One of the greatest tricks that I use to stick to my diet is to allow myself a cheat meal once a week. For that one glorious meal I can have whatever my heart desires. I can eat pizza, cake, and ice cream, anything I want for that one meal. I believe that anyone who plans to diet for long periods of time should follow this principle. There are several reasons why I feel cheat meals are the key to dieting success.
First of all, we are all human. No matter who you are, you are going to have cravings for foods that you are not suppose to eat. The longer and stricter the diet, the more temptations you will have. It is human nature to want something that we are not aloud to have. Dieting is no exception to this.
The cheat meal approach to dieting allows us to break down and control our temptations. If we are craving pizza on Wednesday and our cheat meal is on Sunday, we know that within four days we will be able to satisfy our craving. We tackle our temptations with the approach that we can hold off the additional four days before we eat what we have been craving four. Under the traditional diet programs, we would not be aloud to cheat at all. From my experience with dieting over the years, the temptations for foods we want do not go away. In my case they become stronger over time. Having a cheat meal once a week allows me to stick to my diet by controlling the beastly temptations before me.
Another advantage to a cheat meal is that it is an award for us. Dieting is not an easy task and we should never expect people who are changing their eating habits to all of a sudden loose the desire to eat unhealthy food again. Dieting is a goal that should be rewarded not only physically, by the way your appearance will change, or mentally, the increase in self-esteem, but also should be a reward for the taste buds as well. Each week should be like a little goal to try and make it to the next cheat meal without breaking your diet. If you succeed, you eat whatever you want without any feelings of guilt whatsoever. You earned the right to that sixteen-ounce bowl of ice cream and you should not be ashamed to eat it either.
There is another benefit to the cheat meal approach in dieting. After time, you body will adjust to the current caloric intake that you are on. If you eat the same thing everyday, or the same amount of fats, proteins, etc., your bodies metabolism will eventually slow down to adjust to the current caloric intake levels. Cheat meals along with some other changes I make to my diet in the week allow me to shock my system. I keep my body guessing throughout the dieting process. I constantly adjust my carbohydrate, protein, and fat levels to keep my metabolism from slowing down. The cheat meal, if done once a week, is another way to effectively shock your body into maintaining a high metabolism.
In conclusion, if a cheat meal is to work effectively it has to be done once a week not once a day. The main objective of the cheat meal is to allow an individual a process or tool to use to defeat temptations that may arise during a diet. The second advantage to a cheat meal is that it is a weekly reward for all the hard work you put into your diet. The final advantage is the cheat meal is another way to shock your body. You keep your body guessing as to what your daily caloric intake is, therefore allowing yourself to maintain a higher metabolism.
Gerald Gore is the owner of the online fitness review site One4Fitness. For more health and fitness related tips and reviews on workout equipment visit Gerald's site at http://www.one4fitness.com. One4Fitness also offers a FREE Health and Fitness newsletter at http://www.one4fitness.com.
limousine Ackley .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare"I tried that diet and lost 8 pounds in the... Read More
Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make... Read More
Obesity is a disease that is not caused by a... Read More
If you are committed to the low carb way of... Read More
If you're a low carb diet enthusiast, you've probably tried... Read More
All the weight control experts recommend keeping a record of... Read More
Believe it or not, losing a little or a lot... Read More
Considering the US Center for Disease Control's advice is a... Read More
I have put off writing a motivation article because of... Read More
To say that dieting rarely leads to sustainable weight loss... Read More
Hold the onions! Let's talk "liver". No, not beef liver,... Read More
You have decided that you want to lose weight and... Read More
It is very important for low carb dieters to stick... Read More
Would you run out of fingers, and maybe even toes,... Read More
What if by making a few small changes in your... Read More
Negative calorie foods are said to use more calories to... Read More
Weight loss is one of the biggest industries in the... Read More
No doubt about it, when we feel stressed we want... Read More
There are as many reasons you've given yourself to eat... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
Mindfulness is all about paying attention. It's amazing what can... Read More
One way of recognizing a fad diet is... Read More
Your Non-Conscious Mind is 98% of your full power.Your Inner... Read More
Weight loss surgery is fast becoming a very popular way... Read More
Every regime has its supply of useless folk lore and... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare Alexander ..The weight loss protein debate centers around the effectiveness of... Read More
This little known secret has been used by bodybuilders for... Read More
I don't know anything about you but if you're anything... Read More
NLP Setting an Anchor Process to Get Back Motivation for... Read More
Reading labels is an essential part of any weight loss... Read More
"How do I lose 5 kg or 30 kg?""How do... Read More
If you are overweight and suffer from pain in your... Read More
The Order of Energy UtilizationBack to our table of stored... Read More
Debunking The Ab MythAb training has been done to death... Read More
There's more to gastric bypass than surgery and rapid massive... Read More
The first rule for successful weight loss and weight maintenance... Read More
As if you needed another reason to hit the snooze... Read More
It seems there are two schools of behavior patients follow... Read More
The story broke in the international press on October 4th,... Read More
Before many Australians recently, a devastating story unfolded on a... Read More
Drink plenty of water. Our body needs a lot of... Read More
Serious diet pills are intended for people who are overweight... Read More
Everyone from politicians to parents is talking about fighting the... Read More
What is low carb?We've all heard about the Atkins diet... Read More
There's a dirty little secret in the diet industry. The... Read More
Believe it or not, losing a little or a lot... Read More
There are a few different ways to determine if you... Read More
There is no question that having a massage makes you... Read More
From the moment of birth your first emotional experiences establish... Read More
Cellulite is a condition for which cures are commonly sought.... Read More
Weight Loss |