After doing some reading, I'm thinking of adding some cheat meals into my diet. I know that these meals are supposed to be good for you mentally, but will they ruin my progress?
You'll often hear people talking about their cheat meals or Free Days while on a diet. One day while I was doing cardio, I overheard a guy talking to his workout buddy about how he put away an absurd amount of food on weekends- his Free Days. Wings, pizza, pretzels, cupcakes and of course plenty of beer.
For most people, the cheat meal is a nice mini reward for your hard work during the week. It breaks up the monotony of strict dieting and gives you something to look forward to. Many people report having an easier time mentally, thus increasing compliance rate. Of course this quick respite from your disciplined diet is not meant to undo all of the ass- busting work you've done all week.
The Cheat Meal Rules
- The cheat meal is not license to cram every high calorie morsel in sight down all day. Just one meal.
- The cheat meal is one (1) meal per week that you plan in advance.
- The cheat meal length is your duration at the table. Once you get up, it's over Johnny.
Can I reduce the potential damage of a free day even more?
Yes. Post workout is by far the best time to eat your cheat meal. Specifically within the hour after a heavy workout, because EPOC is highest at this time.
EPOC stands for Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption.
Basically this means your metabolic furnace is firing on all cylinders at this time. The more intense your workout is, the higher your EPOC will be. The extra calories you take in from the cheat meal will go to good use like building muscle or refilling glycogen stores rather than being stored as body fat.
In fact, I always schedule my cheat meals right after my heavy leg workout, or a sprinting session, depending on what phase of training I'm in at that time. No better time to eat a large meal like this.
Follow these rules and you can have your cake and eat it... post workout of course!
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