My carb load day is looming and I already have so much planned... so, I thought it would be good to talk about 'cheat meals', 'carb loading', 're-feeds'...whatever you call it!
First of all, stop thinking of it as a 'CHEAT' meal. It's not a 'cheat' - it's living your life, it's being human! In fact, thinking of it as a 'cheat' is where the problem begins, and I am talking from experience...as a typical girl I always thought to eat less, exercise more and eat 'CLEAN.' Don't get me wrong - I am into healthy foods - as in non- processed and natural foods, well, as natural as foods can be these days - foods with benefits you could say, and, yes, I use the word 'clean' to describe those. But, it's not realistic to do that ALL of the time and a day will come where you will eat something/drink something which you don't consider clean- it happens - that's life. You could even argue indulging in all these 'clean' foods can have negative effects too, which is also valid; as with most things in excess. Yet, if you stay in a clean eating mindset constantly I can guarantee these two things will happen: One; you will feel guilty or bad if you do 'slip up' and Two; those who severely restrict themselves are usually the ones who end up binging. At the moment I'm feeling like this will happen on my carb load day and again, this is because I have restricted myself so harshly (however, the plan is, after the program to reintroduce foods and add in things I enjoy whilst keeping my shape... so don't you worry about me...)
There is a lot of controversy surrounding 'cheat meals'; whether they are beneficial, or actually damaging, but here's my top reasons why you SHOULD add some flexibility within your diet:
1) Birthday's come round once a year - do you really want to not be able to eat your own birthday cake?
2) Easter. Need I say more?
3) Christmas... all the wonderful yummy foods in bulk packets and a good ol' Christmas dinner.
4) Eating and drinking is a really big part of most people's social lives - allowing some flexibility to go and enjoy a meal with friends/family, or even drinks, is fun and it's good for the soul to enjoy time in the company of others you love; whether it's a friends birthday, a staff do, a wedding or just a catch up with friends GO, enjoy it! You choose how much you eat or drink, and, if you are worried, most places have a healthy option. In fact, it's a good de-stresser and excessive stress can lead to fat gain...
5) Part of traveling and enjoying different cultures is about sampling the food - would you go all the way to Italy and never try a proper Italian Pizza? It's all about moderation! You can be healthy whilst enjoying yourself and having fun.
6) Allowing yourself to enjoy your favourite foods occasionally helps with consistency and sustainability. You may think you could lose weight by eating a salad every day however, can you keep that up for the rest of your life?
Having a bit of chocolate or, whatever your favourite thing is here and there, keeps you on track if you are on a diet. It helps with cravings, gives you something to look forward to and allows you to live a little! There are just too many mouth orgasmic foods out there you'd be rude not to try like oreos and... oreos... Also, eating these foods in moderation will make you much better at restricting yourself when you do eat 'bad' foods and you're less likely to indulge completely and do more damage... You've probably all heard about people dieting and then going back to normal eating and becoming fatter than they were before, right?
Having a bit of chocolate or, whatever your favourite thing is here and there, keeps you on track if you are on a diet. It helps with cravings, gives you something to look forward to and allows you to live a little! There are just too many mouth orgasmic foods out there you'd be rude not to try like oreos and... oreos... Also, eating these foods in moderation will make you much better at restricting yourself when you do eat 'bad' foods and you're less likely to indulge completely and do more damage... You've probably all heard about people dieting and then going back to normal eating and becoming fatter than they were before, right?
7) Regardless of how healthy some people try to be or think they are being when dieting, cutting calories comes at a cost. In order to produce extreme leanness, many diets include weeks in a calorie deficit and lower carbohydrates, as well as lowering fat intake - this can wreak havoc on your body forcing it into starvation mode and causing upset with your bodies daily functions and hormones. Since significant changes in the levels of leptin and ghrelin are seen after only 72 hours of a calorie-restricted diet, weekly cheat meals that are higher in calories and carbohydrates can help raise leptin levels and lower ghrelin. This is important because the return of your hormone levels to normal can help reverse, or even prevent any negative effects on metabolism, hunger drive, and energy expenditure. Leptin also contributes to motivation, libido, and dopamine production. In addition, the increased calories will also help to increase thyroid function, further boosting metabolism.
8) Many claim splurging on foods during a set period of time can rev up your metabolism and will restore glycogen levels (which means you can totally kick-ass in your workout the day after).
Basically 'cheat meals' are mentally and physically beneficial done properly.
Here's a few tips to maximise the benefits of carb loading:
1) Try not to overindulge and get drunk on junk- this isn't the last time you get to eat that food so don't act like it. Eat what you want and when you're full STOP. If you are trying re-feed spread your meals out - don't eat 50 doughnuts in one go and feel sick, have 1 or two, and later on, if you fancy another, have it.
2) Plan your carb loads around events and your lifestyle e.g if you were going to have a 'cheat meal' on Tuesday but, it's Valentine's day on Saturday and your boyfriend's planned for a romantic meal - reschedule and make that your cheat meal.
3) Lots of people like to to train hard on their 'cheat day.' It builds up an appetite and makes you feel like you've deserved it. I normally plan mine on the same day I train legs or after doing a heavy, and long, back session. Keep your carb load to after training as you may feel too bloated or tired to train after stuffing your face. It's also great to do on a day before a heavy/long workout or possibly when working on a weak area - allowing you to perform much better as your glycogen stores will be refuelled.
4) Try to maintain balance while indulging - keep protein levels high and keep it alongside your choice of carbs/fats. Drink plenty of water! Although you will probably find you naturally will drink more. Try to increase your carb intake by 3x - 5x your body weight in pounds.
5) Drop your salt intake and water the day before. I also feel better sticking to lean meals up until my carb load meal during that day - you don't need to starve yourself all day till you carb up!
6) Don't do it too often, if you keep doing it every other day you can mess up the results you worked towards and get yourself further, and further, away from your goal. It is, however, worth testing your tolerance - if you keep a good shape whilst having a carb meal every couple of weeks you could try having it once a week.
7) Don't let it turn into a cheat weekend, or week, or month. Enjoy it that day/night and end it satisfied the next day. A good way to ensure you do this is by allocating a time period to eat what you want preventing any overspill and overindulgence.
8) Finally, don't succumb to guilt. That food tasted awesome, it was totally worth it, get over it, back on track tomorrow.
