Most diet strategies are based on a calorie deficit approach. You eat less fuel than the body requires each day, which creates an energy deficit and the body responds by calling upon body fat as fuel. Yet adopting a severely low calorie diet in hoes of a quick fix only sets you up for failure.

The biggest mistake you can make is starving yourself. It drains your energy and you cant work out so you cant change the way you look. Drastic calorie reduction leads to a slow down in the metabolic rate, the total calories burned in a day and a slow metabolism is the death wish for anyone seeking a hard body.

Research has indicated that the thyroid gland, the source of thyroid hormones that ultimately help determine your metabolic rate, reacts quickly to starvation diets. That is , when you eat too few calories your body decreases it thyroid hormone output, which decreases your metabolic rate. Other detrimental effects of starving include an increase in fat-storing enzymes in the body. Once enzyme called lipoprotein lipase acts as sort of a gatekeeper, allowing fatty acids to flow in and out of fat ells. While mild reductions in calories cause a decrease in LPL activity, giving fatty acids the freedom to flow out of fat cells, overly aggressive calorie cuts actually increase LPL activity. In concert with decreased levels of thyroid hormone, this causes the body to cling to stored body fat.

While severe caloric reductions seem to throw a monkey wrench into the fat loss equation, calorie surpluses or overeating exerts another puzzling effect. Not only does body fat increase, but overeating may cause a mild increase in thyroid levels and an increase in anabolic hormones that help support muscle mass such a growth hormone, testosterone and IGF-1.

Since extended periods of dieting can slow the metabolism, a single cheat day where you boost your carb intake 50 percent higher than normal can avoid the decrease in your metabolism and actually promote the release of beneficial hormones.

One thing I would suggest though on your cheat day is to never consume sugary soda or pop. Pop contains 300 calories and 19 teaspoons of sugar. The best thing to drink is water with a lemon wedge in there. Diet pop is an alternative for getting rid of the sugar but it will never be as good for you as water. The calories from pop come from such simple sugars that they will not serve you well in getting lean, even on a cheat day. The release of sugar into your blood stream is just too quick.

Another tip for cheat days on your diet is related to the above point on pop. When or if you decide to hit a fast food joint while you are out, do not get the combo! If you want a burger for your cheat day, then so be it. What you don’t want is the biggie sized fries and diabetic coma pop. While a burger could be seen as almost part of the diet, the 1320 calories you get from the fries and pop will not help you reveal those abs!

Ray L Burton is the president of Buildingbodies Inc and is dedicated to helping people achieve success in all areas of
thier lives. You can read more diet information at http://www.planningdiets.com/ and read dieting and recipe information at http://recipes4diets.blogspot.com/