You’ll notice that the title reads “Cheat MEALS” not “Cheat Days”. If you hadn’t, you are now acutely aware of it.
Nutrition is 80% of this whole fitness thing, in case you didn’t know that already. Exercise is merely the trigger, but the actual outcome is shaped largely by the foods you eat. Cheat meals ought to be a planned part of your nutrition and diet plan. The trick with utilizing cheat meals, in addition to the psychological benefit of gorging, is understanding how they really work and how they can actually be a positive aid in your fitness regime.
Let’s do some quick sciencing for your young minds first shall we?
Fact: You have a hormone in your body known as “Leptin” which has an integral role in regulating energy intake and expenditure. Leptin is largely fueled by the influx of sugars and carbohydrates into the bloodstream and directly boosts metabolism and fat burning in the body. Now that I mention that, it’s important to get back to the original point of it being a cheat meal rather than a cheat day. Leptin is a hormone that takes a single meal to spike its levels in the body and can take up to a week to drop; meaning that’s it’s easy to boost and remains with you for a while. Leptin is so important in fact, that people (or animals) who are unable to produce it or build up a tolerance to it are more likely to be obese!
You see, your nutrition should be clean 90% of the time in order to really supply your body with quality ingredients that end up producing desired results on account of your fitness regimen. Eating too much “junk” food would however result in a spiked insulin that can lead to increased fat storage and a heap of other ailments which can include diabetes on the long run. That’s the real trick in relation to cheat meals, it’s about giving it a boost every now and then so that you’re not constantly causing a spike in Leptin which would only result in increased tolerance and decreased efficiency.
Cheat meals, a once a day - once or twice a week - occurrence on the other hand, end up regulating your Leptin levels - which can take up to a week to drop - by raising them almost instantly. So this should be part of your nutrition arsenal, once or twice a week, in one of your day’s four to five meals, you should include something sinful, but don’t get too excited.
You see, a cheat meal, while a moment of indulgence that puts your mind at ease as much as it does your Leptin levels, does not necessarily have to mean that’s junk food. The trick with cheat meals is eating stuff that still provide some nutritional benefit of sorts. Think burgers, pizza or shawerma, just make sure it ticks off all the boxes in terms of the proteins, carbs and fats ratios so that you’re not just stuffing your face with a chocolate cake that - while absolutely delicious - isn’t doing you much benefit past the indulgence bit. Another thing to take into consideration is the quality of your cheat meal, have your burger, absolutely, but you should skip out on the fries. This ties back to the concept of benefit I just mentioned. French fries serve little nutritional benefit, I’d rather you eat sweet potato fries - but do try and skip on fried foods altogether is possible or at least make them yourself instead of going out to eat them or using processed pre-packaged versions.
Plan your cheat meals ahead. Make them a joyous occasion. They are a reward for the mind as much as they are for the body. Two weeks ago, my cheat meal was a double burger from Mince with a side of sweet potato and a salad. The week after it was two shawerma sandwiches, this week it was 450 grams of sirloin steak with similar sides. Next week I’m planning to make tacos with shredded chicken and the whole Mexican shebang!
Cheal meals can be a powerful weapon in your arsenal, suffice that you understand how they work, their psychological and biological importance, and how you can utilize them for your benefit.
Oh, and do try and place them on the day of the week you’re actually working out you tub of lard.
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