3 Reason’s You Should Be Cheating in the Kitchen

Nick Parasiliti
Nov 21, 2015
3 min read

I have a confession to make. I cheated before my last physique competition. Now before you write me off as dishonest hear me out. I’m not talking about using performance enhancers or illegal ergogenic aids, I’m talking about cheating my own metabolic system with a meal fit to feed an army. I was first introduced to the idea of a “cheat meal” from a football coach in high school. I began using this technique when I initially got hooked on lifting, and it has been one of the most crucial tools in my physique building arsenal. So what is a cheat meal? A cheat meal means throwing all concepts of a balanced and nutritious meal out the window for one night. For 6 days you eat vitamin rich foods with balanced macronutrients. Once a week you can eat whatever you like holding nothing back. After the stroke of midnight it’s back to military style discipline. If you haven’t incorporated a meal like this into your diet, here are three good reasons why you should start cheating too.

The first reason is Motivation. By having a day to throw all self-discipline out the window you recharge your mental focus. A cheat meal provides sweet relief from the rigors of self-control. By satisfying all those harsh cravings, you reset your mental fortitude for the tough week to come. The cheat meal also provides a reward for all the mental calisthenics that come with a proper diet. When the going gets tough and you think you can’t bear another night of baked chicken and brown rice, the cheat meal is the light at the end of the tunnel. The number one reason crash diets fail is that they are not sustainable. How long do you think a person can remain on a diet when they're told they can never eat the foods they love? If it were me, I’d last about 5 minutes. Long term health requires a long term solution. By making gradual changes in your daily caloric intake followed by a weekly reward you can sustain a healthy diet for the long haul.

Reason number two is filling caloric deficits. Most of us are not registered dieticians, with years of experience. For this reason, it can be difficult to ensure that we obtain the proper nutrients in correct proportions. Deficits in vital nutrients can have detrimental health outcomes and contribute to the development of chronic disease. If you are eating clean on a daily basis there is a risk for nutrient gaps in your diet. The cheat meal helps combat these deficits. By eating a high volume of calorically dense foods, those nutrient gaps are filled. After all what good is a toned physique if it doesn’t function at full capacity.

The final and most important reason for a cheat meal is hormonal balance. The term “cheat meal” is not only derived from the fact that you can get away with eating like a pig for a night, but also from the way it “cheats” your body’s metabolic system. When calories are restricted your body decreases the production of a hormone called leptin. Leptin is responsible for appetite suppression as well as maintaining your metabolic rate (Segura, 2014). As your body fat percentage lowers with a discipline diet, leptin production decreases. Simply put, your body will burn fewer calories at rest and your appetite skyrockets. As if combating low levels of leptin wasn’t enough, we have yet another hormone aimed at destroying our self-control. The hormone Ghrelin is an appetite stimulant. With a calorie restricted diet and exercise we see ghrelin levels go through the roof (Segura, 2014). This vicious cycle stemming from hormonal imbalance leads to carb cravings, and in many cases termination of a diet regimen. How can we outsmart the cycle? Eat a Viking feast! High calorie meals will not only boost leptin levels back to a healthy state, but it also decreases levels of ghrelin. As an added benefit to regulating leptin and ghrelin, thyroid activity kicks into overdrive after a high calorie, high carbohydrate meal (Segura, 2014). These positive hormonal changes can last for days after consuming your cheat meal.

Weight loss, and diet maintenance is one of the toughest hurdles we face in the world of fitness. Proper planning and understanding your body is vital in creating effective lifestyle patterns. With a strict diet your body can set you up for failure, but you can outsmart the body’s response. When it comes to your diet; for the best results cheat!