The Adler Blog

Ok, now that everybody is reading the blog, on to today’s subject: the cheat meal. What is it, what does it do, should it be done?

A cheat meal is, by definition, a meal where the dieter steps away from his meal plan (in a controlled manner). This can be a helpful addition to any diet for several reasons. The first one is psychological; most people simply don’t look forward to eating the same foods for 16-20 weeks in a row. Bodybuilders and physique athletes have unbelievable will power, and even for them it is hard to follow through. Now, posing on a stage with 3% body fat is not the average person’s goal so, we need to find another motivational factor. A cheat meal once or twice a week, depending on how lean the person is, can help tremendously to break the monotony. It is also helpful to plan the cheat meal on the day of a Christmas party, wedding, or just a dinner out.

Most people stay so fixated on their diet and do everything so perfectly, that if they slip only once, they tend to give up altogether. A cheat meal makes it easier to get back on the wagon.

This is the mind aspect, but what about the body? Doesn’t a cheat meal destroy all my efforts? Well, it can but it can also be very helpful if used properly. Now, let me be very clear here. A single meal can absolutely set you back in your dieting efforts. The average American eats 3500 calories on Thanksgiving; that is one pound of fat.

But a properly planned cheat meal can actually make you leaner. How? Glad you asked. Once you start dieting, your body uses fats for energy and you keep getting leaner, right? Not quite. As you go along, your body realizes that you are in a (self-inflicted) famine and it starts to protect you.

Unfortunately, we haven’t evolved much from the Stone Age where every calorie mattered for survival. Your body will down-regulate your metabolism, lower your growth and thyroid hormone levels and start burning muscle mass. All this will set you up for an ungodly diet rebound (yo-yo effect).

So the way out is the cheat meal, which ideally is a high-carb, low fat dish such as whole wheat pasta with chicken or sushi to up-regulate your metabolism and put you in a better mood.

How often should you have a cheat meal? Women over 30% and men over 20 % body fat, once every 10 days. Numbers below that, once every seven days. If you are under 10% (male) or 18% (female) body fat, you can have a cheat meal every 5 days.

The leaner you are, the more often you get to cheat. Another reason to get lean!

Till next time,

Scott and Maik