7 Steps to Eat Cheat Meals and Lose Weight at the Same Time

If you are an athlete and need a diet for weight loss, you know the problem that you are only allowed to take certain foods according to a given diet plan. Junk food, sweets or unhealthy foods are strictly forbidden and therefore should be avoided. This requires a lot of discipline and self-control, especially when you are in the company of other people who are allowed to eat whatever they want. Now, the good news is that there is a method that allows you to still sin during your diet phase.

What is meant by a "cheat meal"?

A so-called cheat meal consists of foods that are actually not allowed in a diet phase. Many diets even consist of a special cheat day, on which you are then allowed to sin without any problems. The purpose of a cheat meal is to make you lose the fear of eating unhealthy and undisciplined during the diet phase. Many athletes often can't get through a four or eight week diet with the strict set rules of the diet they are aiming for. The result is an ongoing period of stress, as there is always the fear of failure to follow the diet correctly. Furthermore, the cheat meal compensates for the obsessive reduction of individual nutrients such as carbohydrates, which are particularly important as energy providers for strenuous training. Below we have listed seven tips to inform you how you can integrate a cheat meal into your diet and still continue to lose weight.

1. how often should you take a cheat meal?

If you are combining a diet with a cheat meal for the first time, one cheat meal per week is sufficient. This meal gives you the feeling that even during the diet phase you don't have to give up the pasta or hamburgers that you have eaten regularly for years. Once you have become accustomed to this weekly rhythm, you can increase to two cheat meals per week.

2. pay attention to the calories

A cheat meal does not mean that you can now eat as much as you want. Many athletes confuse the cheat meal with a buffet where you can really eat your fill. A cheat meal should not contain more than 500 to 1,000 calories, which you normally take in your meals during the diet phase.

3. plan in advance your cheat meal

If you want to have a cheat meal during the week, then the weekend is best, as many athletes don't train on Saturday or Sunday and are with their families. Also, many parties and celebrations take place on the weekend, so you won't have any problems mentally deviating from your strict diet plan.

4. learn a new attitude towards your meals

Be proud of yourself. Many athletes blame themselves when they fail in the diet phase. This often stems from the fact that they have the wrong attitude towards food and meals. Often, the meal is evaluated only by calories and rejected because they believe that too many calories are harmful to the training program and the body weight they are aiming for. Forget about the calories because it's not the calorie count that's to blame for being overweight, it's just your lack of discipline. Just stop eating when you're really full and you'll be all set!

5. enjoy your cheat meal

A big mistake is the uncontrolled and unconscious taking of the cheat meal, because there is a so-called "need to catch up". Make sure that you also eat the cheat meal in a disciplined and controlled way and that you enjoy the otherwise not allowed food. Otherwise you will fall back into the old behavior pattern of your former eating habits, which have negatively influenced you physically and psychologically so far.

6. learn to compromise

A cheat meal should always be taken consciously. For example, if you have a preference for sweets, then you should not only take desserts in a cheat meal, but also eat a balanced diet. Make sure that you take all the important nutrients and do not eat too one-sided in a cheat meal.

7. believe in yourself!

It may well be that you sin several times a week instead of one cheat meal. But this should not dissuade you from your further plan. All are experiences from which you can only learn. Don't talk yourself into guilt and follow through with your diet program. The world will not end if you are not disciplined in a diet now and then. The cheat meal will help you lose that fear of failure.