Cheat meals and cheat days... a problem, or a necessary reward?
The idea and debate around cheat days and cheat meals is nothing new. There is a plethora of opinions being voiced on the internet about the necessity for (or lack thereof) needing a cheat day in diet and exercise regimens. Yet, even with decades of awareness about the issues, we are still inundated with an ever-growing focus on one’s body weight, body fatness, and body image based completely on aesthetic purposes triggering an explosion in fad dieting and exercises that have expressed the intended purpose of helping you reach your body image goals. Many of these fads have within their regimen incorporation of cheats, whether that be a cheat meal or a cheat day.
Yet, even with all of the opinions being offered, not one has voiced an answer to the question, is automatically requiring a cheat within a program an indication of problems or is it a necessary reward to encourage your continuous progress in that specific program?
So, let’s look at that…
What is a cheat?
It has been suggested that the biggest challenge to making and continuing a new pro-health habit (i.e., diet, exercise, no longer drinking alcohol, stopping smoking) is the longing for what you have eliminated from your lifestyle when taking on a new pro-health behaviors. When it comes to pro-health changes related to weight loss or health that can mean missing out on specific foods that evoke a feeling of enjoyment. A potential of psychological punishment that can drive one to quit the newer habit and fallback on old behavior patterns.
To counter this effect, these same individuals commonly suggest that we should incorporate cheat meals or cheat days into our plan. A suggestion that is quite popular for some time among the “fitness enthusiasts,” self-declared fitness experts, and athletes that we all follow. A suggestion that has filtered itself into mainstream diet cults and cultures through our social media feeds. Yet, the idea of a cheat is not readily defined for everyone. Leading to confusing and misunderstanding about what is means to use a cheat. A confusion that is very important given the focus of most regimens would be included in behavior modifications that we commonly associate with treating addictive behaviors (e.g., smoking, drinking, gambling, use of narcotics). That is swap out one behavior for a more pro-health behavior, and is an important fact, as we would typically cajole the addict should they cheat by incorporating old habits to remove a potential psychological punishments that might be perceived while making lifestyle modifications.
As such, it behooves us to define the concept of a cheat. Whether that be a cheat meal or a cheat day; and if using a cheat related behaviors meant to cause weight loss should be equated with a relapse noted in other behavior modification programs. I suggest that we discuss cheats as incorporation of days of laxity in the dogmas and tenets of the dietary habits or exercise regimens that we are following and not necessary be seen as a relapse (even though it might happen during a cheat).
Is needing a cheat a sign of poor plan development?
The idea here comes from how we tend to look at cheat or cheating. Where the term tends to have negative connotations with its association to doing something illicit, taboo, or elicit feelings of guilt which might imply that a food, meal, or non-activity day will impair our ability to maintain self-control necessary for continuing in behavior modification. An idea that could lead one to conclude that if you need to incorporate a cheat into a program then the program might not be the best one to use.
