Have you ever wondered why so many people have a hard time staying on diets and eating good quality foods all the time? I believe that there are a few reasons for this, but one major reason is that people eat healthy for a few weeks and then blow up and binge for days or weeks. If you like pizza or chocolate or candy :-\ then you shouldn’t completely deprive yourself, and should actually reward yourself for doing well. I usually suggest that after one full week of quality eating they should celebrate and have a 3-6 hour cheat window. During this cheat window you can eat whatever you want, and as much of it as you want. This will actually enhance your metabolism due to the influx of calories and keep your body burning fat! In order to get this cheat day window YOU MUST NOT CHEAT AT ALL DURING THE OTHER 6 DAYS!!!!!
Gotta love the cheat days!!! I forgot to mention in my training schedule and diet post that I give myself 1 cheat day per week where I can eat whatever I feel like. This serves many purposes. First, it gives you a break from eating the same things over and over. Second, it will actually give you a jump start to you metabolism. And third, you won’t want to look at any cheat foods for a few days afterward.
Your cheat days should be epic! Plan these things in advance and have a great time with them! My last cheat day was amazing! I had a good friend visiting from San Diego and he wanted to experience the great foods that Seattle has to offer! I must note that we did start the day with a normal breakfast and a 10 mile run, so we primed the engine to use some serious fuel! Anyway, our first stop was the Dick’s cheeseburgers in lower Queen Anne which we followed with some digestive time at Kerry Park (see pic below). After taking in the amazing Seattle views we hit up the Top Pot Donuts in Queen Anne, and didn’t mess around by getting a dozen fresh donuts! From there we headed home and each picked up medium pizzas on the way. 4 hours later and in deep food comas we had finished the pizzas and 4 donuts each! Telling you that I was full just doesn’t do it justice! My stomach felt like it was painfully stretching and although I wanted to finish the 2 cake donuts my anatomy wouldn’t allow it. Dang that was a good day! After waking up the next day I still didn’t feel much better but I stuffed down my usual eggs, spinach and oatmeal to make sure I was keeping my metabolism and fueling in line.
The funny thing is that my body feels great after cheat days, and I always have great workouts! Cheat days can be amazingly fun and I’d love to hear what your favorite cheat days have been, or what you think would be the best cheat day that you can imagine!!! Post your crazy cheat days to the comments below!
If you’d like to learn more about food and dieting download my Free Secret Rules of Weight Loss Ebook on your right!
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