The Famous Cheat Meal
The “CHEAT MEAL.” It’s one of the most popular methods among gym-goers when it comes to dieting.
You’ve probably overheard it at some point in a conversation between two people at the gym: “I’m dying to eat,” “today’s my cheat meal.” Well, a cheat meal is nothing more than allowing yourself one meal off the plan while following a strict eating regimen. A cheat meal basically means skipping our diet one day a week to eat whatever we want at lunch or dinner, which makes a tough, demanding diet easier to stick to.
However, let’s not get it wrong: a cheat meal doesn’t necessarily mean we have to eat until we can’t take another bite, or load up on junk food excessively. It’s just a strategy that many people in the fitness world use, since it can have certain benefits beyond the pleasure of eating foods that might be off-limits on a strict regimen.
There are lots of ways to do a cheat meal: it can be one or two days a week, and as we mentioned before, it isn’t simply about stuffing ourselves with burgers or pizza. If we like other kinds of food, such as chocolate, sweets or ice cream, we set aside one day of the diet and have a controlled intake of certain foods we couldn’t eat every day because of their risk of fat buildup. Also, it will always be more beneficial to do it on a training day, since we’ll absorb the nutrients better and feel more satisfied with the meal.
What are the benefits of a cheat meal?
As we mentioned above, a cheat meal is done within a strict eating regimen. Therefore, its main benefit is psychological: it helps us ease the anxiety caused by keeping our daily food under control and lets us treat ourselves to a small feast, which brings a certain sense of joy and calm.
What hasn't been shown is that a cheat meal speeds up your metabolism or helps you burn fat: it's just another meal, with its calories. That's why it's worth planning it and not adding it on top of, say, a weekend of excesses. And if the cheat meal turns into a binge or leaves you feeling guilty, it's worth looking at your relationship with food and the mirror.
Finally, we must understand that a cheat meal isn’t a reward; it’s just another meal, one we choose to have fewer times a week depending on our goals. Let’s understand that junk food has consequences in the short, medium and long term. It isn’t wrong to eat it, since we know we enjoy it; the problem is when junk food outweighs healthy food.
