Addressing Cheat Meals

‘Cheat Meals’ are a hotly discussed topic when it comes to following a meal plan. 

It would be easy to take a puritanical approach to cheat meals and say that full adherence to the plan is the ideal, of course, it stands to reason that the closer you can stick to the plan the more linear the route to results on the program.

However, as with much of health and fitness, there are grey areas and many different routes to the same results. Over the course of my 12-year career in fitness, I’ve observed two main personality types when it comes to the approach to cheat meals.

Personality 1 = Enjoys pre-planned, regular cheat meals: 

They serve as something to look forward to and actually bolster adherence to the plan because a predefined stress relief is built into the system. For many people, the presence of a cheat meal actually makes it more likely that the rest of the week is carried out diligently and the planned deviation actually contributes to results, indirectly because of what it prevents.

Personality 2 = Feels a sense of gratification from stacking a series of perfect days together:

 The more perfect days in a row, the more it galvanises motivation to continue the trend, this way a deviation, even a planned one, works against the momentum of the program.

Each person’s relationship with food is different, and it is worth reflecting on your motivation and which approach, if any, would be best for you personally will determine whether you include cheat meals into your program.

I would also advocate the idea of a ‘Cheat Shift’, rather than a ‘Cheat Meal’. Having a dedicated shift of six hours where anything goes is far more psychologically fulfilling than having to restrict your cravings to one meal. This way you can enjoy a couple of different venues or types of meal within your shift. For example, you might head for a fully stacked cappuccino, then a lunch out and follow it up at your favourite ice cream spot. This offers a better chance of feeling fully satiated for the week ahead.

The important thing to remember is that these cheat meals or shifts need to fit into your overall fitness routine, not compete against it. If you do indulge during a planned cheat shift (or even if you deviate from the plan), it’s important not to let this impact your overall plan. Don’t fixate on the calories that you will have taken in, just remember that tomorrow is a new day and start it off right! 

The final word on cheat meals then, is that they are fine as long as you see them coming. We want to avoid starting a day fully expecting to adhere to the plan, but then finding ourselves in a cheat meal scenario. This is not to take the spontaneity out of life, it’s just that unplanned cheat meals can be a slippery slope.