How to cheat and get away with it…

Advocating cheating? Shock! Well, I’m not advocating it so much as highlighting to you that occasionally, a cheat now and again won’t hurt you and might be beneficial…

Cheating, when not used in context of diet or exercise, essentially means taking a short cut to obtain an advantage. For example cheating off your friends exam at school or getting in a taxi during your marathon race. When it comes to diet, cheating gains us no advantage, or does it?

We tend to “cheat” on our diets for the following reasons

1. Boredom. Quite frankly we are sick to death of the new plan. It’s boring. The food is the same, we miss the old food that makes us feel good. Nothing tastes of anything. If you are feeling this way on your new plan it’s either A) a bad plan or B) a bad day. Either way, when you’re not motivated by your diet and someone offers you a cake, you’ll take it.

2. Peer pressure. Who knew this could continue outside of school? While people mean it or not they can easily tempt you when you are trying to be good. Willpower fluctuates, sometimes daily, and if caught off guard it can be easy to follow the pack and go to the fast food ‘restaurant’ of your choosing and scoff more than you planned to.

3. Cravings. We humans don’t eat purely for energy, we eat for emotional reasons, social reasons, seasonal reasons (who eats chocolate coins before breakfast outside of Chistmas?) Because of this it is easy to succumb to cravings, especially when we associate a particular food with an activity. Going to the cinema? Grab malteasers. Friends coming over? Make some nachos. Night in? Grab the cider. Are we hungry when we do this? Perhaps, but even if we are not, we will eat and drink our calories because it’s habit.

But what if we could ‘cheat’ and not feel guilty? What are the benefits?

Cheat meals boosts metabolism

You may have heard of your metabolism slowing down and going into ‘starvation mode’ after a long period of calorie restriction. Your body will get used to the amount of calories it is being given and, in time, will become accustomed to it and your weight will plateau. And we’ve all been there, doing everything ‘right’ and still no weight loss. Occasional controlled ‘cheating’ where your calories are increased can kick start your weight loss again.

Calorie restriction can affect your hunger hormones Leptin and Gherlin. Essentially Leptin tells your brain when you are full, and Ghrelin tells you when you are hungry. This is an over-simplification of their jobs but you get the idea. If your calories are too low your leptin levels can decrease, meaning you don’t get the same “I’m full” response. If you’ve ever gone on a really low calorie diet and had that constant hunger, this is why.

Occasional ‘re-feeds’ can help to balance your hormones, it’s your way of reassuring your body that there IS plenty of food available, you’re not starving (in the literal sense of the word) and that it can continue to lose excess fat without risk.

It’s good psychologically

Weight loss isn’t all about calories in vs calories out. Nor is it all about exercise or restriction. One of the biggest things to let us down is our own minds. If you’ve ever thought “I can’t do this” it’s a real kick to your self confidence. “I can’t eat only salads for the rest of my life” however is a true statement, no-one can do that. Finding a balance is important and part of that balance can be knowing that you can have a treat occasionally. The key word here is occasionally. One bag of m&ms won’t make you fat. Several bags over several weeks will.

It helps with social gatherings

If you have strong social support with your healthy eating and exercise that is fantastic. It’s essential to have the support of those around you to help with the bad days. Even if they are supportive though you don’t want to feel left out if everyone is off to pizza hut and you’re stuck having your salad. (Nothing wrong with choosing to eat salad if you want to).

When should you cheat?

Best days for cheats for me are weekends. It loosens the restrictions a bit and you can relax slightly. That doesn’t mean buying the shop out of chocolate or cake but it does mean that you can indulge a little.

Who shouldn’t cheat?

If you have just recently started your new plan and you are having trouble with weight loss, cheats are not the way to go yet. There can be many reasons why weight loss is not happening in the early stages, have a close look at your diet. Be patient and stick to your plan.

If you struggle with portion sizes and cravings it might be too early to do cheat meals. This strategy is all about indulging for the good of your mind and body but knowing that you can leave the table and go straight back into your sensible moderated eating. If you think that a cheat will knock you off the rails until Monday it’s not the time for you.

As always be sensible and remember that your body changes based on your consistent eating patterns. One cheat meal will not make you fat. Just like one good meal with not make you healthy. Consistency is the key to success.