02/26/2023
Let’s talk about “cheat meals”.
When I first got into health and fitness, I had goals.
I wanted to build muscle and get lean.
I wanted washboard abs and a plump peach 🍑
So, I followed a bodybuilder style gym schedule, and along with that, a macro/calorie counting nutrition plan.
If you’re familiar with this stereotype, for lack of a better word, you’ll know that this way of approaching fitness adheres to the one “cheat meal” per week rule.
Meaning, you eat “clean” and stick to your macros 6 days a week, then one day a week you have a meal or a whole day where you eat whatever you want and don’t track it.
While I believe this produces results, as well as keeps the metabolism revving, I have experienced and believe it can lead to an all or nothing mentality, and possibly a poor relationship with food if you’re not careful.
I was so worried about being “perfect” during the week to earn my cheat meal/day that it became an unhealthy obsession.
This is why I focus on educating clients on how to treat health and fitness as a lifestyle, not a means to an end, or, in this case, a means to ending the week with a “reward”.
If we deny ourselves a treat on a Thursday, we are more likely to binge on a Sunday.
Now, interestingly enough, I have more muscle and am leaner not tracking my food and “indulging” when I feel like it, than when I was meticulously keeping track of everything.
This isn’t to say that you will be able to do this with ease if you are just starting out, but it is 100% possible to get there.
Let me help you!
DM me for personal training/nutrition coaching 😃