The beautiful “cheat meal”

For some people, this happens at least three meals a day, seven days a week. Before you know it, the cheat meal becomes the way that you eat and your body grows accustomed to the garbage. You feel horrible. You are tired, irritated and lethargic. You have digestion issues or upset stomach often. Bloating and discomfort are common. However, when you keep your nutrition in check and are consuming lean protein, good carbs, good fats, and plenty of Shakeology, the cheat meal becomes a key to your overall health and fitness plan. A little confused? Let me explain…

There are many benefits of a cheat meal but I will cover three.

1.) Reduce Cravings – If you are eating fairly strictly while working out and you were a food-a-holic before, then you are probably having some pretty intense cravings. Greasy, salty, or sweet usually break people down at some point. While Shakeology is a major craving reducer, I still like to have some real sweets. If you know that you can have a meal + snack a week then you are less likely to cheat during the week AND it keeps you from binge eating after you finish your workout program

2.) Boosts Metabolism – While eating a restricted calorie diet, your body gets used to operating at a certain level. You should be eating small meals often during the week, so hopefully your metabolism (how you burn food) is increasing as well. With a cheat meal, your body enjoys the calories and subsequently boosts your metabolism. This should give you great energy the next day, but it also explains why you still want a big meal after Chinese buffet. In addition, your body is becoming more efficient at burning calories, so it can quickly dismiss a high calorie meal like that. CAUTION: I said one meal. If you do this for three days, then you have to re-train your metabolism.

3.) Lets people know you are human – Anyone that has been on a “diet” (I hate that word, and if you know me then you know why. Diets are temporary.) knows what it feels like to be invited over for dinner or out to eat and not have much control over the menu. While I do advocate being good, sometimes it is unavoidable. In these social settings, it is good for your friends and family to know that you are not a freak and you can eat “normal” food. My mother says that a little bit won’t hurt you. It also keeps you from obsessing over food and not allowing yourself to enjoy it. I do believe wholeheartedly that food=fuel but our bodies were created to enjoy it, too. You should enjoy it in a healthy way.  My CAUTION here: Don’t find lots of reasons to get together just so you can make food excuses. You are doing yourselves no favors here. More often than not, it is better to invite friends and family over so YOU can cook for them.

So there it is. You are now informed. Don’t go buck-wild, but do remember these things as you are approaching the weekend. Trust me. Your mother will thank you for it.