To cheat? Or not to cheat?

Hi all

Mark here from Alltone Fitness with this week's blog.
To cheat, or not to cheat?? Now before you jump to conclusions I'm actually talking about cheat meals. Are they OK from time to time? Should you avoid them? Will they undo all your hard work? I will attempt to answer the above questions.

You might be one of those rare individuals who can stick to your clean calorie and macro nutrient controlled diet all year round, though for the remaining 99.9% of us there are times where we feel like eating something naughty. This is what we call the cheat meal.

Believe it or not, a cheat meal can actually do wonders for your diet and continued weight loss.
Now don't get me wrong, this doesn't give you the green light to go and eat a family pizza or a 2 large big mac combo. However I will get to that later. There will come a time in a calorie restricted diet where the metabolism we come to halt and weight loss will cease to continue. A cheat meal can kick start your metabolism and resume your weight loss.  This is because when you eat a big meal which is calorie dense your Liptin levels increase. Liptin is hormone which helps assist energy output and suppresses food intake. It's reduced by low levels of body fat along with a prolonged restriction of calories.  A big meal that's high in carbs will assist in replenishing your Liptin levels and can kick start your weight loss again.

A cheat meal will also replenish your glycogen stores increasing energy levels helping you power through that high intensity work out.

So what should you eat for your cheap meal I hear you ask.
Well a cheat meal doesn't necessarily need to be junk food that's high in fat.
Love sweet potatoes? Have double the amount you usually have and add a tea spoon of butter to it.
You see a cheat meal can be something healthy though in a larger serving size. Always try and include something nutrient dense (healthy)  along side it. Going out for pizza? Order a salad as a side serving. Want that creamy bowl of spag carbonara?

Order a small bowl of steamed veg on the side. Remember this does not give you the green light to go to town and visit every Macca's drive thru you see.  Everything in moderation, that includes your cheat meal.

One last point to remember, we are not machines, it's ok to eat a meal high in calories from time to time. I like to follow the 90/10 rule. I eat clean and healthy 90% of the time. I usually allow myself that 10% on the weekends as a reward knowing I have been good all week. My cheat meal is exactly that, a cheat meal. Not a cheat day, or cheat weekend. Happy cheating!

Over and out

Mark