The concept of cheat days and meals is tightly woven into diet culture.
The idea is that you can cheat on your diet – veer from clean eating temporarily – and still achieve success in achieving your goals.
Which is better – cheat DAY or cheat MEAL – and will it hurt or hinder our progress?
THE DIET CYCLE
A typical diet cycle looks like this:
- You decide you are unhappy with your current status and are looking for change. You are aware of the factors currently making you unhappy, and your motivation is at its highest at this point.
- You adopt some kind of diet or clean eating regimen, whether it’s Whole 30 or paleo or keto or whatever it may be. Typically these diets require a strict level of adherence, require you to restrict certain foods, and shift your overall lifestyle. While your motivation is at its highest, you’re not concerned by this and may even find these changes fairly doable.
- Over time, it becomes difficult to adhere to the diet of choice for one reason or another. Some examples include you’re craving foods you “shouldn’t” eat, you find it difficult to maintain outside of normal routine, or simply your motivation begins to falter.
- You “fall off the wagon” and slip back into old habits, either gradually or suddenly (ie. binge). You are plagued with guilt which often motivates you to get back on the wagon or give up entirely. Either way, the cycle will continue to repeat because if you don’t go back to the original diet you’re likely to try a different diet.
INSERT CHEAT HERE
The question becomes, how do we maintain our sanity while we are on a clean eating regimen? Some felt the answer was using cheat meals or cheat days in order to provide a day of free eating in order to adhere to strict eating behaviors the rest of the time.
A cheat day means you’re adhering to your diet six days of the week with a full day of flexible eating on the seventh day. Some people may incorporate this method in different manners such as cheat days bi weekly, monthly, or on special occasions such as holidays.
A cheat meal means instead of having a full day dedicated to loosening your restriction, you’re only allowing yourself a flexible meal with the other meals in that day adhering to the diet. Similarly someone may incorporate this on a schedule of their own, whether it’s structured and planned or not.
CHEATING = PERMISSIBLE BINGEING
The concept of cheat days and cheat meals are simply a way to describe a restrict and binge pattern in a manner that is deemed socially acceptable.
Restriction comes in many forms:
- Keto restricts carbs
- Paleo restricts specific foods such as legumes, grains, and dairy
- Whole 30 restricts basically everything… it’s an elimination diet
Restriction is easy to adhere to when motivation is high, but willpower wanes the more we utilize it. Picture willpower like a muscle – the more we use it, the more it fatigues and eventually fails. Most restriction will eventually lead to a loss of willpower which can result in a binge only to go back to restricting.
Cheat days and meals are treated as intentional binges by many, creating a damaging relationship with food. When you have guidelines to adhere to you can maintain control, but as soon as those guidelines are lifted, you lose all sense of that control and most likely go overboard.
BUT DOES IT WORK?
In short, no and in fact this method can be incredibly damaging in the long run.
Those who participate in a restrict and binge pattern with their eating typically eat well beyond their needs during a binge and find they lack control around trigger foods (ie. forbidden foods, carbs, sweets, etc). This can negate their caloric deficit if they are on a weight loss plan, create plateaus or weight gain, and frustrate the individual causing them to increase their restriction which will in turn increase the severity of their binge.
For those who lack control with their eating, binges often spiral well beyond the intended time frame, leading to a slippery slope of multiple binges and excessive food guilt. As a result, the individual begins to associate “bad” foods with bad feelings, furthering their need to restrict.
Oftentimes, cheat days and meals incorporate foods that aren’t healthy. Eliminating unhealthy foods most of the time but then consuming them in large quantities in a small amount of time isn’t any better than incorporating moderate amounts of unhealthy foods on a daily basis.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
Instead I instruct my clients to adhere to 80% consistency in eating mostly whole, real foods and a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. We don’t restrict any foods, but instead look at certain foods on a scale of eat more, eat some, and eat less.
By maintaining balance and eliminating restriction, my clients find that they have better control over their cravings, feel less guilt when they indulge, and are able to sustain their healthy eating habits for life.
If you want to indulge, do so and eat mindfully until fullness. Give yourself permission to eat all foods within reason. If you are on a calorie deficit for weight loss, do not make it so extreme where you aren’t well fed or fueled.
WANT FREE COACHING?
The holidays are approaching, which can be considered an annual binge period for many. Instead, I’ve put together a free masterclass – Thriving Through Thanksgiving – with non-diet balanced strategies for navigating Thanksgiving without bingeing.
✅ Head into the holiday proactive instead of reactive with strategies that set you up for success and eliminate post-holiday guilt.
✅ Understand what triggers the binge mentality and how we can overcome it and find balance during a food-centered holiday.
✅ Get actionable strategies you can easily implement without restriction or getting in the way of enjoying your holiday.
You can get my free masterclass here. Thriving Through Thanksgiving will be delivered to your inbox instantly and you can watch it on your own time and get prepared to have a well-balanced, guilt-free holiday!
Do you have a topic you want covered in next week’s Wellness Wednesday? Ask me here.
Coach Diana Leigh is a Precision Nutrition certified coach who uses habit-based coaching to help her clients get stronger and feel amazing in their bodies without the restriction and overwhelm of dieting. For more helpful tips, follow her on Instagram @coachdianaleigh.
How you can work with Coach Diana:
1:1 Nutrition Coaching: I take you from being dependent on diets to independently intuitive through building foundational nutrition habits and with personalized guidance on portion intake based on your goals for a stronger, leaner, or in general overall healthier body.