To cheat or not?
Many of you are just starting your workout program and wondering if you should “allow yourself a cheat meal”. Many of you are already going through the program and have already made a choice about cheat meals. Let me talk with you about this decision and it’s consequences.
There are 2 sides to the “cheat meals” argument. One side says that a weekly cheat meal (or even a whole cheat day) is a good thing to keep you from falling off the wagon all the way and satisfying those cravings. The other side says it’s not worth it and to never cheat. Can you guess which side I’m on?? I am in the “NEVER CHEAT” camp! In a minute I’m going to tell you why!
But first, let me address some anecdotal evidence — look up any of the best P90X transformations in my teamRIPPED Hall of Fame and my Before/After photo gallery, and what will you find? NONE of us did cheat meals. ZERO! So the owners of the best results are all in the NO CHEAT camp. Let that soak in for a minute.
Also, can you guess how many times I’ve gotten emails from people telling me that they’ve finished their 90 days without cheating, and it’s driven them so crazy that they are going to go on an eating binge? ZERO! In fact, most people who go 90 days without cheating say that they don’t ever want to eat that disgusting junk again!
But on the other hand, do you know how many emails I get from people who heard that one cheat meal every once in a while was a good idea …. so they did it … and then they had a birthday party or a wedding and decided to have a cheat day …. and then it turned into a cheat weekend … and then a cheat week … and now they are totally off the wagon, worse than where they started, and can’t find the motivation to get back on track? I GET THOSE EMAILS ALL THE TIME PEOPLE!!! CHEAT MEALS CRUSH YOUR MOMENTUM. I’m telling you because as a coach I see it every day!!!!
So let’s look past the anecdotal evidence to the real facts about cheat meals. First, just look at the consequences on your body of that cheat meal. It will load your body with fat / bad carbs / sugar that will throw you out of balance and change your blood chemistry significantly. It can take 2-3 days for your body to re-euqilibrate from this “cheat meal”, not to mention the calories you’ve pumped into your system that can halt your progress if you are trying to lose weight. It simply isn’t worth it.
Second, consider the consequences on your mind of that cheat meal. I used to eat nothing but junk food, and I used to argue that I had a sweet tooth that others just couldn’t understand. The idea that I could go an entire year without eating ANY candy or sweets would have seemed impossible to me. Yet I’ve done it, and since I don’t indulge my sweet tooth every week, it has diminished greatly (you know the Biblical principle of starving the flesh — it really works!).
Instead of considering candy, ice cream, and cake as “treats”, I now crave fruits, my chocolate flavored protein bars, and of course my Shakeology Reeses shakes. Since I have 5 kids at home, I didn’t have the option of cleaning out all of my cupboards, and if I were to look in my pantry right now I’d see Oreos, marshmallows, a tupperware full of Valentine candy, etc. Yet, those things (which I would have been constantly calling my name a year ago), don’t even look appealing. My body feels so much better now that I’ve given that junk up, I don’t even want it!!!! If I were cheating on a regular basis, that obsession would still be there.
The same goes for whatever your “obsession” is — Sweets, fried food, chips, queso, etc. If you starve that obsession, it dies! Trust me, it really does! And once it dies, then “falling off the wagon” is no longer a threat, because you have no interest in getting off the ride you are on!
This has worked for me for 2 years and counting. How does it look practically? I have 5 kids and there’s always a birthday party or something going on. You hear the excuse that it would be rude to not eat cake at a birthday party. I’ve done exactly that and no one even notices. Just make yourself busy with serving the cake and cleaning up. Or have a shake ready to substitute! Many of my church friends joke around with me that when we have our small group fellowship they will have protein powder for me! Haha! They aren’t offended. In fact, it is a sure-fire conversation starter.
I hope this look into how I avoid cheat meals helps you to stay committed to maximizing your results and starving those unhealthy cravings until they literally disappear.
Keep bringing it!!!
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Hey Leo, overeating healthy food is better than overeating junk food, but overeating is bad in general if you are taking in more calories and food than your body can use. It WILL store it as fat!
Ok here comes the REAL test. I leave for Disney World in a couple days for a weak. I don’t think I’ll have problem (I haven’t cheated once or had anything other then water in 46 days!) but I think its gonna be tough to keep up with how I’ve been eating for the last 7 weeks. I’ve pre made all my turkey jerky for the week (2 oz. bags) and have about a dozen IDS New Whey Liquid Protein shots. I just have any a feeling that I’m not gonna get enough calories in, maybe not. The time share has a gym so I should be able to get all my workouts in before the day gets started.
I can just see this as a way to fall off the wagon. I’ve worked my ass of to get here and I’d hate to stop now. But as we all say:
We are passionate ….
We are committed ….
We are …. teamRIPPED!
I WILL NOT FAIL!
