbs depending on how big it is.”

There’s an app for that. Sherr encourages you to use technology. “Many restaurants have nutrition information on their web sites, and there are phone apps for common foods,” she says, adding that these can help you plan ahead when you’re going out to eat or doing your grocery shopping.

Keep Track

Different foods will affect your blood sugar in different ways. This depends not only on the kind and amount of carbohydrates you eat and the insulin or medications you take but other things such as how active you are, Smithson says.

“I ask clients to keep a food journal once in a while. A day or two lets us match up patterns with blood glucose readings,” Smithson says.

She suggests writing down the foods and number of carbs you eat, the insulin or medications you take, whether you exercised or had other physical activity, and your blood sugar readings.

“Try things out on yourself,” she adds. “If you see that your blood glucose is higher after eating potatoes, then you can plan for that the next time you have them by either changing your portion size or your medications.”

Smithson says that it’s important not to beat yourself up if you make a mistake counting your carbs. “It can be confusing or overwhelming at first. Remember that managing your diabetes is about more than just the food. We look at carbs because they have the most direct effect on blood glucose, but it’s not the only thing.”

All Carbs Are Not the Same

Keep in mind that the type of carbs you eat can have different effects on your blood sugar. You should also know that your body uses two types of carbs for energy: simple and complex. They affect your body a little differently.

Simple carbs are sugars. Your body digests these very quickly, so they raise your blood sugar quickly too. These include sugars that are added to processed foods such as:

• Table sugar
• Molasses
• Honey
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Fruit juice concentrate

Fruit and milk contain simple carbohydrates naturally.

Complex carbs are starches. They take longer for your body to digest than simple carbs. So they take a little longer than simple carbs to affect your blood sugar. You’ll find them in:

• Bread
• Cereal
• Rice
• Pasta
• Tortillas
• Crackers
• Pretzels
• Beans
• Potatoes and yams
• Peas
• Corn
• Whole fruit

Fiber is also a carbohydrate, but your body doesn’t digest it, so it doesn’t affect your blood glucose.  

When you read a nutrition label, it will tell you the amount of total carbohydrates in a serving. Ask your doctor, diabetes educator, or dietitian whether it’s OK to subtract any of the fiber grams from the amount of total carbs. Some methods of carb-counting say it’s OK, while others say to go by total carbs.  

As you choose carbs, keep in mind that some are healthier than others, Sherr says. “The less processed the food is, the better. Whole grains will affect your body differently than sugary treats.” This is because processing the grains to make flour can strip away fiber and nutrients.  So for a slower increase in blood sugar, go for whole-grain foods, and whole foods like vegetables and fruits instead of processed foods or juices.

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

Is It Bad To Eat Before Bed?

 

By Alyssa Hui 

Published on January 03, 2024

This Post was recently VeryWell.com

KatarzynaBialasiewicz/Getty

Key Takeaways

• Going to bed or lying down after eating a meal can cause symptoms like acid reflux, indigestion, or regurgitation, and can also interrupt your sleep.
• To avoid the health risks of sleeping too soon after a meal, experts generally recommend waiting at least a half hour after drinking fluids and at least 2–3 hours after having solid foods before lying down to go to sleep. 
• If you have to eat a late meal before bed because of work or busy schedules, experts recommend smaller, low-fat meals, because they’re easier to digest.

Ninety-one percent of Americans snack between dinner and bedtime, most often with ice cream, cookies, chips, popcorn, and candy.1 While a bedtime snack is typically harmless, going to sleep on a stomach full of snacks or a heavy meal can be detrimental to your sleep quality and your overall health.

When you go to sleep, your body is focused on rest and recovery, not digestion. Eating right before bed or at night can disrupt the digestive process, leading to discomfort, stomach issues, and a compromised metabolism.2 Over time, this can contribute to weight gain and related health conditions.3

“The size of the meal matters. Larger meals are generally more challenging for the digestive system to process, especially in a reclined position,” Madathupalayam Madhankumar, MD, a surgical gastroenterologist at iCliniq, told Verywell.

