Using a cheat meal to your advantage

Now before I begin....just to be clear....A CHEAT MEAL ONLY WORKS IF YOUR DIET IS GOOD THE REST OF THE WEEK!!!!!!!

Most people probably think that the main reason we have a cheat meal is just to remain sane whilst sticking to a lean meal plan 95% of the time. Well don't get me wrong, it does do exactly that.

But when the goal is to get lean it's not the main reason we have a cheat meal, when we begin a lean meal plan where we put our body into a calorie deficit, our body will begin to burn more fat (did you know when you eat a piece of broccoli you body burns more calories processing that piece of broccoli than it actually contains, so just eating a piece of broccoli without doing any exercise will burn fat!!).

After a couple weeks our body realises what we are doing, gets used to the lean eating, our metabolism slows down and stops burning fat (we plateau).

Having ONE cheat meal per week when sticking to a clean lean diet will have a positive affect on fat loss. When we plateau, having a cheat meal basically resets our metabolism and because we have been eating so clean, our body just wants to get rid of the fatty cheat meal quickly.

Also a cheat meal will fill the muscles with glycogen giving them a fuller look and giving us energy for the workout ahead.

While I'm on the subject, two small tips:

Don't leave your cheat meal for your last meal (when you sleep your metabolism slows down and your cheat meal won't be as effective).

Make sure you train on the day of your cheat meal (If you can, make your cheat meal before your workout).

Eating this way will make you really appreciate this meal, it will be a treat that you look forward to, it becomes so much more enjoyable than when you eat crap all the time and helps you look good to boot!!

A cheat meal can be whatever you like, pizza, a hamburger, donuts, you name it. But a cheat meal is a CHEAT MEAL, not a cheat day or a cheat evening.

So if fat loss is your goal life isn't so bleak!!

At least not all week long :)