[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ast weekend I decided that I wanted to eat a McDonalds (shock horror a PT eating junk food). I always love to see my clients reaction when I say that, or that I’m having a Dominos pizza.
The look of sheer be wilderness that I would eat such foods. The truth is, EVEN us personal trainers like junk food – yes really! Oh man was it good, large big mac meal and two double cheese burgers (you gotta have a side burger, right? Haha).
Two days later, I had my weekly weigh-in – my weight was down and I was looking LEANER. Now, there is and was a method in the ‘madness’. Not only is the influx in extra calories a HUGE psychological break for me to relax during a strict dieting period but the volume of food I ate that day had a fantastic outcome on how I then looked for the following few days – my metabolism was on fire.
I’m not saying that you should be eating junk food all of the time (obviously!) but it CAN be included in your regime every now and then and you can still achieve your goals. For me, this was a cheat meal. NOT a cheat day! There’s a big difference in the two. One can help you; the other is more than likely to hinder you. Once I had finished my McDonalds, I reverted back to my usual eating feeling satisfied with what I had just eaten.
That right there is the key to being able to stick to a new healthier routine. The best ‘diet’ is the one you can stick to for the rest of your life. Do you want to be stressing every time you go to weddings, christenings, BBQ’s or just a gathering at a friends house? Unless you actively try and include some of the foods you ENJOY into your new healthier lifestyle, you will never be able to relax. What will you do for the rest of your life during all of your social occasions, take Tupperware with you panicking that you may get fat?
What you need to be able to decipher (love that word) is WHEN it will work best for you and how MUCH you should be having. These are exactly the tools we can provide you with here at Impact Personal Training.
Take home points
- A structured cheat meal can help you with fat loss and staying on track with your nutrition
- Don’t make the mistake of having a whole cheat day
- Having one ‘bad’ meal a week will not make you fat, just like having one salad a week won’t make you thin
Rich ‘loves a side burger’ Gunter