Well I hate to say it but I have just had my first cheat meal. Our vacation starts in 2 days, but last night was my last night of work, and my whole family came over and we ordered pizza! At first I said no, lol, then after about 15 minutes I couldn’t take it anymore. It was crazy it started as one . . . two . . . three . . . then I finally stopped at 4 (OMG!) Pizza has always been my downfall though. I could it eat it for every meal 24/7.
This really stinks because as I have stated above, in my last post, I haven’t cheated or had anything other then water in the last 46 days.
Oh well I know I can burn this off in 2 days and get right back in to it. Gotcha! April fools!
hey coach, im doing the zig zag diet, actually i just started, and yesterday i had a cheat day :/ not on purpose its a long story but will it take 2-3 days to see results with the zig zag diet since i cheated ?
Cheat days set you back, so yes. Don’t expect to see results for at least a few days if you have a cheat day.
This is another great article I ahd to read as yesterday my boss came into my office with snacks :-(. I did aviod the brownies and cookies, however I had a mini brand-like muffin :-(. This is my fifth day, I’m taking it one day at a time as the prvious article advised. So I worked as hard as I could during Yoga and instead of resting I will do Stretch X on sunday. But I’m very committed to no cheating! The proof is in the pudding! so to speak I have done four work outs and this morning my jeans are so loose! I can’t beleive it! SO thanks Wayne this site is soooooo helpful! Onward upward, day five!
After each of my rounds, I gave myself one cheat meal. This was my self-reward for being so disciplined and for pushing play each day:)
Great article Coach. I agree that if you starve the temptation, it dies (or as the Bible says, “resist the devil and he will flee from you” – James 4:7). In your article, “Addictions!”, you compared food addiction to alcohol addiction. Being a former alcoholic myself, I can empathize with you and others who struggled and are struggling with with food addiction.
Everyone’s definition of “cheat meal” is different. Some think eating fast food is cheating while others think eating anything not organically grown in a garden or on a farm would be cheating. One has to make their definition of what a cheat meal is based on their convictions and fitness goals. More natural the food, the better – no doubt – but doing research and making wise choices at the drive-thru or restaurants are commendable too.
Great insights Jmac! Thanks for sharing!
wow nice
Would having two twenty calorie jaw breakers to curb cravings be considered cheating?
Hey Syler, 40 calories of jawbreakers is better than 250 calories of skittles …. but I don’t think you’ll find jaw breakers in the P90X nutrition guide LOL! So is it cheating? Yes! But is it better than some of the alternatives? Definitely!
You can also consider sugar-free gum. That is something I use often! There is a mint-chocolate chip flavor of Extra that is REALLY GOOD!
I was just about to have a cheat meal earlier today but decided against it. I figured you wouldn’t, so I did not go through with it. It was TOUGH! I enjoyed reading this and can’t wait to starve some of these hungers I get for certain foods!
Way to go Tommy! It’s those little victories that set us up to be a huge success!
Coach Wayne,
What about alcohol? Is it Ok to have a few drinks on the weekends or once in a while or is that a really, really bad idea when it comes to alcohol converting into sugars?
Thanks,
Dean
Hey Dean, alcohol is definitely not good, so if you are going to have a few drinks, do it in moderation and be sure you are accounting for the calories.
Thanks Coach, I just made you my coach on Beachbody, looking forward to the ride, I just started phase 2 of classic P90X. I did it last year but I didn’t push myself hard enough, this time I am bringing it. I’ve lost 5.5lbs so far (Started May 2nd) and really want to get that six pack!
thanks again,
Dean
Coach, i just read that cheat meals once every week or 2 can raise levels of leptin which can break a plateau. I am on a plateau for sure because I have not seen major results in a few weeks. I actually cheated today ( i dont regret it, i bring it everyday lol). Also i can control myself and get back on track. I will let you know hopefully in a few weeks if the cheat meal actually helped.
Hey Andre, like I said in the article, there are people on both sides of that argument. My take is that if you are not where you want to be yet, cheating will really slow you down on your path to getting results. Find any of the best 90 day transformations and they all have one thing in common — they never had cheat meals.
And I’m not sure how you feel like you are in a plateau yet because your diet is all over the place (at least I assume it is because you keep asking me about your diet and it’s been too high in carbs and fat, and you keep wanting to go over the target percentages). You can’t really be in a plateau unless you’ve been doing the diet correctly for several weeks and aren’t seeing results (just saying!).
But yes, let us know how it turns out!! :-)
Lol I check the scale and i was up only 3 pounds…I thought it was going to be worse…Anyways Coach Im back on track today. Started the day off with multigrain waffles.
