Should I Have a Cheat Day?
What Is a Cheat Day?
A “cheat day” or even just a cheat meal is one that a client will indulge a bit more than usual, or to have a food or meal they have restricted from their daily eating habits during their fat loss phase. I encourage most of my clients to avoid using the term “cheat” in their nutrition habits, and here’s why.
Food Is Not Cheating
Food isn’t cheating. For me a calorie is a calorie. Food is food. Some foods are more nutrient dense others are more calorie dense. Neither is good or bad, they just are. When we talk of things as “cheats” or “naughty” we continue to attach our emotions and judgment to the value of food. And we continue to see things as right or wrong, and that’s just not the way I think we should view our nutrition habits.
Do I think my clients should eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s every day? Hell no. But I also encourage them not to deny themselves the things they enjoy because it can lead to temporary binges when they do finally have some. I also encourage them to recognize the foods they can’t just have a bite or two of, and so yeah, maybe they don’t buy the ice cream or the bag of M & M’s or the chips because they can’t pace themselves.
I personally don’t have ice cream in the house at all. No matter the size of the container, as far as I’m concerned, the serving size is 1. I can’t have an actual serving (1/4 c.) of ice cream on my own. I love Peanut Butter M & M’s, but I won’t buy the large bag of them because I won’t just eat a few and close it. I will buy a small bag from time to time and account for those calories in my day.
Food is food. It is neither good nor bad. It just is.
All Things in Moderation
It took me a long time to get to the place where I could moderate my consumption of certain things like peanut butter or other snacks. And that became key to mending my relationship with how I viewed food. I had strong emotional attachments to various foods, and I had to understand why I did and how to unwind those attachments. Once I did, I was able to moderate how much I ate them.
My husband and I have various snacks around the house, but we don’t have cabinets filled with a large variety. And that’s ok. It just means when you come to visit you can have some almonds, crackers and some cheese, or stevia-sweetened chocolate. We keep things in the house that we know we won’t eat all of in one sitting.
Moderation may not be an easy thing for some folks. It took me a long time to get there. It’s a work in progress and so forgiveness is key. Just get back on track the next meal with your nutrition and move forward if you don’t moderate well.
Overeating
In my own lived experience, when I’ve had cheat days or meals, I often went overboard with whatever I was eating. I usually couched in the idea that I had been so good prior to that moment that I deserved to eat all of this and more. I find my clients encounter that same tendency.
I would rather have a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter every few days than a whole jar in one. I’d rather have a handful of almonds for a snack than devour a bag of pretzels or chips because I had “earned” them.
I found when I withheld or denied myself certain foods, I would overeat them when I did have them. I then found a lot of that hard work would be undone by the cheat day. Which then would lead to giving up on any kind of calorie deficit I was in because “why bother anymore?”
Food shouldn’t be earned or used as a reward because it just maintains that judgmental and emotional connection to it. Just eat it and enjoy it. And get back on track the next meal if you do overeat.
Do Not Judge Yourself
The last thing I’ll say is not to judge yourself for whatever you’ve eaten. I’ve said it a few times in this post, get back on track. We’re all going to have moments where we’re not as successful as we’d like to be, but it’s the moment after that that determines your success. Get back on track. Forgive yourself if you ate a bunch of Oreos or that bag of Maui Sweet Onion chips. Get back on track. I won’t judge you for it, and you shouldn’t judge yourself either. And no…you don’t have to do 50 burpees to burn it off either. That’s my next post coming tomorrow!