Is it true that Chitmil accelerates metabolism and helps to lose weight?

The belief is widespread that the diet should be violated from time to time, allowing itself sweets or fast food - this approach will not only relieve psychological stress, but supposedly help to lose more weight. We found out whether such a position is confirmed by scientific data.

The fact that Chitmil is useful to accelerate the metabolism. articles on sitesdedicated to bodybuilding and selling Sports nutrition. Some fitness trainers They tell About this in their blogs, although others Assess Recommendations of colleagues skeptical. It is known that the concepts of Chitmil are committed to many celebrities. So, actor Dwayne (rock) Johnson, by his own recognition, every Sunday allows itself to be burgers, cookies and sweets. Model Cindy Crawford Prefers As cheatmil ice cream, chocolate and cocktails, and the actor Ryan Reynolds - Pizza.

Chitmil (from the English. Cheat - “deceive” and meal - “meal, dish”) usually call regular meals, consisting of loved ones, but prohibited in the framework of a diet of food (for example, sweet, flour, fast food or alcohol). Although sometimes even with Chitmil manages to meet the planned number of calories, usually this practice leads to overeating. The concept close in meaning is the loading day (aka Chitdei) in the break between unloading.

Studies on the influence of Chitmil on metabolism were conducted back in the 1980s (though in very modest samples). So, observation of six healthy young men showed Acceleration of metabolism by only 10%, which lasted only one day. Scientists explained metabolic changes primarily a weight gain that occurred due to too plentiful power on a loading day. Another study (six volunteers with normal weight and six with excess) got into the sample) Demonstratedthat one -time overeating (1000 additional kilocalories per day) increased metabolism by 6.6% in people with normal weight, almost did not affect this process in those who had excess weight, and slowly slowed the speed of metabolic processes in obese people. 

The phenomenon of changes in the rate of metabolism in response to a change in the energy value of eaten food called adaptive thermogenesis. It is scientifically proven that if less calories enter the body, metabolic processes slow down after some time. That is why in the early days and weeks of the diet the weight goes quickly, and then progress becomes less obvious. If the body once receives unusually a lot of calories, metabolic activity, following the theory of the benefits of Chitmil, should increase.

In 2010, Dutch scientists Spent Meta analysis of studies devoted to a change in metabolism during overeating. They studied 16 publications in which the experience of 185 volunteers was analyzed. In five experiments, the metabolism after overeating really accelerated, but the other 11 studies showed that the rate of metabolic processes, if increased, was extremely slight. Summarizing the data obtained, scientists suggested that in such cases the main reason for accelerating metabolism is not overeating in itself, but an increase in body weight due to abundant eating, that is, the body literally needs more energy to provide the needs of the “increased” body. Chitmil’s effectiveness in terms of losing weight, in their opinion, is simply not - as soon as the weight returns to what was before, the metabolism will also return to the previous level.

In an article in 2012, scientists from the University of Washington Bone The results of annual observation of a group of 48 volunteers aged 50-60 with a normal body weight. The participants in the study were divided into three groups: one regularly played sports, the second adhered to a diet with restriction of the daily energy value of the diet, the third was generally a healthy lifestyle, but not one of these two methods of weight control was practiced. Having studied the diaries in which volunteers described their nutrition and physical activity, scientists noted that most in all three groups were especially eaten on Saturdays, including unhealthy foods (fatty and sweet). At the same time, those who did not suit their boot days on weekends have achieved a more significant weight loss than those who allowed Chitdei. According to the counts of researchers, on average, the output of the weekend beyond the diet led to a set of 0.077 kg to Monday morning. Although the figure seems insignificant, regular overeating on Saturday and Sunday for a year can lead to a set of up to 4 kg of weight.

In 2023, researchers from the University of New South Wales (Australia) Studied The influence of Chitmil on rats. Within the framework of the experiment, 48 individuals were divided into four equal groups: rats from the first group were fed by healthy complete food, and rodents of the others in different sectors or ate the same food, or switched to a diet with a high sugar content.

Breaks into unhealthy food, scientists installed, led to the fact that bacteria associated with obesity were actively reproduced in the intestines of rodents, and strains of “good” microorganisms associated with weight control were oppressed. At the same time, regardless of how often the diet changed, all rats of the corresponding groups have increased risk of obesity. Moreover, in the cognitive tests of rats, episodically consuming unhealthy foods, they showed the worst results than animals adhering to proper nutrition. Alternation of healthy and unhealthy nutrition according to the scheme of 5: 2 or 4: 3 also worsened The rats have spatial memory.

In 2021, scientists from the University of Rush (USA) found that among people adhering to the Mediterranean diet, Chitmila bring To faster cognitive aging. For almost ten years, researchers have analyzed food diaries of 5001 people over 65 years old. Those who did not allow deviations from the Mediterranean diet were 5.8 years “younger” in terms of cognitive functions than those who, with a certain frequency, allowed themselves to be unhealthy food.

In 2022, Canadian researchers Studied Features of the food of 2717 people aged 16 to 30 years, who stated that they follow a diet. Researchers have found that Chitmil’s practice is more common among men (60.9%) than among women (53.7%). According to scientists, men often seek to gain muscle mass with a diet and resort to cheatmil as a means of accelerating metabolism. It turned out that loading days increase the risk of eating disorders. Women practicing cheatmil were more prone to anorexia, starvation, bulimia, orthotorxia and compulsive overeating, and men - to starvation, compulsive overeating and dependence on training.

At the same time, cheatmils can also give an important psychological unloading. Experiment of 2016 showed: subjects who consumed 1300 kcal for six days, and on the seventh could eat up to 2700 kcal, were more motivated to maintain a diet in comparison with those who constantly limited themselves to 1,500 kcal. 

Nutritionist Kate Patton advises Do not focus on the separation of food into “good” and “bad” and not be distinguished under unhealthy foods and dishes of a separate day or meals. In her opinion, a more reasonable approach is to make your daily diet so that it consists of 80–90% of the proper nutrition, and the rest of the treats constitutes goodies. 

Thus, although Chitmil and allows some people on a strict diet to maintain their motivation, there is no other significant benefit in it. The acceleration of metabolism after overeating is noted in the vast majority of experiments, in addition, the rate of metabolism increases slightly and quickly becomes the same. At the same time, the loading days nullify the results achieved subject to a healthy diet, and can lead to eating disorders.

Image on the cover: GPT 4O

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