Sport how to effectively implement cheat meals

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realworksuks

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I am cutting right now and the only thing that is even close to a cheat meal for me is a piece of wheat bread (2 times a week at most).

Is it a good idea to have a cheat meal or perhaps a cheat day?

How so? What kinds of foods? How often? etc..

any help much appreciated, thanks!
 
You can have a cheat meal, but do you really feel like you need it?
 
It's a good idea if you're going to ruin your diet if you don't have a little "cheat," but don't just have a cheat meal just because. People say cheat meals will throw your body a curveball and it may help with your goals, but in my opinion thats kind of bs. Only use it as a last resort.
 
I'd say it depends on if the "cheat" meal is really "needed"...for instance, in my case, I never do a cheat "just because". I travel a lot, and entertain clients, so every so often I feel the need to be social and kick back a few beers in an evening, or indulge in whatever the least bad item is on the menu...often not that good, and definately a cheat.

If you are in a situation where you have no outside influences that cause any deviation from a set nutrition plan, then I'd give that a go and stay loyal to the plan. I can tell a big difference in my performance in the gym when I'm home for a few weeks and can stay on the written plan.

With nutrition as the biggest part of the "triangle", keeping with the plan just makes your program that much more effective. It's waaay too easy to turn a cheat meal into a cheat day, then it rolls in to the next morning, etc.
 
hm, I always thought they were recommended.. Yeah it's not that I "needed" to have one... but I thought planned cheat meals were recommended to "trick your body" or whatever.. so that it wouldn't adapt.

Not true?
 
realworksuks said:
I am cutting right now and the only thing that is even close to a cheat meal for me is a piece of wheat bread (2 times a week at most).

Is it a good idea to have a cheat meal or perhaps a cheat day?

How so? What kinds of foods? How often? etc..

any help much appreciated, thanks!
Click to expand...


Let me give you this perspective:

One DOES NOT need to eat clean 100% of the time to lose fat tissue. For example, if 90% of the food you consume is hypothetically clean (and within your caloric limitations set), and you allow 10% of hypothetically bad food items (and this too falls within your caloric limitations), it is NOT possible for the 10% to wipe out the 90%--with things considered equal. The main thing that keeps the goal construction together is the base fact you kept your caloric restriction, and one WILL lose tissue when the smoke clears.

This is not saying one should not strive to eat clean, they should.


This may be a little off base, but I am going to write it anyway:

I dont remember what your goals are, but I want to leave you something to think about:

If its fat tissue you loss. I want you to think about what is happening to your body when you implement a deficit diet: You are forcing your body to "eat it self to fuel necessary functions".

Take a quick bite out of your arm and see if you like it. UH, not gonna do that? Why not? It may hurt? Bleed? Oh, you will need a band aide, possibly?

Hypothetically its the same way with the human body. It flat does not like having itself for dinner, and will fight you everyday with many types of ammunition at its disposal to let you know just how upset it is.

You MUST "out flank" this "whining" body to win and be happy. Or you will be the one off "whining" and the body will be ever so happy. CHOOSE. You have the power to choose, the body does not and this is the primary difference.

There is ALOT of power in perception: It can be both good and bad. "STRUGGLE" to produce the difference.

This is a clip from "How I approached my diet" post I made a few months back: (for what its worth to you)

"I sat myself down, and wrote down every possible dietary weakness and strengths I possessed. I literally tore myself apart being honest. I developed a “On Limits Food List” and an “Off Limits Food List”. I evaluated my living environment and work environment, its associated effects and causes, and what would applicably have negative and positive effects on my goal, and set reaction in place)

I developed a list of bad food items that could be made to be more healthy that I liked (for example: Oatmeal cookies, and Peanut Butter Cookies, and replaced the ingredients in these to the more healthy alternative—like Splenda for the replacement of white refined sugar, and whole wheat flour instead of white bleached flour, and so on and so forth).

I developed a CLEAR strategy in dealing with my weaknesses (and changing ingredients in sweet items-like the aforementioned- is one example as it assisted with the “I want something sweet—DAMN IT!” type of situation).

There was NOTHING I wasn’t prepared for, Mentally, if my body began to resist or crave certain things as I progressed forward. This was key, and an entirely different writing. (and one I would do if asked, because the system I have in place could work for another person)"



I can help you do the same thing.
==========================================================

You have to approach the cheat question with a large margin of self discipline with your mind being the arrow to hit your target.

