Up The Carbs
Studies have shown that carbohydrates are what influence levels of
leptin, a hormone that plays a major role in hunger and satiety. When
leptin is low, your stomach will growl and you'll get that familiar
hungry feeling. Eat a macro-filled meal, and leptin levels will rise,
turning off the growling and contributing to making you feel full. It's
the rise of insulin and/or glucose in the blood that drives up leptin
levels previously suppressed by low-carb dieting. On your cheat day,
it's critical that a low-carb dieter's extra calories come primarily
from carbs. A standard low-carb diet allows for roughly 0.5 gram of
carbs per pound of bodyweight or less. On your cheat day, increase that
all the way to 2 grams of carbs per pound.
Watch The Fat
Eating lower-fat carbs on cheat days ensures their speedy digestion. Fat
slows carb digestion, and since insulin is key to raising leptin
levels, you want as big an insulin boost as possible. And, since you're
taking in so many carbs, any fat you consume likely won't be used for
energy, and instead will be stored as — you guessed it — fat.
Remember Whole Grains
Just because it's a higher carb day doesn't mean you can neglect the
health benefits of eating things like oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, and
brown rice. Their increased fiber content will help control hunger pangs
and aide in fat loss.
Reduce Fruit Intake
Fruit contains sugar, yes, but it's in the form of fructose, which can't
be used directly by muscles. That means that when your body digests
fruit, it sends fructose straight to your liver, which converts it to
liver glycogen. But once the liver's glycogen levels are full, it no
longer converts fructose to glycogen; it converts it to fat. On a
high-carb day, you run the risk of overloading your liver with glycogen,
so keep fruit intake to 3—4 servings, and eat it earlier in the day.
