Hey everyone, Callie Durbrow here again for Ultimate Athletic Fitness…I hope that your New Year is off to a great start and you are not only setting high standards for yourself for 2010, but you are taking inventory on how you can SPECIFICALLY achieve your goals this year. It’s not about saying, “I want to lose weight” or “I want to make more money.”
You must say “I want to lose 10 pounds, so I will lose 5 pounds each month” or “I will make an extra “$1,000 each month, which means I must make $250 more each week.” Your mind works on specifics so you must set yourself up for success in that fashion. Visualize what you “want” instead of what you “don’t have.”
Today’s focus is going to be on a very specific portion of your nutrition plan, which is the cheat meal. I like to set up my weekly nutrition, and the plans that I give my clients, based on the 80/20 principle. If you are eating healthy and nutritious foods 80% of the week, 20% can be left open for your cheat meals and occasional treats.
80% healthy means…
1. Having a nutrient rich breakfast every day
2.Having 3 small meals that are balanced with proteins, complex carbohydrates, and fruits and veggies
3.Having 2-3 small snacks between each meal to keep your metabolism cranking
4. Taking 1/2 of your body weight in pounds and drinking that much water each day, in ounces (150 lb person would drink 75 ounces of water per day)
5. Having a small snack 1-2 hours before a workout such as fruit, yogurt or a PB&J sandwich
6. Having a post-workout drink…8-10 ounces of low fat chocolate milk to help with recovery and keep your metabolism up to ensure that you are burning calories ALL DAY
If you are following these principles, then 20% can be devoted to your cheat meal. Cheat meals are important because they give you something to look forward to. Eventually you will enjoy eating healthy, but even for those of us that enjoy it, a little treat is always pretty awesome!
The other thing that a cheat meal does is actually speed up your metabolism. Your body has been somewhat restricted, usually in terms of sugars, if you are eating healthy throughout the week so a cheat meal will temporarily rev up your metabolism and release “feel good” chemicals such as serotonin.
The key to a successful “cheat meal” is to avoid going crazy with it. Most people use their cheat meal on the weekends, but if you know that you are going out to dinner during the week or have a special occasion coming up, use that instead. Don’t use that day, PLUS the weekend.
Having an occasional slice of pizza or a drink out with friends will not derail your nutrition plan, you just need to be smart about it. Stick to a slice or two, or a drink followed by a glass of water.
I love food and love to enjoy myself, so I really stick to my program during the week and usually my cheat meal will be ordering pizza or having some ice cream on Sunday nights.
Sorry Tiger, the 80/20 cheating principle doesn’t apply to you…
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