Having "controlled" times of so-called cheat meals is the main issue. One can have cheat meals, just dont have these cheat meals control you and thus spin you out of control. One wants to use cheat meals to keep one inline with their goals. When one develops a diet plan when deficit dieting, I always feel one ought to have a plan in place to stave off---the for sure to come--cravings for something sweet or something one really shouldnt have.

Develop this plan.....think about....present an idea...and I will look at it and help you. I want YOU to develop the plan of attack--because only you know yourself

There have been times, where I was within my own caloric limits and felt hungry and just drank huge amounts of water----I had no feeling to eat afterwards, and pissed alot. LOL. There were other times, I would get a whole head of lettuce, and no calorie dressing, and eat the entire thing. LOL. I had no desire to eat lettuce again for days. LOL.


Kept me on track......laugh all one wishes. LOL. Possibilities are ENDLESS to fight the body fighting YOU while in deficit.




Best wishes,




Chillen
 
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I guess I agree a cheat meal won't kill you every now and then, but if I'm going to do something, I'm going to go all the way.

I finally broke down and started eating clean this June and I haven't cheated yet. I even beat myself up over drinking half a bottle of aquafina flavored water before I realized it had something like 5 grams of sugar LOL The only time I feel any temptation whatsoever is if I'm out somewhere with no food and I get really hungry I might drive by Wendy's and salivate at the thought of a Big Bacon Classic...But I know it would probably sicken me if it were set in front of me. I didn't even have cake at my son's birthday party. My extended family has gotten used to my "weirdness" and don't think much of it anymore LOL so if I go to their house they aren't offended when I bring my own food.
 
thanks for that post chillen, that was very much appreciated!

I think I will just not do cheat meals. I remember a year ago I use to crave pizza every now and then, but those types of cravings have all gone away. I crave my delicious protein drinks, eggs, etc. So I think I won't cheat since I don't even have a craving to do so.
 
Quite apart from whether or not a cheat meal is an effective addition to a nutrition plan, for me it is as much psychological as anything else and I see it as a reward. I don't go mad, I just have a jacket potato with a steak and a bottle of beer at the weekend for example.

It keeps me sane and keeps me happy :D - without it, I could see myself falling off the wagon so to speak. If I thought I could do without, I probably would.
 
I think there probably is something to the concept of "cycling" on the calories to a certain extent, but I would not take this as an excuse to eat something as a cheat that had other bad components...caloric cycling should not include "empty" calories just for the sake of it. A big bag of Skittles is probably a bad idea, while a big serving of pineapple is a much lesser evil.

I choose to cheat on occasion so that my clients (I'm in a construction related field) don't call me a Nancy Boy. My friends all understand and support me, but my clients are part of helping me pay for my gym membership and shoes for my daughter, and the relationships there mean everything. I know this is an excuse, and I could choose to do things differently, but I gotta make a living...project superintendents are a steak and beer kind of crowd.

For most people, you run into enough circumstances over the period of a week or month where you kind of cheat anyway...might be the kid's birthday cake, or a social drink, or some good intentioned friend's spouse that had you over for dinner and made a "low fat" pumpkin pie with half and half and 3 cups of brown sugar, and you just say thanks and have a piece. I guess unless you are preparing for a competition, diabetic, or have acute and sensitive heart issues, go ahead and do these things. And even though you can't just work out twice as hard the next day to "make up for it", it still gives you incentive to take it up a notch at the next few workouts to help deal with the guilt!

Just don't revert to making food a form of entertainment, or all the hard work will go out the window.
 
I have been cheating about once every two weeks or once every week and its a cheat day heh. I've came along way and it keeps me sane after a week or two of straight militant diet and I get all of my workouts in. I use to think it just throws me off but recently with all this talk about that hormone lippin (spelling might be wrong) The cheat day that I use once a week almost sounds like it does more good then harm :p. But I'm not sure, by the end of the day I'm completely sick of cheating and don't have the crave till whenever. Its not that I eat bad food its just more food and its usually on one of my two off days for working out.
 
If you are dedicated to your regimen then you shouldn't even think about taking a cheat day or meal. Go watch Super Size Me, and you won't have those desires anymore.
 
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