cheat meal Archives - Mastering Health and Fitness

Alright, we’re in a good routine. We’ve been eating healthy all week! Great job! The good news, if you stick to a clean diet with a good protein to carb ratio and taking your gw501517 supplement every now and then to maintain a good diet then, (ei, maybe on the weekend!) you should have a cheat meal. A cheat meal is a meal in which you allow yourself to eat whatever you want for one meal. Since the majority of us are carboholics, a cheat meal typically has more carbs than we should be eating for our normal meals. (Think pastas, pizza, cookies, cake)

Why should I allow myself a cheat meal if I’m trying to lose weight you might ask? Here is a short list of reasons to allow yourself a cheat meal.

None of you should be on a diet. We are eating to live a healthy lifestyle. Healthy lifestyles have balance and therefore eating indulgences should be allowed in moderation.
If you always stick to a low calorie diet, your body’s metabolic functions will “shut down.” Meaning, if you never give your body higher calories, it will adjust your daily caloric burn to live off fewer calories.
After eating a low carb diet we deplete our glycogen stores. When you eat your cheat meal the carbs will go straight to replenishing these stores rather than being stored as fat. (This is what happens when we allow ourselves to eat carbs all the time.) Replenished glycogen stores will give you a boost of energy. (FYI it’s smart to plan a long run or killer workout for the day following your cheat meal!–Now that’s fueling for life!)

This process of eating a low carb diet full of veggies and protein, with a cheat meal to replenish glycogen stores is called a cyclic ketogenic diet. User be warned, just because we get a cheat meal doesn’t mean that we can justify eating unhealthy all the time. Cheat meals can only happen if you really have eaten clean all week. I have found, when I eat clean and stick to my workouts, my body will tell me when I need a cheat meal. If you are just getting started I would recommend talking with a dietitian to help you find the right times to hit your cheat meal.

If you keep your diet in check during the week, you can head out with friends on Saturday night without having to worry as much about your diet! Eating unhealthy food is much more fun without the guilt! In fact, if you stick to this cycle, you’ll find want to get back on the healthy eating train the next day–trust me your digestive system will thank you!

This during the week

= this:

on the weekend!

When on a diet, splurging is often called a cheat meal. Cheat meals can be awesome, but dieters beware if you like to eat healthy Mon-Fri and cheat all weekend you are not on a weight lose diet, you are on a maintenance diet…(or even a slow .5-1lb steady creep up diet!)

That being said, cheat meals are awesome, especially when you make it yourself with fresh ingredients! Remember fresh ingredients provide way more nutrients than processed ones. Most restaurants–especially if they are chains use processed ingredients because they are cheaper and store longer.

Lobster and Ricotta/mozzarella/Parmesan Ravioli made from scratch!

This week after my 6 mile “long run” for the week I went up to my mom and dad’s to celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary! [It’s funny to call 6 miles a long run but welcome to the friendly world of 1/2 marathon training!–ALSO WORD TO THE WISE: If you are going to have a cheat meal make it on a day where you get in a great workout! 🙂 ] There we began to cook up a feast!

I was put in charge of stuffing the ravioli, while my dad tended the french meat and white bean dish, Cassoulet!

Cassoulet step like 15 of 20!

Our first course was sautéed muscles and clams, which are actually a very healthy appetizer! This is a great choice to make on your own or to order if you are at a restaurant!

Next came the lobster ravioli with a simple tomate sauce and asparagus!

Finally we had the main course, a blood orange salad with fig balsamic dressing, and the completed Cassoulet! Dinner was paired with an Australian 2 Hands 2009 Shiraz and a 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. (My one of two lenten exceptions!)

The intent was to burn off these calories with a day of skiing….

"All we need now is a little more wind to go with our rain and wind...."

However, conditions weren’t having it so we headed down the mountain and I squeezed in my exercise for the day

Stacking wood and taking a quick 3 mile sunset recovery run to shake out my legs from yesterday’s run.

When I got back it was time to get set for the rest of the week. I was able to use the broth from the cassoulet for a slow cooked meal for later this week!