Understanding the cheat meal
Tips for dieters and weight trainers
Everyone dreams of a perfect body. Being in good shape requires a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle. To get a beautiful muscular figure, it is necessary to adopt in addition to a regular training, a correct diet. Many people therefore decide to adopt a fat loss diet. However, the drop in calories per day caused by a prolonged diet is not always easy to bear. It often affects the overall functioning of our metabolism. Fortunately, there is a solution that can boost your motivation as well as your metabolism if you know how to manage it well and don't abuse it: The cheat meal
What is a cheat meal?
If you search for cheating translation, you will come across the word "cheating". In this sense, the word is also known as "cheated meal".
The cheat meal is a fun meal that can be introduced in the middle of a low-calorie diet. During a meal, you can eat whatever you like. It is therefore not a carbohydrate rebound but the main purpose of such a practice is to keep you motivated to follow your diet and especially to boost your metabolism. Thus, it can help you ensure weight loss.
If you practice bodybuilding, this type of solution can be really useful for your muscles and to bring them volume. Indeed, being in a calorie deficit for too long causes your muscles to be flat and sometimes congestion will not be at the RV.
The difference between a cheat meal and a cheat day
There are different rationales behind each of these two terms that are often used in the fitness or bodybuilding field. Practicing them in the wrong way can be detrimental to your diet and therefore to your progress in bodybuilding.
A cheat day
A cheat day is a whole day of relaxation. It is a day when you can eat whatever you want while you are on a strict diet. Depending on your cravings, you can include pastries, ice cream, fries, hamburgers, etc. in your meals. Some people indulge in sweets, dairy products and the like. Taking this break is really good for your morale. For example, it helps to increase the level of dopamine in the brain. But is the cheat day really the best solution?
A cheat meal
A cheat meal is on the same principle but only for a single meal during the day. It's about indulging in foods that you would like to eat. When weight trainers do a cheat meal, they usually eat a pizza or a burger (which they are not allowed to do on the diet). They may also choose to do so during breakfastThey can choose to eat with croissants, lunch or even a snack or dinner. It's up to them to choose what suits them. Another tip is that if you are planning a birthday party or a meal with friends, you can do it at that time. In fact, eating and consuming rich foods during a meal will have almost no impact on your diet as long as it is planned. That is to say that for example if you remove 150 calories per day multiplied by 6 days of the week, you will have saved 900 calories which can be added to the number of daily calories of the cheat meal.
This kind of process often scares some people wishing to lose a maximum of fat. However, it has many benefits that can help you. On the other hand, it will not work for morbidly obese people and is therefore not recommended at all.
How many cheat meals per week?
The frequency of cheat meals will depend on your personal goals. Preferably, it is important to make an exception once a week. This can increase fat loss. Thus, doing cheat meal 1 time in 7 days allows you to restore your glycogen reserves. The reserves built up will be beneficial for the following week. I would even go further and say that if you are correct on your diet, this cheat meal will have no impact on your goals. It will give you a boost of energy for the next training session which will be more efficient and for which you will probably burn more calories. It is advisable to do this cheat meal on the day you train your weakest point or the day before your leg session.
Why can we do a cheat meal?
Going on a low-calorie diet is very difficult because of hunger, temptation and low morale. It can make you tired and disrupt your social and hormonal life. During a diet of dryness, your body will realize very quickly of the calorific fall that you impose to him. When your diet seems too prolonged, your body slows down its metabolic rate to maintain its energy. This means that it is possible to stagnate during your weight loss and perform less well during your weight training sessions. The cheat meal can jumpstart your body and mind and change that.
A cheat meal allows your body to boost its metabolism. It is the subject of much discussion in the field of nutrition. While there are some people who find benefits in practicing it, others find negative effects. To clarify this point, focus on the pros and cons of a cheat meal.
The advantages
The practice of a cheat meal allows you to continue to lose weight in the long term when it is well managed and you do not abuse it. It allows you to enjoy outings with friends or events without feeling guilty. The cheat meal will be your ally to boost the metabolism, in order to continue to burn the most calories. It is a perfect solution to reduce stress. Be careful, you should not accumulate cheat meals, otherwise it will be of no interest. Just 1 big cheat meal in the week or two small ones spaced out (reasonable distance).
The disadvantages
For novices, the cheat meal can cause a feeling of heaviness with digestive problems or headaches. It is not for people who do not know how to abstain. If this is your case, then I advise you to go for a cheat meal prepared with healthy products.
As mentioned above, it is not recommended for people who are extremely overweight. Indeed, some people who do not know how to control themselves could abuse it and this would be a disaster. Eating disorders are to be taken seriously. In this specific case, it is necessary to privilege a rich and healthy meal, but to avoid fast food or junk food to avoid falling back into the infernal spiral of eating everything and anything. To finish with overweight people, it is first necessary to go through a food rebalancing of several weeks or even several months before adopting this kind of technique. If you want a single plan to guide you and serve as an example :
Need calibrated nutrition?
Example of a healthy cheat meal:
2 slices of wholemeal bread with cheese (kiri or saint moret), avocado and smoked salmon and two fried eggs for a total of about 800 calories will be healthier than a hamburger with fries which will have the same number of calories. You can even add a small dessert.
For example, a homemade poke bowl with quinoa, raw vegetables, and cooked chicken pieces will make you feel less guilty.
There are of course other examples so it's up to you to find what suits you best.
Take your time to eat and enjoy the cheat meal. If you eat too quickly, you risk eating more than you need to and feeling sick and tired right afterwards.
Even if you can consume different types of food, it is strongly advised not to abuse on products that are harmful to health, such as alcohol. Alcohol provides us with what are called empty calories and if you practice bodybuilding, your recovery will be very difficult and you will have difficulty training and it is possible that you have more aches and pains. So in moderation...
It is very important to calculate the number of calories you can gain on your spring break.
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What to do the day after a big cheat meal?
I strongly advise the day after a big cheat meal (if it was done in the evening of course) to drink a big glass of water with half a lemon squeezed to help digestion. You should not eat until you feel hungry. By adopting this method, you will certainly skip breakfast but you will have reserves from the day before which will allow you to hold on.
You now know how to manage your cheat meals correctly.
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have any ideas or suggestions, you can share them in the comments section and help other readers.
Here is a video I shot with some explanations on the cheat meal.
A 5000 calorie cheat meal! How to avoid binge eating during or after a diet?
Remember that to achieve your goals, you must calculate your calories.
Other articles to read :
How to calculate your body fat percentage?
10 tips for not going hungry when dieting
What is the importance of nutrition in bodybuilding?