Health Risks of Eating Before Bed 

Going to sleep after a snack isn’t a huge issue, but dozing off after a large meal can lead to a range of symptoms, especially for people with conditions like hiatal hernia, obesity, and sleep apnea, Jesse Houghton, MD, board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology and Senior Medical Director of Gastroenterology at the Southern Ohio Medical Center, told Verywell.

Here are just a few of the problems you might find yourself dealing with if you eat too close to bedtime.

• Indigestion and acid reflux: A reclined position makes it possible for stomach acid to move up into the esophagus, contributing to indigestion or acid reflux. Madhankumar said this feels like a discomfort or burning sensation in the throat.4
• Sleep disruptions: If you experience acid reflux, your sleep quality may also be impacted. Eating a heavy meal right before bed can also keep your metabolism working hard and possibly raise your body temperature higher than is optimal for sleep, Jade Wu, PhD, board-certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist and Mattress Firm Sleep Advisor, told Verywell.
• Weight gain: Over time, the effects of consuming excess calories just before your metabolism is supposed to slow down for the night can contribute to weight gain. This can increase the risk of other health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol, Houghton said. 

A 2015 study showed that night shift workers who consumed more of their total daily calories after dinner had higher rates of overweight, abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol levels than daytime workers, and also had health concerns like impaired blood sugar (glucose) tolerance and decreased kidney function.3

When Should You Stop Eating Before Sleep? 

When to stop eating before bed depends on what you plan to eat. Different foods and beverages take different amounts of time to pass from the stomach to the small intestine, Houghton said.

Clear liquids like water and juice pass through the stomach the fastest. Full liquids, like protein shakes and coffee with creamer, will take longer. Solid foods, especially high-fat ones, are the slowest to digest.

“The longer after eating that you lay down to sleep, the better,” Houghton said, adding that a good rule of thumb is to wait at least a half hour after drinking fluids and at least two to three hours after eating solid foods before you tuck in for the night.

That two- to three-hour wait gives your digestive system enough time to process a meal effectively, making it less likely that you’ll experience acid reflux or indigestion, said Madhankumar.

 What's the Best Sleeping Position for Digestion?

What If You Have to Eat Before Sleep? 

If work or scheduling puts you in the position of having to eat a late-night meal and go to sleep shortly after, keep it light and simple.

“Smaller, low-fat meals are best, as they are less likely to distend the stomach and are easier to digest,” Houghton said.

Madhankumar suggests choosing easy-to-digest foods, like lean proteins (grilled chicken, fish, and turkey), as well as veggies, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes. Try to avoid foods that are heavy, spicy, or high-fat, all of which can contribute to acid reflux, indigestion, and discomfort.

Drinking water can also improve digestion, but overdoing it can lead to reflux and regurgitation (not to mention prompting a middle-of-the-night bathroom trip).

If you can, stay upright for at least 30 minutes after you eat to reduce the risk of dealing with acid reflux when you go to bed, Madhankumar said. A little bit of light physical activity, such as taking a short walk, can also help with digestion.

What This Means For You

Eating too close to when you go to sleep can lead to acid reflux, indigestion, poor sleep, and even weight gain. Experts recommend waiting two to three hours after eating solid foods before going to sleep. If you have to eat a meal and go to bed shortly after, stick to something light and low-fat and try to stay upright for at least 30 minutes before you head off to sleep.

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

Can I Have A Cheat Day and Still Lose Weight?

 You’ve committed to eating healthy. You want to look and feel great and have already stuck to your diet for an entire week. You feel good about how you’ve done and think you deserve a gold star… or that cupcake that’s calling your name (especially the one with the extra layer of frosting on top). Maybe you even think you deserve a day off—a designated “cheat day.”

But are “cheat days” a good idea? Do these special days of indulgence help you reach your health goals? Or do they set you up on a seesaw of destructive eating habits?

