Let's Talk About "Cheat" Meals
What does the word cheat meal mean to you? Does it resonate with you in a positive or negative way? I personally don't love the word "cheat" as it denotes a negative vibe and implies that you're doing something that is bad for your body. On the contrary, I would argue that indulging a bit on occasion is actually good for your overall health (see my tips below). The term cheat meal also implies that your overall diet is restrictive or does not include food that you enjoy, so I'm going to refer to them as "flex meals".
The key is finding a diet and food that fuels you and makes you happy so that you enjoy everything that you eat, not just your flex meals. Food is energy, but for many, food is comfort and enjoyment and needs to taste good. I don't believe in restricting yourself all week so that you're only looking forward to your flex meals; that recipe will only backfire on you in the end. Instead, find a predominately plant based/whole food diet filled with delicious and energizing foods that allow you to feel amazing.
Here are my tips on making "flex meals" work FOR not AGAINST you.
Schedule your flex meals just like you do your workouts and meal plan. Often times you have social events involving food and possibly alcohol on the calendar and those are great times to allow yourself to eat whatever you want (versus at home or resorting to concession stand food during your kid's sporting event).
Not a planner? That's OK too, but make sure you set a limit for the number/frequency of your indulgences so that you don't exceed two in an average week.
Social butterfly? Ok, so maybe you have multiple social gatherings in a given week, how can you limit your flex meals to only two? Take stock of each of your scheduled gatherings and prioritize which ones you really want to indulge and which ones you can attend but will eat beforehand and skip the cocktails. What? Skip your favorite salty snacks and glass of rose on a warm summer's night? Yes! Why? Because you know you'll feel better during and after the event. You'll make better choices if you've eaten a balanced meal and don't drink alcohol and you won't arrive home hungry and staring at the pantry for a salty crunchy fix. You'll also wake up more energized to move and not skip your workout.
Focus on something other than the food and drink. Reflect on why you're looking forward to the gathering and focus on great conversation, catching up with friends and having a good laugh in a relaxed state of mind. Chances are you could easily eat a delicious and balanced meal before the event so that you are not starving when you arrive.
Have a plan about alcohol. If you like kicking back with a cocktail to relax but find yourself accepting a drink more nights a week than you know you should, then I recommend you decide how many and which nights you will drink. So what to do when it's the fourth night in a row that you're tempted by alcohol? Find a non-alcoholic beverage that you enjoy instead, and remind yourself how you'll sleep better and wake up energized and refreshed (versus groggy and tired). Not to mention drinking tends to lend itself to late night snacking. I love fruit infused water, sparkling water with kombucha or a splash of cranberry juice with soda and fresh lime. You also will find that you may leave the gathering at a more reasonable hour and get more and better quality sleep.
Space out your flex meals. I recommend avoiding back-to-back flex meals for a couple of reasons. First, your body needs some time to recover and detoxifying excess sugar, alcohol, processed carbs, etc that you may have consumed. Secondly, if you are feeling a bit groggy the next morning, you are likely dehydrated and nutrient-deficient so fueling up with a fruit and veggie based smoothie (versus an egg/bacon sandwich) is the way to go if you want to feel better fast. Finally, it's easier to reset back to your normal diet when you don't let as much time pass before getting back on track. If you plan your post flex meal in advance, you'll have a different mindset and be less likely to feel guilty and bad about what you ate and instead just enjoy yourself.
Enjoy the good food and conversation with friends. Chew your food and eat in a relaxed and calm state as this will greatly help with your digestion. Many of us eat our meals in less than 15 minutes before running back to work or family activities, which we know isn't good for our digestion. Often when we're at a nice dinner with family and friends we are more relaxed and have time to chew our food and savor each bite in between discussion. Plus, having strong relationships with people that you can share the good, bad and ugly in your life is medicine for your soul.
This picture was taken just a few days ago when I enjoyed homemade pizza at a friend’s house for Father’s Day dinner. I typically refrain from eating pizza since I realized several years ago that I’m sensitive to gluten; however, I fully enjoyed this delicious meal with fresh mozzarella cheese (another food I don’t typically eat). I also had a couple glasses of wine and enjoyed wonderful conversation and lots of good laughs amongst the company of friends. I was up later than normal for a Sunday night but I woke up on Monday with no regret about what I ate or drank. I simply reset with the start of the week and enjoyed my berry green smoothie for breakfast, hit my 10K steps goal and had a great start to the week. This is what I call finally having a healthy relationship with food!