When you occasionally consume a higher calorie meal during
a diet, your body’s leptin levels increase. As
a hormone that keeps your body from thinking it is starving, higher leptin levels lead your body to thinking it is better fed and nourished, encouraging your body to release more fat and body weight as it since longer needs to hold onto those calorie stores.
Cheat days give you a break from a strict diet, but it can help you evaluate your relationship to food and eating.