All About The Cheat Meal

Ah, the ‘cheat meal’. Many of us look forward to it each week. That one meal where rules go out the window and we can just relax and enjoy whatever we have been craving.

When the goal is weight loss, does indulge in a cheat meal now and then work?

When we jump on a diet bandwagon and commit our nutritional choices to a series of rules to live by, we try to resist temptations and work towards our goals…all the while looking forward to that cheat meal at the end of the week.

Sure, when we restrict our eating or calorie intake throughout the week, a cheat meal - within reason - might serve as a mind and mood booster. The challenge: It can be easy to overdo it and unravel all the work we put in throughout the week. Further to that, it can set you back the next day; you might feel sluggish, have low energy, more cravings and feelings of guilt. You might even just give up entirely for the week and say “Screw it, I’ll start over on Monday!”

This approach works well for some people. They can enjoy something fully and mindfully and feel satisfied afterwards.They may not feel tempted to overindulge, clean their plate, lick their fork and go for seconds.They may have a set of parameters they need to fulfill before enjoying their cheat meal, like putting in a workout that day and limiting calories before the meal…although I would caution against using cheat meals as a reward for our efforts.

Then there are others….

These people go “balls to the wall” and one cheat meal might turn into a cheat day or a cheat filled weekend. They start developing an “I’ll start over on Monday” mindset, even though that Monday never really comes (or rarely stays long enough).

The cheat meal is not for everyone. Someone with an unhealthy relationship with food cannot enjoy just one cheat meal. This perpetuates a list of do’s and don’ts, can and can’t haves. If having one designated cheat meal makes you obsess about it all week, then your relationship with food isn’t going to get better.

More importantly, if we enjoy that one cheat meal and it’s followed by feelings of guilt, shame or remorse, then it’s probably not the right fit for you.

Having sets of rules and boundaries when it comes to our health aren’t bad things.They can give us a bit of consistency and control and enable us to measure our behaviours. But we need to let go of our diet mentality, i.e. that all-or-nothing approach. The challenge of bouncing from diet to diet without evaluating the way we feel is that it will set us up for failure. When we look at our beliefs and values when it comes to our food habits, we can take bits and pieces from different approaches to design a unique plan that works for your body. Only then can you figure out whether a cheat meal is right for you.

Here are some things to consider to help you find balance when it comes to food:

1. Don’t jump on the next challenge. If you are just going to stick to it for a few days and then go back to your old ways, it’ll turn into a roller coaster you don’t want to be on.

2. Do start making small, consistent changes in your life.

3. Do choose foods throughout the week that you enjoy. Don’t deprive yourself. Healthy foods can be really tasty and satisfying.

4. Do occasionally treat yourself, but not as a reward for good behaviour.

Need some guidance and support to heal your relationship with food and body? Check out our

where we do just that.