Okay. We try to eat healthy and keep to our diets (i.e., manage our caloric balance and macros). At the end of a cutting cycle or as an occasion break from our strict eating habits, we want to have something forbidden or something we have been denying ourselves. This is perfectly fine—when tempered with wisdom and moderation. Before we go completely off track, there are a few things to consider.
Regrets. There are tempting foods that only let us down and leave us feeling unfulfilled. Choose wisely the foods with which you “treat” yourself.
My regret food is donuts. I rarely—almost never anymore—have them. A avoid them because I know they are the call of the Siren. The look good. The first bite might taste sweet, but each bite (and they will call you to keep eating) tastes less satisfying. I find myself asking, “Why am I eating this?”, with each bite.
The other day, I learned a friend was in Pittsburgh for a bodybuilding show. She is meticulous about training and diet. After the show, she is looking forward to “pizza and wine”. Now, I might be biased, but I have lived a lot of places (including New York), and I believe Pittsburgh has some of the best pizza there is. I reached out to a number of other Pittsburgh friends for their recommendations. Having pride in my hometown, I want to make sure that my friend has best pizza experience possible. My friend has worked too hard to have anything less than memorable pizza.
Frequency. One binge on a favorite “forbidden” food after a long stretch of hypocaloric eating will not be destructive. Remember: “setpoint theory”? Our brain appears to have a setting that works to keep our weight stable. It minimizes dramatic losses in weight, but it also counters sudden increases. The key is to not be too frequent with our “cheats”.
Weight management is the average of our day to day habits. If one is “good” six days and “cheats” on the seventh, one could easily destroy a week’s worth of effort. For example: if one eats at a 200 kcal daily deficit and has a Red Robin Banzai Burger and fries, that is almost 1400 kcal (1040 kcal + 350 kcal, respectively—assuming one stops at one order of the “bottomless” fries). Top that off with a couple of beers at a modest 5% ABV, that is an additional 400 kcal. In one “cheat meal” the “dieter” has consumed in excess of 2800 kcal (compared to the weekly “deficit” of 1200 kcal. At best, this practice results in a stalled fat loss. At worse, it leads to gains overall.
Now there is nothing wrong, per se, with cheat meals. Many bodybuilders use them, but only in a controlled fashion as part of the bigger picture (hypertrophy and cutting cycles). If one needs to cheat on occasion, keep in mind the desired overall progress. Don’t sabotage all the effort you have put in during the week.
Moderation. The example above is an “extreme” meal, though not at all unrealistic. Just like the small positive changes we make can add up to large overall effects, so too can small negative changes add up. So, I am going to speak to moderation here from the perspective of portion size and frequency.
When it comes to small indulgences in our diet, opportunity costs. If our average daily caloric requirement is 1800 kcal to lose 2 pounds of fat per week, we must prioritize healthy proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Our indulgences take away from the healthy foods we can eat. So, count the cost.
To fend off a sweet craving, I like to keep some dark chocolate around. A serving is about 190-210 calories. Not too bad, and dark chocolate has some healthy properties. There are worse treats I can eat.
If you must have dessert (e.g., ice cream), go ahead. Just remember “opportunity costs”. What do you have to give up? Keep the portion as small as possible. Can you satisfy your craving with just a spoonful? If you have a dish of the dessert, serve a small portion and stop. Never eat out of the container!
Now, it can be easy to say “just a taste” countless times during the day. By the end of the day, you have no tracking in place and no idea of the damage done. Thus, if you must indulge on a regular basis, maintain control. Schedule your treats. Preferably, consume them away from home where portions are more controlled and there is no temptation to scoop another bowl or cut another slice. If frequency is a problem, don’t make the treat handy. Make accessing your indulgence difficult. Easy access (possibly) means uncontrolled eating.
Dieting should not be “’die’ with a ‘t’”. Diet is our overall eating habits. Remember that there are only three diets—eucaloric, hypocaloric, and hypercaloric. There is no reason to not enjoy the small pleasures of eating. Sure, if you are hypocaloric, it is best to prepare more bland foods that will encourage you to eat less, but this will make the desire for small indulgences or “rewards” greater. We can enjoy eating—we just have to limit how much. And when we do indulge, we indulge wisely. Make the healthiest choices that will satisfy our cravings.
Eat your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!