OK, WHEN CAN I HAVE A CHEAT MEAL?
Every coaches favorite question is the title of this blog.
“Ok, I’m ready to get started, but when can I have a cheat meal?”
My answer every time is simply, “Never, I want you to never have a cheat meal again.”
Before you string me up a flag pole or start group DMs to destroy my good name, give me a minute to explain. When I say I never want you to have a cheat meal again, I mean I want you to change your perspective on food. I am a firm believer in empowering ourselves on our journeys and I feel the current conception of a “cheat” is very counterproductive to your mindset and sustainable success. I am not saying that you will never eat the food you think of as your cheat meals ever again, but I want you to take responsibility and make informed choices.
Our vocabulary matters, especially when we speak to ourselves. “Cheating” sounds and feels naughty. Like you are doing something wrong, which is why you will often see people post on social media that they had a cheat meal and now must pay the price through reactionary fasting or further restriction. Cheating comes with punishment. I want to instead see all food as a choice. And choices? They have consequences. This simple change in your language produces a deep shift in how we approach these meals. By seeing all food as a choice, you empower yourself not only to the driver of your decisions but the one who will own the consequences. I really want you to decide that the word cheat is not coming out of your mouth any more. This, my friends, is what I mean with my answer to that question. And yes, this of course might now have you screaming, “FINE! So when can I choose to eat something that is not on my eating plan?” Don’t fear, I will answer that as well!
There is a question I want you to get used to asking yourself when it comes to your food choices, “Is this worth it?” If you’re keto, take eating within the parameters of your macros and calories. Is that worth it? It gives you energy, promotes healing and mental clarity, and supports your weight loss efforts and goals. This always sounds worth it to me, so that’s easy. But what about the other times. The times you are contemplating a meal outside of your boundaries, be it at an event or just an average day. This is when “worth it” becomes important. Think about the choice you’re considering and then play out what may happen as a consequence of it. And then think about the effects of those consequences on your goals. Will this choice move you forward or backward? Is the experience accompanying the food choice worth the potential negative consequences (ie. Scale bloat, cravings, increased inflammation)? Or is there a better choice? Only YOU can truly decide this. And there will indeed be times that you decide to accept the consequences of your choice. This can be ok when you do feel prepared. There will be other times where you really want to do something, and eat the food, but you know you are not feeling up to what you might deal with as a result. This is also ok! The idea is that you start to realize that you set the boundaries and define what is “worth it” for you in the end.
Making choices and accepting the consequences is a powerful place to stand. As it is also powerful to realize that you are not in the right place with your relationship with food to handle the consequences properly. So when does the point come in a weight loss journey that you will be ready? It’s very individual. It is a place you will work on getting to, and part of that process may be realizing that for your health and goals to stay in focus you need to make choices that provide healthy consequences for the rest of your life. If you are the person out there who has just begun their journey and you are really focused on when you can “cheat,” you are not asking yourself the right questions yet. The better question in the end is, “When will I be ready to make choices that are not in line with my health and fitness goals?” When you ask that, I think the answer becomes more clear. So sit with this concept, and really work on asking yourself these questions as you ponder my words. I think this is a powerful lesson and tool for anyone who is attempting to change their behavior and decisions when it comes to food. I will come back to this topic soon in more depth exploring what it means you when you do decide the choice is worth it and how you can approach your choice’s consequences properly. Want to talk more now? Reach out! This is a topic I am very passionate about!
