I cheated…. on my diet… AGAIN! Well this is the common thing that many people tend to experience when they are “dieting”. Now let me clarify what a “diet” really is.
DIET :
Noun
- 1.the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats“a vegetarian diet”
- 2.a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons“I’m going on a diet”
So as you can see, diet is simply the food you are eating. Now if you think about what our culture defines diet as, you can see why so many people are misguided on this term. As far as this article is concerned, your diet is the food that your eating and that can be ANYTHING. The act of being on a diet is a verb which has action behind it.
Many people do amazing through the week then the weekend hits and NOTHING is off limits. I am a HUGE advocate for healthy eating along with getting the proper nutrition to fuel your body and it is healthy for you to have a cheat meal. The real issue is taking that meal and turning it into a cheat weekend that causes the most damage! Have a planned cheat meal is often a part of the diet as is eating veggies and fruits. For most, the occasional indulgence allows the psychological release. It keeps you focused and on point Monday through Saturday if you know planned Sunday as a REFEED day or what others think of as carb loading with foods you don’t typically eat.
If you already know you’re about to eat a meal that is unplanned or a treat, these below tips will keep your body in check and will severely limit the amount of damage done. Even more, you may be able to prevent what I call the “food hangover”.
Here are your tips for avoid that FOOD HANGOVER !
-Eat protein as the first meal of the day! By eating protein as your first meal it will limit your hunger and prevent you from going all out when it comes to the indulgent foods. It will also start your day right, and will get a decent macronutrient balance flowing before overflowing it with sugars and fats. Protein is the macronutrient often forgotten when we cheat. Most foods are sugary or loaded with excess fat which makes them taste good. This large protein meal will keep your amino acid pool filled (at least for a bit) so decreased function of vital systems or cell degradation does not occur (yet).
Protein is also the director of cell communication and nutrient intake, without proper protein levels you will throw your body into chaos, never mind adding cheating foods on top of that.
There are two more rules relating to this that will greatly reduce the damage of cheating:
- Eat protein first at every meal
- Eat as much protein as you want. (More than likely, you should eat more than you think.)
Both of the above reasons are due to satiety (getting “full”) and attaining a somewhat not so shitty macro balance in your body.
Cinnamon is your best friend! Cinnamon has been shown to reduce the glycemic load of a meal by up to 20%. This is HUGE. This is like eating a cupcake and your body responding as if it were a couple of apples (maybe not that extreme but you get the idea!). This is a great way to reduce insulin overload and reduce the rising of your sugar levels. 2 Tablespoons should be sufficient. You can add it to anything you would like; I add it to my coffee. Drink while you slam the cakes.
Exercise the day of or a few hours before. By exercising pre-meal you open up the cells lining your muscles, which will intake the incoming glucose from your meals, rather than ending up being stored as fat. To get this response just do 30 air squats, 30 push ups and 30 sit-ups directly before a meal… and yes, for time.
Try not to drink all of your calories. Did you know that a margarita has 570 calories which is the same as a large fry from McDonalds? Putting it into that perspective can make one think twice about really diving into those drinks without tracking calories. Not to mention when your drinking your more likely to overindulge in food as well.
Go to bed with a “Paleo” meal. If you don’t want to wake up with a food coma, be sure to make your last meal, even if it’s literally right before bed make it comprised of veggies and protein. This will give your body what it needs while you sleep to repair, digest and get things back in order. It will make you feel a lot better waking up, instead of waking up like you were coming out of an exorcism with your body in a mess from foreign foods.
There you have it! By following these steps you can minimize the damage on your cheat meal.. and hopefully your keeping it to a MEAL and not a weekend !!!