Cheat day
Redirected from "Cheat meal"
Also known as: Cheat meal
A cheat day is a planned break from a diet's usual rules in which a person allows foods, portions, or calories that the plan normally restricts. A cheat meal applies the same idea to one meal. Neither term has a standardized calorie or macronutrient definition.
That lack of structure distinguishes a cheat day from a refeed, which normally has planned energy and carbohydrate targets, and a diet break, which returns intake to estimated maintenance for longer. One unrestricted day can reduce or erase part of a weekly calorie deficit, but its effect depends on the amount eaten—not on the label.
The next day's scale increase commonly includes water, restored glycogen, sodium-related fluid retention, and more food in the digestive tract. It should not be interpreted as the same mass of body fat. Conversely, calling the day a metabolism boost does not make surplus energy disappear. Current evidence does not show that a cheat meal reliably prevents metabolic adaptation, preserves muscle, or improves performance.
A 2025 scoping review of eight studies found mixed physiological evidence. Planned relaxed eating sometimes reduced hunger or improved satisfaction, while framing it as a forbidden reward or a violation of the diet was associated with patterns linked to disordered eating. The small and varied evidence base does not establish universal benefit or harm.
The language matters. Food does not become morally bad because it is energy-dense, and eating it does not require punishment through fasting or extra exercise. Many people can instead plan a flexible meal within their average intake, without a "cheating" narrative. If these days repeatedly involve loss of control, distress, secrecy, vomiting, or compensatory restriction or exercise, stop using the strategy and seek appropriate support.