Thoughts on "Cheat Meals" and Intentional Eating

Let's talk about cheat meals for just a sec.  I have a hard time with the word "cheat" because I feel like it somehow incorporates an element of guilt and/or shame.  So I like to call it a "free" meal.  And if you understand the reasoning behind allowing yourself an occasional free meal (once a week for most people), you understand that guilt should NOT play a role.  Ever.

The whole idea of incorporating a free meal into your week is to avoid feeling deprived (in an effort to steer clear of a binge). But there's another, and in my opinion, more important reason.  You see, our bodies are super smart.  They tend to adapt rather quickly to whatever we're doing to them.  For example, I don't stick with the same weight routine for more than 2 weeks because my muscles adapt, and it becomes harder to make any significant gains (learned that one the hard way).  But your body also adapts to your diet.  When you eat the same way all the time, your body gets...well, lazy.  Your metabolism starts to believe that it will never be challenged.  It adapts, and it adapts quickly.  Hence the concept of jump starting your metabolism by adding a free meal to your diet every week.   Now, notice I said meal.  Not day.  Just one regular portioned meal.  Eating an entire pizza in one sitting is NOT a free meal. It's a binge.    

I'll admit it. When I first heard about this approach, I was horrified.  NO WAY would I ever consider adding in a crappy meal after the effort I went to all week long to eat healthy.  I was convinced that it would completely ruin my focus.  I couldn't believe people actually did this.  Intentionally!!!  Then I had a few weeks where my body just plateaued.  For no reason.  I was doing everything right but it completely stopped progressing.  I figured that eating one "free" meal that weekend, just to test the theory, couldn't hurt.  Maybe it would even be kind of fun.  So I did.  My husband requested we go out for burgers (probably just to mess with me - he didn't actually think I would eat one).  He sat there in complete shock with ketchup dripping down his chin at the sight of me eating a hamburger for the first time in 8 years.  I would be lying if I said that I didn't question my decision to do that over the next few days.  I did.  But I resisted the urge to cardio myself into oblivion, and over the next two weeks, I put on a pound and a half of lean mass and finally hit my targeted body fat percentage.  It was also around then that I started seeing the faint but definite outline of a six pack.  Um, yeah.  I was sold.

So, for about the past 3 months, I've thrown in a free meal every week or two.  I steer clear of fried foods because they totally derail my digestive system, but almost everything else is free game.  I didn't really feel deprived before, but it's definitely been fun to add some things back into my diet that I never thought I'd eat again.  Oh, and my husband fancies me a wee bit more when I share some man food with him on occasion.  Just sayin.

Okay.  Having said all that, here's my word of caution.  A free meal is only an important thing to incorporate if you have already established a SOLID nutritional foundation.  The free meal concept is only beneficial when you have complete control over your diet.  I like to call it eating intentionally.  If you're still in the habit of grabbing a handful of goldfish crackers here, and a handful of m&m's there, you don't need a free meal.  I've heard it said that as a rule of thumb, you should eat 90% clean 100% of the time.  My "un-clean" 10% usually consists of my free meal, which I consider to be about 5%; and the other 5% I leave for times when I just can't get to the stuff I usually eat.  Here's a good example.  Last week I took my toddler to a doctors appointment at her diabetes clinic.  It was supposed to take about 90 minutes but ended up taking 4 hours (not counting the 40 minute drive there and back).  I couldn't leave and the only source of food was a vending machine down the hall.  So, my options were to either let my blood sugar drop and hope I could stay out of catabolic waters until I got home (not really an option in my mind), or to get something from the vending machine to sustain my blood sugar levels, even if it wasn't ideal.  I settled on a Snickers bar (which is actually similar nutrient-wise to a protein bar believe it or not).  Not great, but not too terrible.  THAT is why I leave that 5% open ended.  Because sometimes life happens and you just have to get by.  But I honestly don't worry about it or dwell on it very much in situations like that.  My diet is 90% clean, so an imperfect snack every now and then won't make a shred of difference in the long run.  There's a strange kind of freedom that comes from getting your diet in order.  You tend to stress WAY less about the occasional slip ups.

Now, real quick, let's go back to that eating intentionally thing I mentioned earlier.  I think this concept is SO crucial.  It's also where most people struggle.  It's HARD to break the eating habits you've perfected.  But it can be done.  I used to be a handful of this, handful of that person.  Unintentionally eating anything I happened to walk by or that my kids didn't finish.  It wasn't emotional eating, it was just...mom eating.  I didn't realize how much I did it until I made the conscious effort to NOT do it.  WOW.  It's hard to teach an old mom new tricks.  But it can be done.  One way or another you HAVE to get out of the habit of eating unintentionally.  I was in my inspiration zone today (aka: my car), and I had a thought about intentional vs. unintentional eating habits.  Strangely, it was rather linear.  So, I jotted it down.

Random, I know.  But I think it actually represents the point I'm trying to make better than all my rambling (not that I'm going to stop rambling, ahem).  You have so much more control over what your body looks like than you think you do.  It's not about will power (maybe a little bit - but not as much as you might think).  It's about having a plan, being prepared, and then being consistent.  Really, if you can get those 3 things down, you'll have your diet completely under control and you'll be eating intentionally without even having to think about it.  It's at that point that a free meal/cheat meal will benefit you.  I have no idea if this makes ANY sense at all.  Please.  Feel free to tell me if I sound like a total wack-a-doo.