How Often Should You Have A Cheat Meal?

January 25, 2017

On the surface, it seems that beer and burgers would have no place in a healthy diet. But most dietitians argue that from time to time, they do. We call it the cheat meal; they prefer the term “balance.”

In fact, letting loose occasionally can help you adhere to a nutritious eating plan. Here, the science behind why our body’s need a break from kale and hardboiled eggs every now and then—and how to keep your balance from, well, growing seriously imbalanced:

Why Balance Matters

Read it to believe it: “It can be unhealthy to eat perfectly all the time from a psychological standpoint,” says Dana Hunnes, Ph.D., R.D., a senior dietitian at Ronald Regan-UCLA Medical Center. Think about yourself as a rubber band being stretched. Without any balance, you can want something so badly that you go from never eating it to gorging on it (or…snapping). “By allowing yourself indulgences on a regular basis you are showing yourself that you can stick to an overall healthy lifestyle while still enjoying some of the things you used to.”

It can be unhealthy to eat perfectly all the time from a psychological standpoint.

After all, if dietitians hate one thing, it’s restrictive diets. “Restricting too much can lead to overindulging and a cycle back to restricting, simply because something is off limits,” says Melissa Majumdar, R.D., a registered dietitian at Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston, MA. “If we fuel our body and brain properly throughout the day, eating balanced meals or snacks every three to four hours, we rarely get too hungry or feel deprived and it's easier to make healthy choices.” That also means when you do indulge, you’re less likely to overdo it.

There are other benefits to balance, too. For one, if you’re restricting calories, these meals can help suppress your appetite by increasing hormone levels of a hormone called leptin (which promotes fullness) and decreasing levels of one called ghrelin (which signals hunger), says Ryan Maciel, R.D.N., a dietitian based in Needham, MA. Eating a high-carb cheat meal can also help to replenish muscle glycogen stores—which tend to be low when dieting, he notes. “This may help to boost energy and performance allowing you to work harder in the gym.”

Also, let’s be honest: Willpower is limited resource. “Including a cheat meal can provide you with a much-needed mental break from dieting,” says Maciel.

How To Plan Your Indulgences

Be careful not to set up "cheat meals" as rewards for a hard workout or a rough time. “There needs to be an intrinsic motivation for a workout and other means to managing stress and emotions or the ‘cheat meal’ can be covering up a bigger issue,” says Majumdar.

To this extent, Hunnes urges making cheat meals part of your weekly or daily schedule. Maybe you’re a sucker for dessert. Have it in a smaller portion every day. Or: Go to the bar for the game weekly with the guys? That can be your cheat meal.

What Makes a Good Cheat Meal?

There are a slew of different ways to define a cheat meal—but binge eating is not one of them. “A slice of cake would be acceptable and equivalent to one ‘cheat meal,” notes Maciel. “Eating an entire cake, on the other hand, would not be.”

Love Big Macs with all the fixings? Try a meatless spin on a hamburger with something like an Impossible Burger, suggests Hunnes. “It’s plant-based, so it does not have the saturated fats, and has fewer calories than the alternative.” Veggie pizzas that won’t send you overboard are good picks, too. “The fiber and healthfulness of the vegetables will leave you fuller on fewer pieces than a cheese pizza.”

Don’t discount sides (mac and cheese with a healthier entree) or small portions (kiddie size ice creams), either, says Majumdar.

Alternatively, splurge on the part of the meal that you like the most, she suggests. When you see a cheeseburger and fries on the menu, which part can’t you do without: the bun or the fries? Satisfying actual cravings from the get-go prevents you from overdoing it later (and caving and ordering the fries after all).

How Often to Cheat

Knowing when to splurge largely comes down to knowing yourself. “For some people, indulging in a little each day is better than waiting for the cork to pop and only ‘cheating’ once per week,” notes Hunnes.

But while everyone’s goals and eating styles are different, a little simple math can also help you determine how often to splurge. “Having foods that you don’t typically eat on a regular basis 10 percent of the time, may make it easier to adhere to your eating plan,” says Maciel.

If you eat five meals or snacks per day, that’s 35 meals a week, he notes. Ten percent would be 3.5 meals. “This gives you three to four meals or snacks per week that you can eat whatever you want within reason.”

Not meeting your goals with this much leeway? Cut back on your cheat meals until you do, he suggests.

Via : http://workoutmagz.com

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