Are Cheat Meals Going To Ruin My Results?

So you been working out multiple days during the week and have been eating great! Then the weekend comes along and you flood yourself with cheat meals and wonder if you just derailed your fitness success.  Ahh!!! I was doing so great!! I’ve been there! I totally know how you are feeling.  Aren’t we entitled to cheat meals every once in awhile.  But the problem with cheat meals is what is every once in awhile? When is it ok and when are we going to truly derail our health and fitness goals.  Why have a cheat meal is what I sometimes hear? We all need to enjoy our life.  We only live once.  So having one of your favorite cheat meals every now and then is okay but doing it too often is not a wise decision.  You only get one body.  Take care of it and it will take care of you.  I don’t want anyone to panic and say you can never enjoy yourself but I am going to give you some tips and guidelines that I live by.  They have allowed me to stay pretty fit but also enjoy one of my favorite cheat meals every now and then.

How Often Can I Have Cheat Meals?

Cheat meals will not derail your fitness success if you eat them every once in awhile.  But too many of them can work against you if you are working out real hard all week.  I live by the 80/20  or 90/10 rule.  What this basically means is 80-90% of my meals during any given week are very clean and healthy.  Then I leave the other 10-20% to eat what I want.  If you stick to this rule you should be fine.  One cheat meal a week usually is fine.  You can have your cheat meals 10-20% of the time but be careful not to go over that limit. I personally try to stick to the 90/10 plan.  But there are some weeks where I do fall off the wagon a little bit and slip down to 80/20.  Just remember if you eat one too many cheat meals don’t get down on yourself.  It happens.  Pick yourself up.  Brush yourself off and get back on the saddle.   Success in life sometimes comes through struggles and failures.  Don’t stress out about it.

Cheat Meals – What To Primarily Focus On When Eating Healthy

So 90% of my week I try avoid eating any of those cheat meals and try to eat clean and healthy.  To keep it simple I stick to these five groups of food.  I don’t count points. I don’t count calories.  I keep it simple old school and eat what our great grandparents ate on the farm.  Here are my five key groups of food:

1. Fruits
2. Vegetables
3. Whole Grains
4. Lean Proteins
5. Healthy Fats

I don’t know anyone who got overweight by eating fruits and vegetables.  So go ahead and eat as much of this as you want.  As for whole grains this is your whole grain pastas and breads.  Your lean proteins could be your chicken and your fish.  Last but not lease your healthy fats are all types of nuts, peanut butter, olive oil etc.  If you stick to these five groups 80-90% of your week you will do very well and reach your health and fitness goals.  This will then allow you choose one of your cheat meals say on the weekend.

One of the keys to your success is planning ahead.  I always look at my week in advance and if I know I am going to be going out to dinner one night or attending a family party then this most likely will be the day I have one of my cheat meals.  Not planning ahead can lead to your demise.  Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.   The five P’s.  Stick to this.  Always plan your weeks out ahead of time.  I do the same thing with my workouts.  I know what I am going to do each and every day of the week.

My Thoughts Over Cheat Meals!

Remember we only live once so you should enjoy yourself with one of your favorite cheat meals.  But as I said above we only get one body.  Take care of it and it will take care of you.  If you are eating bad more days than eating good than your body is totally working against itself.  Cheat meals are part of life but the key is to continue to work out consistently and to eat clean 80-90% of the time.  Follow the five groups of food as stated above and don’t over complicate it.

Cheat Meals and My Final Tips!

Keep your diet simple.  Shop on the outside aisles of the grocery store and pack your food everyday.  This will limit you from going on a eating binge because you got busy at work and missed a meal.  Again Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.  So enjoy one of your favorite cheat meals on the weekend but be sure to stick to the game plan!

 

Your Coach,

DAVE