im craving a cheat meal !!

[hillbill78]

ive been dieting now nearly 3 weeks and have been really strict, not even one slightly bad thing. i always feel slightly peckish because of my diet, i am almost noticing slight b,f difference but am craving to have a pizza but i know if i eat one i will feel bad about myself for a while and feel like at im at stage one again. would you say one cheap meal is not at all bad and would not make a difference to my b,f loss.
cheers

[Sgt. Hartman]

Do not give into your cravings. If you feel that you need a cheat meal then plan it out in advance so that it falls at a time when you can burn some of it off to minimize damage (after working legs etc.).

Once you give into your cravings, even a little, it will get easier and easier to cheat on your diet and harder and harder to stick to your diet 100%.

[gbrice75]

Do not give into your cravings. If you feel that you need a cheat meal then plan it out in advance so that it falls at a time when you can burn some of it off to minimize damage (after working legs etc.).

Once you give into your cravings, even a little, it will get easier and easier to cheat on your diet and harder and harder to stick to your diet 100%.

^^ great advice. I can tell you this first hand. The cravings will pass, trust me. Also, 3 weeks isn't a super long time to be dieting. Set a goal - say another 5 weeks and then PLAN a cheat meal and have whatever you want. The key here is planning it vs. just giving in to a craving and going on a binge. Do that, and it's game over.

[SlimJoe]

Do not give into your cravings. If you feel that you need a cheat meal then plan it out in advance so that it falls at a time when you can burn some of it off to minimize damage (after working legs etc.).

Once you give into your cravings, even a little, it will get easier and easier to cheat on your diet and harder and harder to stick to your diet 100%.

great post, i would recomend if you get that urge sit down and think to yourself the guilt you will feel half our afterwards lol

[baseline_9]

Post 2 could have been writen by me.....

In doing this whole transformation challenge thing I have had one PLANNED cheat meal each week....

My goal was only to get myself into decent enough shape to begin slowly gaining LBM to my frame....

I now wonder how I would look if I had zero cheat meals for the whole 12 weeks????

IDK....

It dependson your goals... But IMO 1 cheat meal a week is no big problem unless your preping for a BB show...

[Nephets]

yes but one leads to two and two leads to three. haha. I remember skipping a squat day that ended up lasting 2 years. Its funny how quickly we can lose what is so important to us at the time.

[LatissimusaurousRex]

If you cry for 12 hours straight it will burn all the calories from your pizza

[wmaousley]

McDonalds Breakfast is part of my diet, IMO if your not a comp BBer why would you deny your body a so called cheat meal.

[MR-FQ320]

It's your call really , if your mentally strong enough to get back into undedicated dieting after a cheat then go for it, if you are the type of person to give in easily then be careful.

[musclestack]

I don't feel that you need to be a competitive bodybuilder to eat a competitive bodybuilder's diet. As said above, it all comes down to your goals, so, to each his/her own. I think too many people focus too much on the FACTOR of the issue here, rather than the real issue. Instead of asking yourself things like "Am I going to feel guilty from this cheat meal?" or "Will this cheat meal hurt me that much if I keep it within reason", why not ask yourself "How muscular/lean do I want to be?" and "How long do I want to take to get there?"

It's simple, really:

Will one small cheat meal once a week or once every couple weeks hurt your progress? YES.

Will it hurt you so much that it will negate all progress in that one or two weeks? NO.

[MBMETC]

im gonna say it all depends on your goals and how dedicated you are to your goal. im not saying cheat meals don't have their place ,im only pointing out you need to determain their place.

[maxwkw]

I like to plan them into a diet. If you've been dieting really hard for awhile your body will be craving food. Most likely crappy food.


Giving up is not good because you end up feeling defeated and the trend of crappy eating continues. However, recognizing that your body needs food is something that can be a valuable skill and you can learn how long it takes you before you are physically needing to take in more food. Once you know how long it takes, plan your "cheat meals" around that time period.

I don't like calling them cheats because cheating has such a bad connotation. I prefer refeed.

Another thing about refeeds. Try to do them in a social setting. Go and have dinner with friends and have a good meal. You're less likely to binge if you're in a social setting.