Are cheat meals worth the extra calories?
It’s the million dollar question every athlete has for their nutritionist: when is it okay to have a cheat meal? Is it okay at all? It’s a popular question for a number of reasons. If you’re on a strict diet, like most bodybuilders have to be, then you’re going to want to take some breaks from eating the clean, healthy stuff if only to keep your sanity. Eating clean isn’t necessarily the most exciting thing ever, but it’s best for getting you in shredded form.
There’s a reason that they call it eating clean and eating dirty, and anyone with eyes can see the difference when you compare a pro bodybuilder stepping on the Mr. Olympia stage to a pro powerlifter or strongman. Bodybuilders lift weights just like their powerlifting counter parts, but the food they consumed are broken down precisely into the essential macronutrients. Powerlifters have less of an emphasis on how clean or dirty the food they eat is. But if they did eat, as well as train, like bodybuilders then the difference in their physique would be tremendously overhauled.
So should cheat meals be in your diet? Well we compiled a list of some of the dos and don’ts as well as the pros and cons of partaking in the coveted cheat meal and what it means for your overall development.
Do’s and Don’ts of Cheat Meals
Do: Have one cheat meal here and there
A cheat meal once during the week isn’t going to harm your gains. The rule of some is to follow the 90/10 game plan. This means having 90 percent of your meals be clean, while the other 10 percent can be used for some indulgence. Some, not over indulgence.
Don’t: Cheat all day
Now to the other end of the spectrum. If you are going to have a cheat meal it doesn’t mean you should go overboard and do it all day long. There are schools of thoughts that cheat days are acceptable which may be true depending on how hard you are training. For the most part however you should avoid cheating for the entire day as it’ll spell doom to the work you’ve already put in.
Pros and Cons of Cheat Meals
Pro: Can Boost Energy
So what’s the good thing about cheat meals? Well if you’re eating clean for a long period of time then it’s likely that you’re energy stores are pretty depleted, particularly during a cut. A well timed, well planned cheat meal can boost your glycogen levels and restore some of that lost energy to get you training hard again.
Con: Excess calories
Some people advocate cheat days because it gives you that psychological relief you may be desperately seeking. The truth of the matter is however that a cheat day could end up meaning racking up the calories to an extent that could ruin the progress you made during the week. One cheat meal is ideal, but if you choose to have more than one then you have to make some smart choices so your hard work doesn’t go to waste.
Sweet Supplement to Give You a Relief
Dieting can be hard, and you might not be someone who wants to indulge in cheat meals as often as some other lifters. Some people can have pretty bad reactions to cheat meals, meaning they bloat more than they should or it can cause upset stomachs. So what can you do to satisfy your sweet tooth without going overboard?
Find a good supplement.
The number one selling beef protein isolate product is perfectly packaged in a ready-to-drink form, for the busiest of lifestyles.
No matter how busy your lifestyle is, you can enjoy the great taste and take in quality muscle building nutrition of Carnivor, which is the world’s top selling beef protein isolate supplement. You don’t even have to mix it, as Carnivor is already in a delicious ready-to-drink shake, hence the name “RTD”. This shake is also suitable for those looking to achieve their weight loss goals, as it is low in calories and high in protein to keep you feeling full and satisfied.
For a fruity twist, try the Strawberries and Cream flavor of Carnivor RTD, perfect for a post-workout treat.
Check out the full review for MuscleMeds Carnivor RTD here.
Track Your Metabolism With Cheat Meals
One way to make sure that you are staying on track with your cheat meal consumption is to track your metabolism, which is where a product like Lumen comes into play.
Lumen is a device-to-app metabolic health coach that measures your metabolism through your breath to help you make the right choices for your body, which is perfect for staying on track with cheat meal consumption.
Lumen provides you real-time insights into how nutrition, sleep, exercise, and stress affect your metabolic health and provides tailored lifestyle recommendations so you can make high-impact changes. The device is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment, and users should consult with a healthcare provider before making significant changes to their diet or lifestyle based on the data it provides.
Check out the full review for Lumen here.
Conclusion
So having a cheat meal isn’t all that horrible to your gains, but like anything else with bodybuilding it should be taken in moderation. Binge eating has never helped anyone, so we suggest you don’t start unless you don’t mind getting out of shape.
What’s your favorite cheat meal? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
