Cheat Meals - Making the Most of Them

A lot of you probably think I have the craziest will power in the world to be so strict with my eating habits. While this is true most of the time; I myself have my weak moments too.

YES, I eat eat a hamburger on a white bun from time to time. I go to family functions and eat white potatoes and kindly accept the lovely desert my family slaved over. But HOW I do it, is the real key to not letting these meals affect my physical progress, or my mental game.


I don't feel like I need to go over the reasons you might want to cheat a little on your diet, we all have our different reasons (stress, hangovers, LIVING LIFE... etc.). What you really need to know is how to time your meals.

All too often I see and hear about my friends going to the gym after pigging out earlier in the day. They have a weak moment, eat some candy, then go to the gym to "work it off". Sure you've got the basic idea, but think about what the foods you're eating are doing to your body. Chances are you're not pigging out on quality complex carbs to use to fuel your workout, you're probably eating sweets, simple carbs, and fats... not really optimal energy sources for your workout. But is there a place for them in our diets?

Yes, AFTER your workouts. A common fitness practice is to consume simple carbs and protein after workouts (the basic idea is to boost insulin quickly to reduce muscle breakdown, and increase recovery speed via initiating protein synthesis sooner). So, if you can compromise your craving to a more complete meal containing a decent amount of protein with your carbs you can use these calories to aid your recovery!

Now remember, unless you're really trying to bulk up you probably don't want to do this on a regular basis, but in terms of indulging a little, I highly recommend a workout out before your cheat meal instead of after.

And lets be honest; you're going to workout twice as hard to earn your cheese burger than you are to work it off...

A final note: We all have our weak moments when we need that little treat, but can't workout before. While this isn't ideal, as long as you can work to keep it moderation, you can still progress to your goals. My best advice is to not let it stress you out, because the stress will probably do you more harm than a cookie ever would.

Stay healthy,

Shawn

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