Why I Gave Up Cheat Meals And Why You Should Too!

Why I Gave Up Cheat Meals/Days(And Why You Should Too!)

What is your favorite food in the whole world? Think about it for a moment. Pizza? Spaghetti? Ice cream? I, myself, am an ice cream kind of guy. Ben and Jerry are two of my best friends. If I told you that you had to give up your favorite food and you could only enjoy it in shame because it was a “cheat meal” how would you view that food? I stopped having cheat meals a long time ago and I encourage you to do the same. In this post, I am going to go over the reasons why.

By definition, the word cheat is associated with something bad. Something that shouldn’t be happening. Athletes are looked at as cheaters because they use certain substances to try to gain a competitive edge. You might even call peeking over a friends shoulder to see their cards in a friendly poker match cheating. It is a word associated with shame and guilt. So when we attach the word in front of meal...we get cheat meal! We’ve all been there. We think I’ve stuck to my nutrition for x amount of weeks, dangit one slice of pizza won’t hurt me. It’s no big deal.

“I’m just going to cheat a little bit”. Then you feel guilty. Then you have another slice. Then you think, “screw it, I’ve already messed up, I might as well eat the entire pizza.” I think this is one of the biggest problems we have in the fitness and nutrition industry. Instead of using common sense and allowing ourselves to actually enjoy foods that may not be the best for us, we associate those foods with shame and guilt and throw all caution to the wind.Cheat days also slow progress and in some cases, totally inhibit it! You could be going all week and sticking to your macros/meal plan and think "calories don't count on the weekend"....but...they do! These are some of the reasons you should give up "cheat meals/days"!

Why I gave up cheat meals/days: Years ago when I first got into working out. I banished all food that I deemed wasn't good for me. I would tell people “I don’t eat that” when they would offer these presumed “bad” foods. My friends thought I was insane. I didn’t care about ice cream anymore. I only cared about losing weight. Which, considering I was almost 400 pounds when I started, wasn’t exactly a bad mindset, but I digress. I would only allow myself to eat “normal” once and a great while. Except around Christmas 2010. I remember a Facebook post I made during that time. 

I ate so much food over those 3 days, by day 3...I was begging for it to all be over. I felt awful. Bloated and on the verge of vomiting. I ate Beijing(a Chinese restaurant in my area) and endless amounts of McDonald’s, cookies, pies, and Lord knows what else. That’s right, all of the “bad” foods that I didn’t eat anymore. It was a miserable experience and I believe it truly was the turning point for me and I decided NO MORE!

Now, I use what I call “free meals/days”. A free meal or day is where you simply don’t worry about carbs, calories or macros. We all need that psychological break from the same old thing sometimes. It really can help with adherence and help move you closer towards your goals. I simply just have something I’m really craving and call it good. If it's ice cream, then that's what I have. Maybe a slice of pizza or two and I’m golden. Gone are the days where I want to eat the entire pizza...as much as I love pizza! No guilt or shame involved. We have the free meal and move on. 

 Seriously, I love pizza!

If I have a free day, I just use common sense and enjoy the entire day. I don’t worry about macros or calories. I usually try to schedule these free days around a day when I know I am going to be out of town in the city or around a special event or birthday party. I don’t go #YOLO anymore. I just allow myself a day of freedom from the same stuff day in and day out. Eating out doesn’t have to mean pigging out. Just relax and enjoy yourself for a meal or a day and call it good. Also, eliminate the term “cheat meal/day” from your vocabulary. I assure you, it will change your entire mindset when it comes to nutrition! Thanks for reading!