Just finished reading an interesting blog at www.byersgetsdiesel.com about cheat days/meals and it really got me thinking about my own diet. As you all know, I eat zone strictly 5 days a week with 2 cheat days, where one day I will only eat a cheat dinner & dessert and the 2nd day where I eat whatever I want all day. This schedule definitely works for me... but is it the ultimate way to incorporate my cheat meals?
I know my fellow zoner, Jenna never schedules a cheat day/meal. She eats zone every meal she is able to, yet if she goes to a BBQ or out to dinner for a special occasion, then she will eat what she wants and cheats. This is exactly what Melissa talks about and recommends in her blog. It is a far less blow to your insulin sensitivity, GI tract, mental health and wellness if you slip in a cheat meal in between clean eating versus having an entire cheat day. Not to mention your recovery from your cheat meals will be a lot faster.
I also liked the other topics Melissa touched on:
1. Asking yourself if you really need something
2. Eating only as much to satisfy craving
I don't think I ever really ask myself if I need something on my zone or cheat days, because on my zone days the answer is an automatic NO and on my cheat days I eat what I want and never think twice about it. I think this is an important question to keep your cheat days in check and also to help you distinguish if it is a special occasion and is worth the cheat.
Now this second topic is a hard one...because it takes a lot of self control. Who out there can take a couple bites of ice cream or eat 1 cookie and then stop?
The other night, Luke and I along with his family went out for ice cream. I, of course ate my whole thing where as perfect Jenna only ate half of hers. Once I noticed Jenna had stopped eating her ice cream, I thought about mine and if I could stop....was my craving satisfied? I think if I would have asked myself this direct question, I would have answered YES. Another thing that really helps in deciding if your cravings are satisfied is to stop eating and wait 5 minutes. More than likely after 5 minutes, you will find your cravings have subsided and you don't want anymore.
So with all that said, I think I need to examine my scheduled cheat days. For a few weeks, I will try slipping in the cheat meals at special occasions and see how it works. What do you guys think out there?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
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3 comments:
I just read the post and I think she really has a lot of good advice. Really you have to do what works best for you. I've probably only had 2 full day cheat days since I've started and it definitely takes me longer to get back in the zone after days like that rather than cheat meals.
I really like what Melissa had to say on this topic. Like Jenna, I agree that everyone has to do what works best for them. However, I think that for me, incorporating cheat meals rather than cheat days is a much better way to approach my overall diet. It would help me avoid those "fall off the wagon days" which often take several days for me to truly get back on track. And, as Melissa said, a cheat meal likely has far less negative impact than a full cheat day.
Cheats can be so mental, but as I have been growing I can handle it better and return to my clean diet easier. I think the great thing with the Zone, especially after doing a hardcore bodybuilding diet, sometimes it already feels like cheating to me. My sugar cravings are really diminished and I don't want to screw around too much with that. I seem to mostly crave things like pizza and burritos for my cheats now instead of dessert. But I do still love cookies. But, to answer your question...I do cheats when they come up, but almost always plan to have at least some cheat on the weekend. I am trying not to have full cheat days, but life is sometimes unpredictable and I hate to be the one always carrying around my cooler. :-) Which I did for a loooooong time. Ok, I'll shut up now.-Martha
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