Your Cheat Day Guide

The time has finally come & your coach (or maybe just you) has said.... its time for a CHEAT DAY. We're talking donuts, were talking cheese, were talking chips in the burger with the cheese and topping it off with a donut burger.. the kind that has ice cream in the middle (oh my god).

Sorry to burst your bubble.. but its not as simple as that!

First point... EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!

Depending on what your goal is (weight loss, gaining muscle, training for an sporting event), this all determines what your allowance can be on a "cheat' MEAL". Notice how I said meal and not day...

It’s frequently claimed that using cheat meals will lead to measurable changes in body composition and improved metabolic function due to fluctuations in the hunger hormone leptin.

Leptin is a hormone responsible for suppressing feelings of hunger. Some research indicates that when someone experiences significant weight loss, leptin levels may decrease. However, this result is inconsistent with other studies. A common weight management theory is that with lower levels of circulating leptin, you’re more likely to overeat because you don’t have enough of the hormone sending you signals that you’re satisfied and full. This may lead to rebound weight gain. Proponents of the cheat meal strategy for weight loss further theorize that intermittent periods of higher-calorie foods will trick your hormone cycle into producing more leptin temporarily and prevent the desire for rebound overeating.

Unfortunately, there is little rigorous scientific research to support this theory.

It’s still unclear how fluctuations in leptin levels associated with weight changes affect someone’s ability to control their eating behaviours and maintain weight loss. As a result, more research is needed.

At this stage, it’s more likely that weight loss occurs for some people with the cheat method because of a reduction in overall calorie intake that is achieved by sticking to a well-planned diet most of the time and limiting high-calorie junk foods.

Rule 1

DON'T BINGE!

A cheat meal is not an Opportunity to Binge Eat. A cheat meal is a chance to indulge in your favourite meal, not an opportunity to binge eat, overindulge, overeat, and fall off the weight loss wagon. You want to equate an allowance for calories ( and perhaps macros if you are tracking) to ensure you don't go over your WEEKLY amount.

For example, if your daily calorie intake is 2000, your weekly amount is 14000 calories. You don't want ONE meal to consist of 5000 calories.... and then you put yourself into a surplus of calories (especially if your goal is weight loss/fat loss).

Rule 2

Do not Stretch Cheat Meal into a Cheat Weekend: Limit yourself to one cheat meal per week. Some studies have pointed out that cheat meals that stretch over the weekend or two days in a row can completely throw you off the weight loss wagon. To make sure that you would not binge eat during a cheat meal, eat a protein-rich or high-fiber snack before to feel somewhat full and would be able to successfully avoid overindulgence during the main meal.

Rule 3

Don’t Combine High Sugary, Refined Carbs, High Fat all in one Cheat Meal.

Pick just one category of food source from these because adding up all three categories would make it a highly unhealthy meal, raising inflammation levels in the body.

Rule 4

Workout for 15 Minutes Before Cheat Meal

When you workout before a cheat meal or engage in moderate intensity exercise, the body tends to burn up the existing sugar and glycogen stores, and that means you would have a lot of room for high-carb foods where they would be utilised to replenish glycogen stores rather than be directed towards adipose cells to be stored as fat.

Rule 5

Eat What you Want Not Whatever you can until you look 6 months pregnant.

Eat a slice of pizza not the whole pizza, a few pieces of chocolate not the whole bar, one or two scoops of ice cream not the whole tub. Even with a cheat meal, you need to still practice portion control to avoid feelings of guilt later on.

The leaner you are the more often you can afford to have these "cheat meals". If your body fat is below 15% for males or 20% for females you can indulge every other week. If your body fat is above 15% for males or 20% for females stick to the 25:1 rule (every clean 25 meals you eat you get to have one cheat meal) and as you get leaner you can start adding cheat meals more often.

Yours in health,

Coach Kimmi