One meal won't undo your progress
A kilo of body fat holds about 7,700 calories. Even a 2,000-calorie feast adds, at most, a quarter of a kilo of fat, and that's only if you'd eaten nothing else extra all week. The jump you see on the scale the next morning is mostly salt, water and food still in your system. It fades in two or three days.
So enjoy it, get back to normal at your next meal, and skip the punishment workout. A slightly lighter few days, or a couple of extra walks, evens it out.
Calories are estimated with MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al.). Real burn varies with fitness, effort and body composition, often by 10–20%.
Calories in common cheat meal foods
| Food | Calories | Minutes walking |
|---|
Typical values for standard restaurant and fast food portions. Real dishes vary a lot with size, oil and toppings.
Cheat meal questions
How long does it take to walk off a pizza?
Two large cheese slices, about 570 calories, take roughly 2 hours of normal walking for a 75 kg (165 lb) person, or about an hour of jogging.
Will one cheat meal make me gain fat?
Barely. Gaining a kilo of fat takes around 7,700 extra calories. The next-day jump on the scale is mostly water and salt, and it goes away in a few days.
Should I exercise extra after a cheat meal?
You don't have to. A couple of extra walks over the next few days, or eating a little lighter, is plenty. Hard punishment workouts tend to make people feel worse, not better.
How often can I have a cheat meal?
Once a week fits into most plans, as long as the rest of the week stays in a small deficit. Planning it ahead makes it easier to enjoy without guilt.
Is it better to have a cheat meal or a cheat day?
A meal. A whole cheat day can easily add 3,000 or more extra calories and wipe out most of a week's deficit.