Most people assume that I never cheat on my clean diet. Let me tell you right now that I value my cheat meals as much as the clean eating habits. Here’s why…

Clean eating obviously has its benefits. But the cheat meal, believe it or not, also has its benefits. First and foremost, they help keep you sane! Even I have to admit that there are times when I’d just love to give in and eat whatever I wanted. And when you’re surrounded by toxic eaters every day at work and at home, it can be rough. Fortunately, there’s the cheat meal. It’s something to look forward to, a focus, a goal…your reward for a week’s worth of hard, diligent work and focus on your overall health. That should immediately alleviate the hopeless feeling most people get when they think about changing their eating habits to a cleaner lifestyle. Rather than thinking that you’ll never be able to eat the foods you love ever again, you can save those foods for your cheat meals.

Secondly, there is a science behind the cheat meal. When you start cleaning up your diet, taking out all the processed junk, refined sugars, and unhealthy carbs, you should start dropping weight pretty quickly. When this happens, there are a number of things that take place that could slow down your fat burning capabilities. First, let’s introduce the players…

• Leptin is a protein that is mainly produced by fat tissue. It regulates appetite and energy balance in the body, as well as acts on the brain to suppress food intake and stimulates the use of calories (energy). It plays a major role in regulating body weight and fat mass.
• Ghrelin is a hormone that is produced by the stomach and is an appetite stimulant that signals the release of growth hormone. Calorie restriction diets and increased exercise can trigger this hormone, making it difficult to fight the urge to eat and thus, sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Utilizing smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day is a good way to calm this down.
• T3 and T4 are thyroid hormones that help regulate and maintain metabolism.

In addition to affecting leptin and ghrelin levels, which in turn affects appetite and energy use, sustained calorie deficit diets trigger the body to conserve energy by decreasing the levels of T3 and T4, your metabolism regulators. This can leave you sluggish and feeling weak. Obviously, this is a downer if you’re trying to get to the gym regularly.

Okay fine. But how does that cheat meal help besides satisfying your cravings? Well, leptin and ghrelin levels are affected after just 72 hours of calorie restriction. That’s the not so great part because we want our metabolisms to stay at optimal levels, right? That weekly cheat meal will be higher in calories and carbohydrates and THAT my friends, will return your hormone levels to normal and help reverse or prevent any negative stuff from happening to your metabolism, hunger levels, or energy levels. The increased calories will also boost thyroid function, further increasing your metabolism. This can help avoid or break weight loss plateaus!

So does that cheat meal mean you can eat pizzas, burgers, and ice cream all day long? Let’s be realistic here. First of all, it’s a cheat MEAL, not a cheat DAY. Second, while it’s okay to enjoy a small sugary treat once in awhile, it’s probably best to pick a cheat that won’t completely undo your entire week of hard work. Choose something that’s a cheat but still well-balanced (high carbs AND high protein) and has nutritional value. It should be something that is higher in calories and carbs than your normal meals. For example, if I want a burger, I’d rather not go through a drive-thru where the burgers have more fake ingredients in them than anything else. Instead, I’d opt for a real restaurant style burger with real cheese and fresh lettuce, arugula, tomato, onion, etc. Maybe throw on some sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers and sprouts. And of course it goes without saying that order of sweet potato fries is all mine! That was in fact, my cheat meal this weekend. And…I enjoyed every…last…bite! How is that a cheat, you ask? I don’t normally do the bun (processed carbs), full fat cheese, sauteed mushrooms (usually cooked in canola), and aioli sauce (mayonnaise based). But, it was also balanced by the restaurant grade beef (sometimes bison) and fresh produce. The sweet potato fries were baked, so that wasn’t an issue. It was a rather large portion though and I did eat them all. So the cheat there was quantity, not the food item.

My point is, if you want pasta, go for it! But make sure to incorporate a good protein source with it (chicken, shrimp, etc.).  If you want Mexican food, how about some carne asada or fajitas with those beans, cheese, and rice? Carbs and proteins, always paired. Let that be your general rule…higher in carbs than you normally do but paired with a good protein source. And remember, good carbs are basically fruits and vegetables. But the carbs I’m referring to for a cheat are generally the ones you would otherwise avoid, the processed ones…breads, pastas, pastries, etc. So have at it and plan your cheat meals well. Make it worthy of a true reward for a week’s worth of hard work. You deserve it!