Beat the Cheat Days

I believe that the most important factor in lifestyle change when it comes to weight loss and better health is normalising a positive relationship with food.

There is plenty of controversy around whether we should incorporate ‘cheat days’ into our diets, with one side of the argument proposing they may help us to stick to our regimented diets throughout the week, and others debating they may lead to spirals in bad behaviour and an excessive increase in caloric intake on certain days of the week.

It’s important to be aware of the difference between including foods you enjoy in your diet from time to time and having a day where you adopt an all-you-can-eat mindset to curb your cravings, sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Cheat days can lead to an unhealthy frame of mind around food, causing overly restrictive behaviour during the rest of the week and bingeing and overeating in just one day. Sometimes the bingeing can turn into more than one day or even a week, causing you to feel like you've fallen off the wagon and that it’s pointless to try to get back on track.

For some people, it may also trigger disordered eating patterns, feelings of associating certain food groups as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and fear, shame and uncertainty around food.

All or nothing thinking often leads to people feeling guilty after eating an ‘unhealthy’ meal or feeling like a failure for succumbing to their cravings.

I personally advocate for people to consider implementing an 80/20 approach to their diet. This method allows you to retain food freedom and make healthful, balanced choices without restricting yourself to the point of feeling miserable. The 80/20 method encourages you to incorporate as much healthful and nutritious food as possible for 80% of your meals, and slightly more ‘unhealthy’ foods 20% of the time.

One helpful way to begin this eating pattern is to plan when to include more calorie-dense foods in your diet, for example on days when you have expended more energy and therefore have burned the extra calories, such as on a heavy training day or after a big hike. This can help alleviate any guilt you may have felt and will help you stay on track.

You could also try spreading out the more unhealthful foods throughout the week, opening your mindset to breaking the boundaries you feel towards food. If you feel like food is ‘off limits’, chances are you are more likely to crave it.

Another thing to consider is portions, if you tell yourself you are having a cheat day you are likely to eat three times as much as you feel like you need to indulge while you are cheating. On the other hand, if you have planned appropriately to include a portion of food you enjoy, for example, ice cream, look at the serving size, measure out that much, and enjoy it. Tell yourself you can have it again any time you want it. Feeling like it is a ‘banned’ or ‘bad’ food that you limit to your ‘cheat’ day will encourage you to eat the entire tub in one sitting.

Try to be mindful. Think about what is nourishing for your body, mind and soul. Living your daily life on a restrictive, and low-calorie diet can lead to nutrient deficiencies, low energy, depression and metabolism damage, potentially causing weight loss to be even more difficult.

It is important to try to include healthful foods such as:

Whole Grains - brown rice, quinoa, oats

Fruit - strawberries, bananas, melon

Vegetables - kale, broccoli, bell peppers

Lean Protein - lean meat, plain greek yogurt, chicken, fish, legumes

Leave room in your calorie allowance for some saturated fats, sugar and alcohol. Moderation still needs to be applied, if you eat too much of ANYTHING you can gain weight. Focus on portion control and take your time when eating to fully enjoy, appreciate, and be aware of your hunger/satiety cues.

Here is an idea of what a weekly plan might look like if you are balancing an 80/20 approach across the week. This could look different for everyone, some choosing to only select one or two days a week to include more calorie-dense food, but this is a rough suggestion.

Monday

Oatmeal with fruit and peanut butter

Chicken + quinoa, kale salad bowl

Grapefruit

Chilli stuffed bell peppers + cheddar cheese + greek yogurt

¾ cup of ice cream

Tuesday

Vegetable Omelette

Chocolate chip cookie + glass of milk

Berry protein smoothie

Tuna salad sandwich on whole grain bread

Lentil curry with brown rice

Wednesday

Bowl of wholegrain cereal (e.g. All Bran) + banana + walnuts

Carrots and hummus

Chipotle lime chicken thighs with mixed greens salad

Cheeseburger with sweet potato fries

Greek yogurt with mixed berries

Thursday

Cinnamon + raisin bagel + butter + jam + latte

Whole Grain pesto pasta salad

Diet soda

Cottage Cheese + Ryvita

Lean Steak + broccoli + smashed herby potatoes

Friday

Greek yogurt + chia + melon + honey

Blackened cod + avocado + corn + bean salsa tacos

Rice crackers + nut butter

Pizza + beers

Saturday

Pancakes + fruit + Nutella + whip cream

Watermelon + cherry tomatoes + feta + quinoa + spinach salad

Orange Juice

Honey Soy Salmon + brown rice + bok choy

Sunday

Poached eggs + smoked salmon + light cream cheese on whole grain toast

Carrot cake + latte

Lentil Soup

Apple + almond butter

Roast chicken + vegetables + potatoes + red wine