Best Way to Get Back on Track After a Cheat Day

1. Avoid Insulin Boost for Most of the Day

First of all what is Insulin: Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy or to store glucose for future use

(In detail) Insulin carries calories that you don't burn with activity to be stored as body fat. As such, you want to avoid consuming foods that encourage the release of insulin when you don't need that fuel to energize your workouts, or provide nutrients to rebuild muscle tissue and hasten recovery.

Let's take some action: Avoid sugar, fruit juices, and processed Foods such as bread and pasta most of the time, especially when your goal is to burn body fat. These foods Increase insulin, blunt metabolism, and make it harder to lose fat.

The one thing that you can do to avoid insulin spikes is that you should encourage them around the time of your workouts. Because insulin is a driver of the calories you consume, it will deliver these nutrients to muscle tissue when you're training. In effect, it will provide your muscles with additional energy, and it will provide the raw materials to support muscle repair and growth when you consume protein.

Tip: You can take in a small amount of natural sugar, but keep it to 20-25 grams of total carbs post-workout. You should also avoid fats and fibre pre- and post-workout, as they will slow absorption of the nutrients your muscles are thirsting for. Your protein should be taken immediately after your workout. Around 45-60 minutes following, we suggest taking carbs such as rice cakes.

Check also our keto diet guides for beginners

2. Try Intermittent Fasting (Best way to lose tummy fat)

It's less helpful for people seeking to add muscle mass, and especially those who already have a fast metabolism. There are many different ways to do intermittent fasting (Don't be scared), Consume all of your calories within a window of a few hours each day, and avoid foods with calories the rest of the day. This window can be fairly long, like up to 12 hours, or rather short, like about six hours, depending on how your body feels with a limited intake of calories.

Choose the time that works best for you, but make certain that you don't break your fast with foods that spike insulin. Start with slow-digesting protein sources, foods high in fibre, or those that are moderate in dietary fats.

You should do a weight-training session in your meal window, so you can get good performance during your weight training workout, and recovery afterwards. And finally, after your workout have a protein-rich snack such as casein shakes about two hours before you jump on your bed to sleep.