“Cheat meal.“

I am sure you’ve heard the term; whether in an article, interview or show.

When you get your diet under control and start eating clean (remember, this means your long-term eating habits not a short-term fix… those don’t work!), eventually you will encounter this oft misunderstood concept.

I’m going to break down the do’s and don’ts of “cheating” for you, and teach you how to cheat on your diet and not feel guilty, so you don’t sabotage yourself!

A “cheat meal” is just an opportunity to enjoy some indulgent food that you don’t eat on a regular basis.

No matter what your intentions are, it’s impossible to be completely perfect with your diet all the time (it’s not necessary either to be honest)! “Cheating” on your diet occasionally, and enjoying some decadent food, can be a vital and integral part of a long-term healthy lifestyle.

While some people will say that allowing yourself to “cheat” is the gateway to an all out binge, I think it is a good way to further hone your growing, superheroic willpower.

I won’t lie to you, sabotaging yourself by binging can and does happen, but I don’t think that’s a valid reason to treat cheat meals like kryptonite.

I spend a lot of time trying to help all of you loyal readers how to shop, prepare meals, eat clean and deal with temptation, but you also have to learn how to cheat the game and satisfy your urge for unhealthier fare!

When you first start on your Heroes Transformation, fixing your eating habits and trying to right your dietary ship, being ultra-strict to your diet plan is smart.

Identifying the “trigger” foods that will lead to overeating and bingeing (and avoiding them) is important, but every aspiring superhero has to eventually face down his nemesis and this is no different!

So how can you do it without backsliding into bad eating habits?

Face your Nemesis

When you really break it down, food is just fuel.

Yes, some things taste better than others but it’s usually emotional issues that are stopping you from controlling yourself. A Twinkie, no matter how much you may crave it, is not some evil version of Professor X controlling your mind and forcing you to cram it into your face hole.

A lot of “foods” are specifically engineered to increase cravings (read all about the food industry’s nefarious plots in the great book “Salt, Sugar, Fat”) but self-control, an amazing power that we all possess to some degree, can easily combat them.

A power greater than any carefully designed sugar-fat-salt-bomb!

Just like any new challenge it won’t be easy, and you will fail at times, but you will pick yourself up and you will eventually succeed!

I know it might seem like a logical solution, but simply avoiding your favorite foods and saying “I can’t have that because it makes me overindulge” is not the answer and it is a disservice to yourself.

How to Conquer the “Cheat“

“So what’s the solution?”

I’m glad you asked! The answer is a controlled cheat meal.

Here are some guidelines you can follow to help define exactly what I mean when I say “controlled” and how to fit these occasional “cheats” into your long-term dietary plan and remove the stress and guilt out of the process.

A “cheat meal” is just an opportunity to indulge and enjoy food you don’t normally eat.

• Enjoy yourself: This is arguably the most important! Don’t feel guilty, don’t obsess over the calories… no regrets!

That being said, here are a few more guidelines so that your indulgences stay positive and don’t impede your Heroes Transformation progress like an attack from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

• Plan your cheat: In order to remain in control of your eating habits, you have to factor in your cheats intelligently! Yes, it takes the joy of spontaneity out of the experience but let’s be honest it was your lack of correct meal planning that landed you in this boat in the first place; so we aren’t leaving this up to chance! Realizing you have nothing in your refrigerator and then ordering a pizza and then counting it as your cheat works against you. This isn’t some sort of hall pass that gets you out of trouble for cheating on your diet; they should be included in your plan from the outset. I think picking a specific meal time is the way to go (maybe you don’t know what you’re going to eat but you know when) based on your social schedule, the holidays or what have you. Whatever it is, you should know in advance that it’s your cheat.

• Track your progress: We are all different and, while cheating once or twice a week is fine for most, your individual goals may call for more or less. If you’ve been losing weight steadily and integrate 2 cheat meals a week into your diet plan and then stop seeing progress you are going to have to cut it back to 1 or change what it is you are indulging in. I have preached in the past about the value of food-journaling and I feel it is a worthwhile exercise to pick back up your first couple of weeks of “cheating” as well.

• Don’t go crazy: This is very important, so I want you to listen to me… more does not taste better. There will always be another planned cheat so just eat slowly and savor this indulgence that you have earned, but don’t overeat!

• Cheat meal ≠ Cheat Day: Unless you are an athlete burning crazy amounts of calories on a daily basis I don’t recommend taking an entire day to indulge. Yes, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has his famous doughnut days where he destroys dozens of the tasty treats but his Herculean regimen through the rest of the week allows for it… for us mere mortals our food for the rest of the day should be no different than usual. One “cheat meal” a week should not be enough to undo all your planning and hard work but a full day? Well that might just lay waste to all your hard work…

So there you go! I know I love my cheats… they tend to either come in the form of Chinese Food or Sausalito cookies, and some weeks they come more than a couple of times. The Jerd is not immune to the siren’s call of crappy food choices! I just remember that I have the positive habits I have built for myself as the first line of defense, and then I make sure I step back and identify when I am over-indulging and correct as necessary.

Like I keep saying, living a fit and healthy lifestyle is a lifelong and iterative process.

Don’t be afraid to course correct as needed!

What about you? What are your go-to cheats? Beer? Pizza? Wings? I want to know what they are and how you factor them into your plans, so let me know in the comments below!

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