Cheat Meals - Friend or Foe on Your Weight Loss Journey

None of us are strangers to trying to ‘eat better,' and thanks to restrictive diets and bland eating plans, cheat days continue to slither their way into our week.

While living on leaves or gimmicky shakes is a far cry from any actual weight loss answers, cheat meal indulgence could be an overstep in the opposite direction too.

Here’s what you should know about incorporating cheat meals into your diet:

The Benefits of Allowing Cheat Meals

Enjoying an all-carb blowout every once in a while may have its advantages.

Similar to a weekend away or a break from the kids, a separation from a one-dimensional, tasteless eating plan (or even just its anticipation) does wonders for dieting encouragement.

Think of it as a mental reset combined with a break from discipline. Cheat meals can also provide us with a new perspective, meaning you might more readily realise that the junk-type foods you used to love are no longer a necessity.

It could also make you yearn to have your regular, nutrient-rich diet meals back after experiencing a cheat day’s post-lethargy-induced consequences.

Why they could be a deal-breaker

Cheat meals provide us with a sense of reward, and while normally a positive aspect, this can lead to some dieters misvaluing their meal plan or forcing themselves through it so they can load up on the nasty stuff – this isn’t the ideal behind cheat meals at all.

Some concerns with cheat meal integration revolve around nutrition and how to maintain a good diet. Calorie and food restrictions can lead to severe nutrient deficits in the body, leaving you constantly stressed and exhausted, affecting other aspects of your life.

It’s also crucial for your diet to transition into a long-term plan following reaching your weight loss goals. You’ll need to ensure it’s sustainable; otherwise, you’re likely to return to old habits faster than you can say cinnamon doughnuts!

Tips for using cheat days how they’re intended

If you’re restricting a particular food group like sweets or carbs, try integrating a pasta meal or a low-sugar dessert to both curb the craving and stop you from holding out for an overindulgence.

You could even reconsider your portion sizes, steering you away from desires to overload your system with mammoth quantities. Learning how to eat with purpose is also essential.

Maybe you can even reward yourself in ways that don’t involve food at all. Why not try replacing your Sunday cheat meal with an intangible treat like a spa day or shopping spree?

If you’ve organised to hang out with friends during the week, try to schedule it to coincide with your cheat day. At least this way, you’re not doubling up on bad foods if they decide to splash out on a delicious, carb-laden lunch or dinner.