Whether you tend to view indulging in your favorite (un)healthy foods as something you do in moderation for certain meals or strictly only for “cheat days,” it’s important to treat yourself once yourself in a while. It’s also very much so possible to do this without derailing and self-sabotaging your nutrition and health goals. For some, they leave the greasy foods and sugary treats to the weekend. For others, a small dessert after a full day worth of healthy foods satisfies those cravings just fine.
Cheat days are meant to be self-rewarding and mood-boosting, they shouldn’t make you feel guilty nor should they make you feel like your health goals are off track. Aside from the mood-boosting abilities and physiological advantages, cheat days also benefit the leptin levels in your body, the hormone that maintains energy balance.
If you’re one that enjoys a cheat day once or twice a week or every now and then, consider celebrating on some of our nation’s food holidays. From National Pizza Day to National Ice Cream Day, two of the most popular food holidays according to this study, there’s absolutely no shortage of holidays with many happening each month. Below are just a few of the most indulgent food holidays you can take part in this summer to celebrate your cheat days:
May 15
National Chocolate Chip Day
May 29
National Biscuit Day
June 4
National Cheese Day
July 6
National Fried Chicken Day
July 13
National French Fry Day
July 16
National Ice Cream Day
July 28
National Hamburger Day
The wonderful thing about the popularity of these holidays is that many are widely celebrated by restaurants and food establishments across the country. Whether they are giving out free food or discounts to celebrate the day, it’s almost impossible to say no to celebrating a cheat day.
However, it’s important to not make celebrating these days become a bad habit. National food holidays happen so often that it’s worth planning out which days you’re most excited about celebrating so that you can stay on track with your health goals.