How to cheat…and get away with it!
(Confessions of a serial dieter)
It’s late, you’re lonely, bored, and dissatisfied with the way things are going. You can’t take it anymore and you’re finally about to break. Then you start thinking about the promises you made to yourself “I thought I could be faithful. I thought I could go on like this forever. Am I really this weak? I really thought I could make this work.” Then it happens, you break down and have a moment of weakness….you cheater!
Just as this happens, your spouse walks in and catches you in the act! “You cheater! How could you do this to us? I thought you promised me that you were going to try harder this time? I thought you said this would never happen again?” Then the remorse starts to settle in. You begin to question your values, will power and commitment issues.
Wait a second…we are still talking about dieting right? Why do we put all of this unneeded pressure on ourselves to eat the right things day in and day out?
There is so much external pressure placed on each of us anytime we want to make an impactful, life-changing decision. Think about quitting drinking or smoking. At that point in time, the only way to succeed is to quit that particular substance FOREVER!
The good news is that with dieting you don’t have to give up your favorite foods forever, just the next 5 days. What, just 5 days? That’s right! We have found that it helps your weight loss to cheat. You’re thinking ‘you’ve got to be kidding me?’
Here’s what we have found. When you initially begin a weight loss program, by restricting your calorie intake, your body begins to steadily lose weight. Have you noticed though that after 8 to 12 weeks, your weight loss slows down or you stop losing any weight at all?
What happens is that your body begins to “adapt” to this change as the new “normal” and you start losing less weight with the same effort. This is why most weight loss systems stop working after a while. If you eat the same way all the time, every day, your body adapts to this new “normal” and your system stabilizes. By changing your eating routine, slightly on the weekend, you will avoid this stagnation in your weight loss program. Plus, it certainly makes dieting less stressful, a lot easier and much more fun.
So believe it or not, cheating can actually be an important part of your weight loss program. But, it needs to be scheduled and controlled!
Cheat Meals – Here is What I Recommend:
Here is what I recommend: stick to your diet exactly as it was designed Monday through Friday. During the week, anytime you get a craving for a non-diet food or get a serious craving for some junk food, write down what you are craving. When the weekend comes around you must evaluate how well you stuck to your diet during the week. If you stuck to your program at least 90% throughout the week, allow yourself some leeway on the weekend with the foods you craved during the week.
Having your cheat meals planned in advance, along with having portion control at these meals will serve 3 major purposes:
1. Your cravings will now be managed more easily knowing that your next cheat meal is never more than 5 days away.
2. You will avoid weight loss plateaus or sticking points because you are continuously changing up your eating and confusing you metabolism from becoming stagnant.
3. Just like a flu shot where you are given a small dose of the virus so your body builds an immunity to it, weekly cheat meals will make you less susceptible to rapid weight gain when you come off of your diet or have an unplanned cheat meal.
So when you are ready to start a new diet or stuck in a rut with your current diet remember the old saying, “If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying!”
Have a question for me? I’d love to hear from you. Please fill out the form below and I’ll reply back as quickly as possible!
