Eating your favourite burgers and pizzas won’t make you fat

Overeating is not as bad as we think. In fact, doing it once in a blue moon can have a positive impact.
emotional eating
Stop giving into the urge of ordering a pizza every time you feel low! Image courtesy: Shutterstock
Nikita Bhardwaj Published: 31 Aug 2020, 13:58 pm IST
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It’s totally cool to eat whatever you want. Well, we aren’t making this revelation but it’s something experts believe in. Turns out, if you are eating your favourite cheeseburger or taking an extra helping of that deliciously creamy Alfredo pasta, you might as well do it dil khol ke because that cheesy bite ain’t going to haunt you. 

Basically, the problem lies with our understanding of the concept of eating.

According to Lovneet Batra, a renowned clinical nutritionist, it takes 7700 calories to make 1 kilogram of fat. This means that if you are indulging in your favourite meal once in a week only, weight gain can’t even touch you.

“If you are sticking to your diet for an entire week, there is no problem in eating a calorie-rich plate of food once in the middle of those seven days”, says Batra. 

overeating
Yes, you can relish burger for your cheat meal. Image courtesy: Shutterstock.

You should always eat what you love, says Lovneet
A study was conducted by the British Journal of Nutrition, where the participants were asked to eat pizzas. It was found that even after consuming so many calories, there was no negative impact on the health of the participants. The researchers, however, have categorically advised that this overeating session should not be recurring but doing so once in a blue moon is absolutely alright.

“A normal person eats at least 21 meals in a week and one cheat meal is not going to make a difference. In fact, to keep your happy hormones fully charged, it is important to eat what you love the most”, says Batra

Depriving yourself of your favourite food might have a negative impact
If you eat a hearty meal after a good gap, it keeps your hunger hormones in control. 

“People don’t understand that starving or depriving themselves of their favourite food tends to backfire. When you don’t eat, your mood and energy drop drastically, your guilt for not eating what you love grows more, and you don’t even feel like focusing on your exercise routine. This guilt after a while leads to frustration. To satisfy yourself, you tend to binge more”, she explained.

She continues, “That’s why we need to understand that one cheat meal in a week won’t make or break your fitness goal.”

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This is how you can design your binge session according to Batra
“Tweak your meal for your cheat day. Say, if you are planning to eat a whole pizza, ensure that you eat it in the afternoon so that you have umpteen time to digest it. Also, make sure that you plan your pre and post-binge session so that you don’t add on to the number of calories. That’s how you can eat what you love guilt-free”, she concluded.

The point is that you have to strike a balance between a healthy diet and binging on your favourite food to ensure you keep weight gain at bay.

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About the Author

Six-pack abs are all that Nikita needs, along with her daily dose of green tea. At Health Shots, she produces videos, podcasts, stories, and other kick-ass content. ...Read More

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