A common question that I tend to receive from clients on a regular basis is how often is it okay for them to cheat on their diets. I’ve never really quite understood all the confusion surrounding this topic as in my opinion cheating on your diet on a regular basis will only hinder your progress and dilute your results. Yet for some reason, most people seem to be under the impression that consuming a cheat meal every few days or even an entire cheat day each week, is actually beneficial to both their bodies and their minds. In which my response is – BULLSHIT!

I want to start this week’s blog by saying that I do believe that incorporating the occasional cheat meal into a extremely clean diet can actually have it’s benefits. However, like anything there are several factors and components to take into consideration when deciding when and how often it’s okay for a person to cheat on his or her diet.

Understanding Your Genetics

Have you struggled with your weight your entire life? Or do you have difficulty adding on muscle no matter how much you eat and train? Were either of your parents overweight when they were younger? These are all questions you need to ask yourself and know the answers to before deciding how often you can cheat on your diet and get away with it. Unfortunately we cannot change our genetics. Some people are blessed with better genetics then others. Life isn’t fair so just get over it and move on. Now even though you cannot change your genetics, you can learn how to work with your genetics as opposed to against them to maximize your results both aesthetically and mentally.

If you’re someone who naturally stores body fat easily, then it might be a wise decision to keep your overall daily caloric intake at low to moderate levels. If you know that you have a fast metabolism, then you’re going to have to do the complete opposite and train your body to eat more frequently and perhaps even consume larger portions of food throughout the day.

When it comes to cheat meals though, regardless of whether I’m working with an endomorph (someone who puts on weight easily) or an ectomorph (someone who loses weight easily), I rarely if ever include more then two cheat meals a week on their nutritional plans that I design for them. Why? Simple. If you’re driving around in a luxury car, are you going to fill it up with cheap fuel and gas because you can? Probably not. So why would you fill your body up with cheap and dirty foods, just because you can?

Treat your body like a luxury car or your home and take care of it! Period.

Know Your Goals

Do you have a clear and precise understanding as to what your goals are? For some people their goal might be to lose 10-15lbs. Others might wish to train and enter a fitness competition where they’ll be judge solely on their aesthetics. And many people just want to improve their overall health and have a better quality of life. Regardless of what your goal is, it’s important that you have one.

The reality is that if you want to lose 10-15lbs you’re going to have clean up your diet and eat clean foods at least 80-90% of the time. You’re also going to need to perform some additional cardiovascular and resistance training workouts to help burn those extra pounds of fat off.

If you’re training for a fitness competition, you’re going to need go above and beyond what most people are willing to do with their diet and their training. Fitness competitors and other athletes alike, are in a league of their own. They are training purely for aesthetics and performance. Therefore it’s crucial that their diets are perfect 100% of the time. Many times when I’m working with a competitor, I won’t even include a cheat meal on their plan as they get closer to their competition or if I feel that they’re behind schedule. Their goal after all is to do something that the majority of the population cannot and will not do. Therefore there is little to no room for error with regards to their diet and their training.

And for the rest of us that workout and eat clean for primarily the health benefits, yet still want to look and feel good in our bodies, we can be a bit more relaxed with both our diets and our training. I work with plenty of people who are not involved in the fitness industry whatsoever. Many of our own clients don’t even go to the gym on their own because they don’t have the time and/or desire to train by themselves. And that’s okay. They’re not obsessed with their diets nor do they want to spend everyday in the gym. As long as these people are consuming a relatively clean diet and staying active at least 2-3x/week they’re going to accomplish their goals as long as they’re realistic.

Be Realistic With Your Expectations

Finally, it’s important to have realistic expectations when it comes to the results you wish to achieve with your health and your physique through diet and exercise. I’ve spoken on this topic on numerous occasions in the past so I will try and keep this brief. If you’re not willing to put the time and effort into achieving the goals that you set, then you’re NOT going to achieve those goals. For example, if you’re goal is to lose 50lbs in 4 weeks, then there is very good chance that you will not achieve this goal simply because it’s unrealistic. A more realistic goal would be to lose perhaps 8-10lbs in 4 weeks while following a strict diet and regiment training program. Now if you’re goal is to lose those very same 8-10lbs while having daily cheat meals or weekly cheat days, then there’s a good chance that this goal goes back to becoming unrealistic again. Remember, if it doesn’t challenge you, then it won’t change you. So if you’re not willing to leave your comfort zone and give up on life’s short term gratifications, then don’t be surprised or become frustrated when you don’t achieve life’s long term satisfactions.

To Cheat or Not To Cheat……That is the Question

So when and how often should you have a cheat meal? If I’m not working with you directly then I can’t answer that question for you. I can however suggest that you take all of the above points into consideration when answering this question for yourself. After all, you know your body better then anyone else does. You also know your lifestyle and personality better then I do. Will you feel guilty if you have that extra slice of pizza or bag of chips this week? Or will you feel resentment towards the gym and your diet for not allowing you to enjoy all the foods that bring you happiness and joy? Or will you feel like a failure if you don’t and never do achieve your health and fitness goals?

Only you can answer that…….

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance