Successfully Cheating on Your Diet

If you must cheat...learn to do it right! Making a decision to change your eating habits by going on a strict diet is a huge decision. You try to tell yourself that you are going to eat exactly what you should be eating and nothing else. You make a promise to yourself in the beginning that you will not cheat. Not once. So...you're on your way and each meal is falling into place. You have your mind set on the bigger goal. Then a week passes and then another after that. Soon you your mind begins to linger on thoughts of a chocolate bar or a hot fudge sundae and the temptation becomes overwhelming and you rush to the nearest sundae shop and eat a massive banana split covered in fudge, whip cream, and gooey caramel. Once the dish is empty you feel a sudden wave of guilt. You've done it. You are a cheater. Not only did you cheat on your diet but you cheated on yourself. Cheater, cheater, banana split eater!

Now let's sit back for a moment and reflect on what went wrong. You might think that it was the moment you took the first bite of the banana split, but you would be wrong. The first mistake you made was telling yourself you wouldn't cheat at all. You set yourself up for failure from the very beginning. When you begin any change in diet or nutrition plan, as I would prefer to call it, you need to give yourself room for cheating. If you set your expectations too high, you are more likely to fall back into the bad eating habits. Once you fill your mind with guilt, you are beginning down a road of disappointment that will hinder your ability to stay focused. What you must do from the very beginning is plan to cheat. Yes, that's right! Plan to cheat. If you want to be a successful cheater, don't cheat on an impulse. Plan your cheating so you can keep it in the back of your mind. Allow yourself one day a week, where you will allow yourself a cheat meal only during that time frame. Most fitness experts will agree that people who plan to cheat are more successful at sticking to their "diets". Learning to control your impulses and avoiding indulgence is the key to successfully cheating.

The next step is to learn how to cheat the right way. You have now allowed yourself something to look forward to after a long week of being on a strict eating regimen. But, you don't want to eat the wrong kinds of foods when you cheat. Plan to cheat...but cheat with foods that won't make you feel guilty after you have eaten them or destroy everything you have been working for. It is a human reaction to want to cheat when you are depriving your body of sinful foods and it is human nature also to want to reward yourself when you are doing everything as you planned to do. Your nutrition is going well and your workouts are going even better. So, reward yourself by doing the right thing. You will feel even better after you have had a successfully planned cheat meal. Always keep in the back of your mind what you are trying to achieve.

Avoid foods that are high in sugar and have no caloric value. Fast food should be off of your list entirely. Cheat with foods like fresh fruit salad with light whipped cream or sugar free jello layered with fresh strawberries and topped with fat free/sugar free whipped cream. Jello makes a whole line of sugar free puddings and jellos. You can also experiment with Splenda and some of the Splenda recipes. It is amazing how many options are available to you if you do a little bit of research. Most organic supermarkets will have a wide variety of sugar free/ fat free options to choose from. If you want a banana split...Go for the skinny banana split. Fat free/sugar free ice cream, sugar free syrup, a whole banana, a sprinkle of nuts and top it off with some fat/free sugar free whipped cream. The sugar alternatives today taste better than ever. Splenda brand sweetener is now in many of the sugar free products that are on the market today and has replaced Sweet N Low brand sweetener as the number one choice of consumers.

A cheat meal will help you learn your limits while keeping you focused on what your body fat loss goals are. Sticking to a strict nutrition plan is very hard. When you deprive yourself of the things you love it makes it more difficult to follow a strict eating plan. Knowing that there are options out there of foods that can help you cheat successfully will help you control the urge to cheat and remove temptations. So if you are going to cheat...do it right!