ShareEarly Monday morning, my client Eleanor was feeling unusually lethargic. Sure it was early and humid, but I had a feeling it wasn’t simply a case of Monday-itis. Concerned, I checked in to see what had been on the menu lately.
For more than three weeks, her diet had been healthy and clean, with no cheats. That’s awesome work, except one thing was missing.
My advice: have a strategic cheat meal.
Really? A cheat meal?
Absolutely.
Cheating rocks. Not all kinds of cheating, mind you. I don’t ever condone cheating on your partner, ok? That’s not cool.
Of course I’m talking about cheat meals, and how they can help you accelerate fat loss and keep your sane for the long haul.
When you’re on a calorie-restricted diet, every 1-2 weeks you need a calorie rich meal and a flood of calories to boost your metabolism, elevate your leptin levels and prime your body for optimal fat burning.
This way, your body doesn’t adapt to low caloric intake and as a result, slow your metabolism and hit a plateau.
Like I said, your cheating needs to be strategic. Through countless experiments, I’ve perfected the art of cheating and getting away with it!
One Note: If you’ve just started a new fat loss program, I advise you to give it 2 weeks before you have a cheat meal.
4 Strategies for Cheating
1. Have a cheat meal Out and set a time limit
Never cheat at home. First of all, you’ll end up with left over evil food lying around the house that will tempt you. Being around other people will keep you on your best behavior (unless you’re like the baboon opposite me at Starbucks this morning shoveling 2 muffins down his throat. Unbelievable.)
Give your meal a time limit. A good ballpark number is 60 minutes. This isn’t supposed to be an all day affair. And also, avoid guzzling a lot of booze. Trust me, this will set you back a few extra days. One or two cheeky beverages are acceptable, but as long as it doesn’t send you off the cliff.
2. DO NOT Feel Guilty
Seriously, what’s the point of cheating if you feel guilty? None. You need to work on your relationship with food, and enjoy everything you eat (that includes kale and other delish greens).
Pick the things you’re craving and go all in. No guilt. No regret.
3. Go For Quality Over Quantity
If you want to eat ice cream or chocolate, get the best damn quality you can find. Enjoy it and savor every last bite.
Chances are the higher quality treats (even if they are more expensive) contain less harmful chemicals and additives.
4. Do NOT Stuff Yourself
This meal is not the last supper. Don’t stuff yourself to the point of discomfort. Eat until you feel satisfied, then call it a day. The last thing you need is rolling yourself home in a food coma.
For this reason, I would avoid going anywhere that resembles a buffet. That includes your parent’s place.
New Research on Cheating
If you’re still worried about damaging your progress, check this out. Now there’s new scientific research showing strategic timing of intervals can reduce the impact of a cheat meal on your waistline. Is that cool or what?
Research from the University of Texas South West Medical Center shows even doing little exercise before your cheat meals can reduce the damage.
Here’s a quick overview of the study. In Group 1, they did no exercise. Group 2 did slow cardio for an hour. In Group 3, they did a two minutes of interval training (90% VO2 max). In case you’re wondering, that is really intense and sucks.
The next morning, they returned to the lab and ate a big cheat meal (1100 calories). Both exercise groups led to a reduction in blood lipid levels (triglycerides), however the interval group had the bigger reduction, and had a significantly larger increase in post-meal fat burning.
How awesome is that?!
Take Away message
Do a short, intense workout before your cheat meal.
So this weekend, be strategic and get your cheat on.
One other important thing: Always plan your cheat meal in advance. Random cheats will leave you feeling guilty and out of control, and that’s no fun…
Enjoy the weekend,
KV
Reference: Trombold J. R. et al. (2013) Acute High-Intensity Endurance Exercise is More Effective than Moderate Intensity Exercise for Attenuation of Postprandial Triglyceride Elevation. J Appl. Physiol.
