Enjoy the cheat meal!
With the right directions, a weekly “cheat meal” has been proven to boost your metabolism and ward off feelings of deprivation.
Did you know that a cheat meal might help you continue to make gains when it comes to getting leaner, putting on muscle, toning up and losing fat? With the right directions, a weekly “cheat meal” can keep you in the game, allow you to enjoy meals out with friends and family, and feel NORMAL!
Not that eating healthy isn’t normal, but we’ve all been there right? At the office, or at school, or at a friend’s house and someone says “Come’ on, just one bite won’t hurt!” Or the “oh…so and so doesn’t eat like that”. It can be very frustrating, especially when you know that you are making great changes and improving your life. Can’t everyone else just understand?
This is where cheat meals come in. Planned cheat meals can allow you to enjoy all your favorite foods, all your favorite people…and not piss off your mother, while reaching your nutritional goals.
Now…let’s look at some words used to describe “cheat” meals.
Cheat meal, treat meal, restore meal, refeed meal…this list goes on. What this meal really is - something different than the foods you know, or your nutritionist has recommended you should be eating to reach your goals.
For our post, we’re going to call them cheat meals. Why…well, it is ingrained in my head from being a bodybuilder for so many years. But, this post refers to all individuals on a meal plan to reach their goals.
We/nutritionists use cheat meals for several reasons:
The cheat meal allows our clients to enjoy what they are craving. When cheat meals aren’t offered, clients tend to take small bites of foods that aren’t supportive of their goals. These small bites not only add additional calories but can play havok on your psyche. When allowed to enjoy these foods once/twice per week, clients can stay on their plans and look forward to their special cheat meal.
Cheat meals are also used to replenish, or re-feed, missed calories when clients are on a specific meal plan and need a boost of more calories, more fat or more carbs.
WARNING – Mini Science lesson ahead
Two specific hormones, Leptin and Ghrelin play important roles in regulating body weight and fat mass. When on a low-calorie diet Leptin decreases and Ghreline increases. When this happens for too long the body’s metabolism can slow down to prevent further tissue wasting, effecting thyroid hormone levels (slowing down the metabolism). Eating a cheat meal, causes these hormones to reset, preventing any negative effects on metabolism, hunger drive, and energy expenditure. In addition, the increased calories will also help to increase thyroid function, further boosting metabolism. As a result, a scheduled cheat meal can actually help balance your body's hormones to avoid weight-loss plateaus and prevent it from entering starvation mode. So yes, cheat meals are good for you!
One thing we really want to caution you on…cheat meals are not cheat days! Unless, you are told to eat off plan all day, or have a seriously high metabolism and really do need a day with 5000+ calories, you only need one meal.
When we cheat all day vs. just the cheat meal, the surplus in calories can be so extreme that it negates all the hard work you’ve done during the week, and leaves your hormones confused and sadly puts on weight, and not the good kind.
The key is to not fall off the band wagon and derail all the success you have made. One meal will be quickly digested, give you a boost of extra energy and keeps you from feeling deprived.
Planning your cheat meal:
- Plan when it will happen. Know you have a wedding or celebration coming up – use your cheat meal there.
- Don’t go starving into your cheat meal; if you do, you will surely over-eat and feel really sick afterwards
- Don’t eat food you know you are sensitive to. Don’t have dairy in your regular diet due to gas/bloating/etc., then don’t have it in your cheat meal either.
- If you can, workout the day of your cheat meal and the day after.
- Don’t feel guilty for having the one cheat meal!
- Have dessert or alcohol – not both. Too much sugar in a cheat meal can leave you wanting more the next day (Insulin imbalance).
- Pick something that will leave you satisfied…a real meal is better than a fast food drive thru meal!
- Savor and enjoy. You’ve been looking forward to this all week, so appreciate the taste of your favorite foods and extend the fun.
If your cheat meal does turn into a cheat day, or a few cheat days, don’t beat yourself up. Get back on your healthy plan and take it one step at a time!
Curious to know more about how your hormones play a role in your weight loss? Want to know why having them balanced is so important? Check out our 21 Day Detox and learn more.