Within our nutritional program, we suggest to our clients that they have a
cheat day. A day where they can have some of the foods they enjoy tasting, but
might not be on their particular menu plan when it comes to losing weight.
The thought process behind that is if you eat more good meals than bad, your
body can handle a few meals that might not be on the up and up.
Upon studying meal logs from our clients, we have morphed the cheat day into a
few cheat meals. Meaning, that most of our clients don't pick Sunday as their
cheat day and gorge themselves with all the food they have been craving.
Usually, they will pick one meal on this day or a lunch with friends on that
day and continue to surround those meals with healthier choices that stick with
their meal plan.
Most of our clients have to eat frequently throughout the day and this breaks
down to about 6 meals/small meals daily. So over a 7 day period that is 42
"feedings". What I have noticed with my clients looking to lose weight is that
if you have 3 or 4 cheat meals within that 7 day period and keep everything
else on point, you can still accomplish the health goals you desire and not
sabotage your program.
As an example, I will discuss a few of my cheat meals this past weekend. I
went to Indianapolis for a seminar and sometimes you have to make due with what
you have available.
I got in to Indy Thursday night. Throughout the day, I had been eating my
normal schedule - lean steak, whole wheat pasta, mixed veggies, fruit, almonds,
occasional meal replacement bar. Once I arrived in Indy, I was pretty hungry
so I ordered a pizza from Domino's. They had some special going on so I
ordered two medium pizzas (one with sausage and onions and the other with
chicken and mushrooms). I probably could have done without the sausage (an
unhealthier choice), but I said what the heck. I saved one of the pizzas in
the refrigerator for the next night and drank water with it.
The next morning I ate a waffle (without butter), a bowl of fruit, and for some
protein, bacon. I didn't bring any snacks with me so I didn't eat again until
lunch which was a footlong ham sub loaded with veggies and some baked lays.
This is one of their leaner subs. After the seminar, I ate a chicken breast
sandwich at the Hard Rock Cafe, some fries, and for dessert a peanut butter
something or other in a shot glass (I ate half of it). Finally, my dinner was
the other pizza I had in the fridge.
The next morning, the seminar provided some orange juice and bagels which I
ate. For lunch, I went to Panera's and had a bacon turkey bravo (one of the
leaner choices) and a baked lays with water. I then got a mocha shake from
Steak and Shake, didn't like it, and pitched it (the whipped cream and half of
it was remaining). After the seminar, bought some trail mix, some sour patch
kids, and headed back to C-bus, where I promptly resumed my normal eating
schedule.
So as you can see, not every meal was a total cheat and I tried to make some
healthier choices along the way. I allowed myself to have a few indulgences to
satisfy any cravings, but still tried getting some carbohydrate and protein
with some veggies. You can do this too. If you follow a healthy eating plan
most of the time, you can EARN the right to have a few cheat meals throughout
the week. Your body will not self destruct and you can still enjoy some of
those delicacies that might not otherwise be on your menu.
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