Cheat meals? The Big Question.

By: Joie Rizzo

Ok, ok, ok Cheat meals… I know that it is a very confusing subject for a lot of us. “How can a cheat meal REALLY be beneficial in the long run?” ” I am busting my butt to lose weight and now i’m suppose to eat a burger?! What is this madness!!” – These are some of the questions you may ask yourself when you are persuaded to have a cheat meal.

First things first- Lets clear up some common confusion….

Myth- Cheat meals will mess up all of your hard work.

Fact- Cheat DAYS will mess up all of your hard work.

A lot of times people tend to misunderstand the science behind a cheat meal. Constant strict dieting will eventually lead to a caloric deficit, which causes our energy levels to plummet, sometimes it can even cause you to plateau in your progress. Think of a cheat meal as a reset button. It helps restore your energy and give your body a little shock to the system to help you continue progressing.

Now where people tend to get a little confused, its a cheat MEAL, as in ONE meal. Now I know the chunky little kid inside of you wants to make that cheat meal into a cheat DAY where you can stuff your face with hohos and ding dongs all day long. This is where you can mess up your progress. The best thing to do when it comes to a cheat meal, is continue your day as you normally would. Stick to the same amount of macros, don’t cut any meals out, or starve yourself all day so you can not feel guilty about the cheat at the end of the day. The point of having a cheat meal is to add extra calories on top of the calories you are already eating. If you starve yourself all day you are defeating the purpose!

Don’t feel guilty about it.

Enjoy yourself, and try to make the one or two cheat meals you have during the week into social outings. Enjoy that time with friends or family! Indulge on your yummy treats and don’t regret it one bit!! #YOLO .

When having a cheat meal you do want to try to have a little bit of structure. While yes, you want to have freedom and enjoy the food, try to ditch the idea of binging on tubs of ben and jerrys, and try to switch to having something with protein/carbs/ fats. Example: Burger and fries, sushi, pizza, pasta with chicken, or wings and fries. I always do my cheat at night time as my last meal because usually i’m pretty full after and I don’t want to have to eat my other meals. Another good option though if you like to have your cheat in the morning is something like IHOP pancakes, syrup, bacon…. all the chunkstar yummy breakfast foods! Whatever works for you, then do that.

Now that i’ve gone over all the facts about Cheat meals, i’m gonna list some of my favorite places to go for my cheat meals!!

#1 MY FAVORITE…… Coopers hawk!

My order: The Churrasco grilled steak with Parmesan fries and veggies, and of course the reeses cookie with ice cream for dessert. (oh and a couple bites of that yummy pretzel bread … can’t pass that up!)

#2 Five Guys

My order: A regular cheeseburger, Fries, and a salted caramel milkshake!

#3 Mellow mushroom

My order: A white pizza with pineapple and chicken.

#4 Grille one nine sushi

My order: All of the sushi on the menu. This girl can slam that sushi!

#5 Vitos italian steakhouse

My order: Lobster ravioli, cheesy bread, and of course chocolate cake!

These are just a few of my favorites… but whatever floats your boat!! Notice how on all of my orders though I have a constant protein, carb, and fat. Thats what I wouldd recommend to all of you when having a cheat meal.

Happy cheating ya’ll. Enjoy that meal!!!