In my experience, When You start cheating, whether it's a meal once a week or a cheat day, you will stop losing weight. Cheating will set you up for a yo-yo cycle of weight going down a couple pounds and then gaining it back, then losing and then gaining again.

Some say that giving yourself days of indulgence is giving yourself a needed break from your diet. These cheat days are a relief valve that helps you stick to healthier foods. Sounds okay, right. Wrong. Once you get used to cheating you won't stop. And cheating will become normal. If this is the way you want to go, try a fasting diet.

The philosophy behind this basically goes something like this: Healthy eating requires some willpower—willpower you’ve used to keep yourself from forbidden foods—so to reward your constraint, it helps to have one scheduled day (or meal) per week where you’re allowed to eat some of the treats you’ve been avoiding. When you give yourself a window to enjoy these off-limit foods, it’ll satisfy your cravings, replenish your depleted willpower, and, some studies suggest, even increase your production of the hunger-dampening hormone leptin while boosting metabolism.

So cheat days sound like a good thing, right? Not so fast. The logic behind these days has more than a few flaws, and it’s due to the psychology and physiology behind them.

“The very phrase ‘cheat day’ sets up enjoying a meal as something forbidden,” says Sondra Kronberg, R.D., executive director of the Eating Disorder Treatment Collaborative. “Separating foods into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ categories encourages you to associate eating with guilt and shame.” This means that instead of enjoying everything we eat, we feel bad about ourselves when we eat something we consider “bad.”

What’s more, when we deem certain foods “bad” or “cheating,” the negative name doesn’t help us pump the breaks.

“When a food is off-limits, it can develop a specific, emotional charge,” explains Melanie Rogers, RD, a nutritionist and eating disorder specialist. “You begin obsessing over it, fantasizing about it, and looking forward to that ‘indulge day’ all week. Then, when you finally have access to it, you overeat.”

On the flip side, labeling foods as “good” or “healthy” can also backfire. Science shows when we think something is healthy, we’re not concerned with portion control and thus overdo it—whether it’s a “normal” day or a “cheat” day. Yes, there can be too much of a good thing.

Along these same lines, thinking of a meal or snack as “healthy” can have a surprising effect on our hunger. Studies show merely considering items we put in our mouth as “healthy” can literally make us feel hungrier—especially if we select a “good-for-you” item out of obligation over something we’re truly hungry for.

WebMD article

Yes, this is a good post but I think it might be a little deep into the psychology of the "cheat day". The simple way to look at it is that changing what you eat is like someone who stops smoking. Have you ever heard of a smoker who was trying to quit and scheduled a "cheap day" in his or her week when they're allowed to smoke? The smoker would never stop, the smoker would always have the nicotine in their system and therefore wouldn't be able to quit.?

It's the same principle when you eat fatty foods or foods high in sugar or salt. You can form an addiction to those foods and that's why you crave those foods. Those are the addictions you have to change if you're going to change your diet. If I crave something salty, I get a celery stick and a salt shaker. I sometimes eat plain salted popcorn. There are dozens of things like hard-boiled eggs that you can salt and are still good for you. I don't believe the salt shaker will give you high blood pressure, but eating processed foods with a high sodium content will increase your blood pressure and can also cause food addiction. Frozen foods with high-fat content will do the same thing.

Having a "cheat day" in your diet will destroy your diet. If you like to have a reward for your hard efforts, buy a new pair of jeans after you lose two inches of belly fat. You will be much happier.

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

 We always hear that we need to eat 3 well-rounded meals per day; breakfast, lunch & dinner. But what our bodies and metabolisms tell us, is that we need to be eating 5 - 6 small meals per day, essentially making each meal a "snack." Also, be sure to be eating every 2 - 3 hours to keep your metabolism boosted throughout the day! Now I have my breakfast foods at breakfast time (within 45 minutes of waking up) and I have my dinner foods at dinner time (chicken, rice, vegetables), but I also eat less of them at one time and spread them out throughout the day. I've recently seen an article that states you should not eat more than 400 - 500 calories in one sitting. This makes sense if your eating 6 times per day!

