Strategic cheating for fat loss and weight loss is a concept that’s been around for a long time. The diet and workout plan that popularized strategic cheating was Body for Life. It encourages people to take a cheat day each week as a way to prevent more frequent cheating and give yourself a break from clean eating the rest of the week.

This method of cheating has been working for many years for many people but the latest cheating fat loss diets including Cheat Your Way Thin, Extreme Fat Loss Diet, and Cheat to Lose, actually encourage strategic cheating as a way to get the body to burn more fat and lose more weight faster. This sounds promising but can strategic cheating really work for you?

The Theory Behind Strategic Cheating
According to Cheat Your Way Thin author Joel Marion, "If you’re dieting 7 days a week, week after week, you’re screwed. That approach yields several possible outcomes, none of which are desirable including a slower metabolism, a decrease in fat burning hormones (primarily leptin the hormone that tells your body to burn fat), an increase in fat storing hormones, and your body protecting your current body fat stores". This is basically the complete opposite of what you want and the reason why so many people on strict diet plans fail to shed the pounds and lose the fat time and time again. "If you truly want to lose fat consistently, week after week, you need to have higher calorie days built in to your program" explains Marion.

The Up Side of Cheating On Your Fat Loss Diet
Obviously the pros of cheating on your fat loss diet include being able to have decadent foods on a regular basis and actually using those foods to help raise leptin (the most important fat burning hormone) back up for increased fat loss. In his book Marion explains how you can use pizza, ice cream, Oreos, mac n cheese and candy bars to manipulate fat burning hormones so you can burn more fat and lose more weight without plateaus. If you tend to cheat on your fat loss diet anyway, strategic cheating is the smart way to do it and to get better results!

The Down Side of Fat Loss Diet Cheat Days
I’ve personally tried 3 methods of cheating for fat loss and failed at two and got only o.k. results with the third. The main reason is that I’m not the type of person that is able to cheat regularly and then get back to clean eating easily. If transitioning back and forth between junk food and clean eating is an issue for you too then this is not an ideal fat loss diet for you. The other down side to the cheating method is that it encourages you to seek out the type of junk and processed food that makes you feel lethargic and that can interfere with your energy levels and your workouts. If you already have trouble sticking to your workouts due to low energy then this type of Jekyll and Hyde style of eating will only make things more difficult for you in the exercise department.

Can A Cheating Fat Loss Diet Work for You?
The main thing to consider when it comes to cheating for fat loss is your personality. If you like a more balanced holistic approach to weight loss and fat loss then this diet plan is not the best match for you. But if you’re the type of person who is not willing to give up the junk and you can cheat then get back on track with clean eating easily then a cheating diet will work for you and can even be somewhat fun.
Learn how to cheat the weight off with more tips from Joel Marion author of Cheat Your Way Thin and Xtreme Fat Loss Diet or learn more about Leptin and weightloss from The Leptin Diet: How Fit Is Your Fat? (Take Charge)