Hey coach is an 8oz glass of OJ once a week bad for you? or a fresh fruit smoothie? Thanks
There’s a lot of sugar and carbs in it, so just be sure you are factoring it into your daily totals. If so, it’s okay. I don’t do it myself because it would use up a bunch of my daily carb budget in one shot!
hello wayne, i have done 1/2 a round of p90 and a full round of p90x. i am currently 22 days into round 2 of p90x. i havent cheated 1 time until tonight and i am just kickin myself right now. i have lost 41 lbs. and am actually at a lower weight than i origianally set out to be.i am still looking for those elusive lower abs and i know its in the kitchen and i have been really dialing in on my eating. ive been very proud to say that i havent cheated and i think thats the worst part. i feel like it beat me today………so i guess in my opinion………..its NOT worth it…..it wont happen again. great site, feel better now that ive gotten that out……..
Hey Carl, congrats on the progress. Put the cheat meal behind you and get back to work! You can do it!
Hey Coach, great article! So last night I went to the movies with some friends and took a pretty bag of raisins and turkey jerky with me to snack on. Well, when the movie was over the bag was empty (it was actually a really big bag!) So Im wondering about how long it will take for my body to process this food and for me to see the consequences of overreating. Thanks Coach!
Coach what are your thoughts on non fat frozen yogurt? Golden spoon has many nonfat flavors at 100cal 15 carb 3 pro 0fat.
Hey Jason, I haven’t tried them, but as a healthy alternative they sound just fine as long as you account for the carbs in your daily totals.
Hi Wayne, I really enjoy your site, and have read many of the articles (though I’m not a teamripped member).
I’d like your thoughts on “cheating” within the right ratios. My wife and I both like to eat sweets and carbs (who doesn’t?). We’ve been following the fat shredder plan for about a month now, and we’ve done good to hit our ratios everyday. But, occasionally, we’ll cut out some more healthy food choices so that we can fit in a bite or two of what we’re craving (peanut butter M&Ms, pancakes, etc.). We’re very careful to measure those and make sure we’re still in our ratios, but is this cheating?
Obviously, we’re not getting as good of nutrition as we could, but will our progress suffer if we’re still hitting our ratios?
Would love to hear your thoughts?
Thanks.
Hey James, yes your results will still suffer. It’s great that you are still hitting your % with your cheats (so it could be worse), but by doing that you are robbing your body of valuable nutrients it could be using to improve your health and results, and instead giving it crap that it can’t use. You’ll still achieve the weight loss goals (due to the sheer calorie counting) but your body composition will be much different.
Not to rain on your parade, but just being real :-)
Hi Coach Wayne. GREAT article!! I read somewhere that if you don’t have a cheat day once a week that your body will get used to your eating healthy and will stop burning the fat. I know that’s nonsense but I have still been allowing myself to cheat a little one day a week. Well, that’s stopping now..thanks to your article. I also agree 100% with what you said about when you cheat, you sometimes fall off the wagon and can’t get back on. I can’t tell you how many times that happened to me over the years. It’s not happening again though. ;-))
Hello coach wayne.Ive just got through my first weekend of not cheating!(weekends are my weakest time) I still ate more fruits than i should of but atleast i didnt eat anything bad!Im so pumped now ,i was miserable because i could not get through a weekend without eating anything bad :{ now im ready to really dial it in on the next weekend,when my cravings hit me again (sorry for my english)
Good job Tomas! Those little victories along the way make it easier and easier to reach bigger victories. Keep it up!
Im trying not to cheat at all. Its driving me crazy though, Im so sick of having the same food everyday and not being able to eat out with my girlfriend and friends, But i guess thats what you need to sacrifice in order to get ripped.:(
Hey Michael! It gets easier man trust me! I started my “committed” 90 day journey the day after christmas and it was HARD having all those left over cookies and cakes in the fridge for about a week knowing i couldnt eat them but i knew just one bite would throw me into a snowball effect and i would have to start over which is something i didnt wanna do again. My girlfriend is addicted to chick fil a (idk how she stays 110 pounds lol) but ill eat before we go there so even if i have a temptation im already to full to eat anything. And as for you eating the same foods i know how you feel, i have been eating 2 cans of tuna for lunch and chicken for dinner for the last 90 days and im just now starting to experiment with other recipes but i stuck with it bro and i know you can too! Just think if you cheat you basically worked out for no reason and idk about you but if im gonna be waking up at 4:30 to let Tony and Shaun T kick my butt im gonna do it for a reason!! Keep bringing it man!
Thanks dude!
Hey Coach W -
I signed up to beachbody and requested you as my coach yesterday. Your website is great, full of info. regarding the cheating or cheat meal; i was on the side of the cheat meal until today.
I was watching one of your other nutrition videos and you mentioned how cutting junk food is noble but will not get you the results you wanted. Well today I was pretty much on point until I had a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie my wife made (I can give the cookie monster a run for his money when it comes to cookies). Well that little cookie had 11g of fat throwing my micronutrient percentages (50p 30c 20f) into a tail spin. Heck, my fats were higher than my carbs. It was at that moment that I decided I would try my hardest not to cheat. Just like my journey with weighloss has been upto this point, it will be a work in progress, but I’m confident I will succeed.
Thanks for your site!