My Calorie Intake (estimate) Breakdown 

Breakfast: 394 calories + Green Tea

Snack: 202 calories

Lunch: 325 calories + Green Tea

Snack: 156 calories

Dinner: 358 calories + Green Tea

Dessert: 169 calories

Daily Calorie Intake = 1,604 calories

If you need help calculating what you should be eating, there are a lot of macro calculators out on the internet. The problem is they give different numbers. In fact, I got different numbers for TDEE, BMR, and Macros from almost every calculator. This makes it difficult to understand what you should be doing. Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer or solution to this problem right now, except to use a few different calculators and find values that make sense based on all the given values. Here are a few calculators I used to find my current macros.

The Healthy Eater

IIFYM

KatyHearnFit

BodyBuilding.com

FBG Girls

MuscleForLife

Keep in mind, that just because 2 calculators say the same thing, does not mean you should automatically use that count. It could simply mean they used the same formulas. It's important to stick as close as possible to your calorie goals to see the results that you want, but it's also crucial to eat when your body tells you it's hungry (when it needs more nutrients). It's also important to know when you are hungry or when you need water! If I'm between meals/snacks then I'll drink half of my water bottle and eat up to 5 almonds. That will usually tell me if I'm actually hungry. On the other hand, don't stuff yourself. If you're not hungry but you have more calories for the day than you are supposed to consume, it's okay. If this happens repeatedly re-evaluate when you are eating throughout the day, maybe you are eating too little calories in the morning? It's also smart to recalculate your macros every once in a while. Your intake needs will change as your body and goals change!

We always hear that we need to eat 3 well-rounded meals per day; breakfast, lunch & dinner. But what our bodies and metabolisms tell us, is that we need to be eating 5 - 6 small meals per day, essentially making each meal a "snack." Also, be sure to be eating every 2 - 3 hours to keep your metabolism boosted throughout the day! Now I have my breakfast foods at breakfast time (within 45 minutes of waking up) and I have my dinner foods at dinner time (chicken, rice, vegetables), but I also eat less of them at one time, and spread them out throughout the day. I've recently seen an article that states you should not eat more than 400 - 500 calories in one sitting. This makes sense if your eating 6 times per day!

My Calorie Intake (estimate) Breakdown 

Breakfast: 194 calories + Green Tea

Snack: 202 calories

Lunch: 325 calories + Green Tea

Snack: 156 calories

Dinner: 358 calories + Green Tea

Dessert: 169 calories

Daily Calorie Intake = 1,404 calories

If you need help calculating what you should be eating, there are a lot of macro calculators out on the internet. The problem is they give different numbers. In fact, I got different numbers for TDEE, BMR, and Macros from almost every calculator. This makes it difficult to understand what exactly you are supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer or solution to this problem right now, except to use a few different calculators and find values that make sense based on all the given values. Here are a few calculators I used to find my current macros.

The Healthy Eater

IIFYM

KatyHearnFit

BodyBuilding.com

FBG Girls

MuscleForLife

Keep in mind, that just because 2 calculators say the same thing, does not mean you should automatically use that count. It could simply mean they used the same formulas.

Now It's important to stick as close as possible to your calorie goals to see the results that you want, but it's also essential to eat when your body tells you it's hungry (when it needs more nutrients). It's also important to know when you are hungry and when you need water! If I'm between meals/snacks then I'll drink half of my camelbak water bottle and eat up to 5 almonds. That will usually tell me if I'm actually hungry. On the other hand, don't stuff yourself sick. If you're not hungry but you have more calories for the day that you are supposed to consume, it's okay. If this happens repeatedly re-evaluate when you are eating throughout the day, maybe you are eating too little calories in the morning? It's also smart to recalculate your macros every once in a while. Your intake needs to change as your body and goals change!

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.