Cheat or not to cheat is the question !

So - who ate a shit load of crap over the weekend and is now feeling guilty, crap, and finding it hard to "start" again today being healthy.. if you are like me.. you may find it hard to get motivated after you slip up... or should i say eat way more than you normally would, sometimes feeling crook and basically eating when your not even hungry.. sounds familiar.. i am sure it happens to the best of us.. I always ask myself whether or not it is worth having a cheat meal.. (more than once or twice a week).. because quite frankly I am the sort of person that once i start eating sugary high carbo loaded snacks an meals.. i find it hard to stop, not only that I just feel crap and wonder why i wanted to eat it in the first place... I know how good it feels to eat clean foods.. so its where I want to be and what I want to consume to always feel my best.. for the sake of a 1 minute food indulgence and yumm factor.. sometimes its better just to go without..
Here’s the way I see it.

HOWEVER - in order to make lifestyle changes I know how important having cheat meals are as if you are striving to live a healthy life and make positive changes, one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to create a plan you can follow for life. And if you think you can go without your favorite yummy treats for life, you are setting yourself up for failure, or at least temporary diet disaster. I have been there and done that... its getting over the hurdle of I can just have a little bit and stop there.. sometimes when I feel like I am having a no control moment.. I don't bother... i just live through the craving and know that yes it eventually goes away.. unless it is too quick and wins... when it wins.. once again if you are like me.. you don't feel like the strong, disciplined person that you know you usually are.

The upside is that cheat meals, yes are important and that you can make them work for you if you follow a few simple steps that I find useful:

* Always remember that it is a cheat meal, and not a cheat day. There is a world of difference in the two. An entire day given to cheating can mess up a week. But just that one meal? One meal can’t undo a week of good effort on your part!

* Timing is important. My cheat meal is usually the last meal of the day. Yes, this often puts me eating sugar or carbs at night. But remember, it’s one meal a week! The reason this works for me is because I find it very easy to eat very clean during the day, however if in the middle of the day I treat myself.. its like I almost fall over and just keep going.. that's when it gets nasty.. If you leave it until the end of the day.. its something to look forward to after a clean dinner.. and you can only eat so much at that time of night before you will feel to full for bed.. so you tend to just have your bowl of ice cream or whatever it is you Fancy and feel satisfied.

* Continually depriving yourself of your favorite foods day in and day out, week after week, when you are giving 100% effort in the gym is an accident waiting to happen. No, you are not exercising to earn your favorite foods, but you can have them every once in a while because you do work so hard without it having a huge effect on your body fat levels.

When I prepare for my physique comps - I don't tend to use cheat meals in my program at all as I would rather just stick clean for the entire 8 week period as it isn't for life.. and its attainable.. I can also go that long and know I am working toward a goal and that once I have walked off stage I can enjoy a nice meal out and perhaps a yummy dessert.. then I can slowly get back into eating more carbs (a small amount of course such as basmati or brown rice or sweet potato and oats)..
The cheat meal!

So - point of my blog is.. go ahead have your cheat meals.. if your in control and can stop at the one meal.. however sometimes if you do not yet have the control, its better to stay away from the sugary carb loaded foods until you have a bit of self-control.. we are all human and go nuts on food binges occasionally which is fine.. we are human.. however its how you bounce back from them and once again grab the self control by the horns and use it to learn for next time.

So when ever you have those cravings and you want to say, “I can never have that again,” replace it with, “Oh, I can’t wait for my next cheat meal. I am SOOO going to have that again!” and give yourself something to look forward to without the full on guilt of a big binge.

I hope you all have your week off to a great start and have done some sort of exercise today already - I don't want to hear its too cold either.. exercise is the perfect thing to warm your body off and get you motivated for another great week!

I know I am nice and warm and have my week started in a wonderful way - ready to roar and enjoy another week of doing the right thing by myself and others.

xo Take care and enjoy Monday ! xxxx