09 Oct SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT
SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT
Have you ever used a cheat meal or cheat day to help you adhere to a long term diet?
For those that are unaware a planned free meal (I prefer the term ‘free meal’ as it has less negative connotations than ‘cheat meal’) can be incorporated into the diet at pre-determined intervals, which research shows can help with long-term diet adherence and flexibility.
A free meal could be an evening out at a restaurant or just something that you’ve been hankering for that might not necessarily be permitted whilst trying to drop body fat.
It’s not an excuse to binge, however, and should be planned carefully so as not to set you off track.
This article sums up the pros and cons of using them as an aid to long term diet adherence (basically flexible dieting).
For what it’s worth I wouldn’t often recommend someone have a ‘free day’, but I encourage clients to plan in meals or treats now and again so that they don’t feel too restricted when dieting.
Have you tried this approach when dieting yet?
– Sam