What Is A Cheat Meal
If you do not know how to eat “yummy” treats and burn fat at the same time – this is the article for you. A CHEAT MEAL is a very cool method for those athletes who have stopped getting the results they want from a strict regimen. How to use a cheat meal properly, and what exactly it is – find out in this article. There’s also a few rules for those who are on the way to good results and achievements, who observe a strict diet and still sometimes glance at supposedly forbidden, delicious food.
Constant maintenance of a certain caloric intake can lead to metabolic adaptation or, simply put, the slowing down or complete halt in the process of achieving the desired goal. In order to start and extend this mechanism, athletes are ready to do anything, even resorting to certain medicines. But most often, such risks are not justified. Really, the ideal way to get back on track is the cheat meal.
A cheat meal is one or several meals that go completely beyond your nutritional regimen. Namely, those yummies that you do not ordinarily allow yourself when adhering to a certain food plan. But in order for a cheat meal not to end with obesity, and to start fat burning, the athlete has to observe several points:
Point 1
Plan a cheat meal, or whatever you like to eat, all week. If you have been denying yourself then the chance that you will attack the food already seems likely. The “key” is to plan the cheat meal!
Point 2
Don’t start using cheat meals at home! The chance you will overeat is much greater!
Point 3
Don’t include products containing a carbohydrate fat bomb in a cheat meal! Sweets are fine, if you do it the right way: marmalade, marshmallows, pastilla, jam, paste made from hard wheat (without fatty sauce), and you can pour honey. Use sweet drinks, but only if you really enjoy them. Otherwise, it is better to refuse them completely.
Point 4
Cheat meal or not – this is your choice! But they are necessary not only for those who fall into “metabolic adaptation,” but also for those who “psychologically” can not withstand rigid diets and frameworks for a long time. Without a scheduled cheat meal, a chance to fall off the wagon increases threefold.
Point 5
The higher your % of subcutaneous fat, the less likely it is that you can do a cheat meal. When you achieve a sufficient low percentage of subcutaneous fat, a cheat meal can be done once a week.
🔻Maximum Performance Nutrition Program
Unlock your maximum potential with our Maximum Performance Nutrition Program. Tailored for weightlifters, this program offers serving-based diet planning, no food weighing required.
Perfectly complement your training for efficiency, body composition, competition prep, and weight class adjustments. Optimize performance, carbs, meal timing, and supplements.
Weightlifting Meal Plan Details:
- Easy step-by-step instructions;
- Serving control basis with no food weighing;
- Calorie intake is calculated for body mass;
- Adapts to your training schedule;
- Detailed guidance on progress tracking;
- Meal timing and serving sizes master tools;
- One-time payment for unlimited access.
Level up your game today!
Point 6
A cheat meal is effective only if you are strict about staying low-carbohydrate or non-carbohydrate, which in principle is no longer a healthy athlete’s diet.
Personally, I’m not a cheat meal lover, because I keep a fairly loyal diet in my program that psychologically does not strain, and allows me to achieve the results I’m after.
Always yours,
Aleksey Torokhtiy & Team
You might be interested in:
Why Trust Us?
With over 20 years in Olympic Weightlifting, our team does its best to provide the audience with ultimate support and meet the needs and requirements of advanced athletes and professional lifters, as well as people who strive to open new opportunities and develop their physical capabilities with us.
By trusting the recommendations of our certified experts in coaching, nutrition, dietology, and sports training programming, as well as scientific consultants, and physiotherapists, we provide you with thorough, well-considered, and scientifically proven content. All the information given in the articles concerning workout programming, separate exercises, and athletic performance, in general, is based on verified data. We ensure that you can rely on our professionals’ pieces of advice and recommendations that can be treated as personalized ones which will benefit you and fully meet your needs.
The product testing process is described in more detail here
Author: Sergii Putsov
Head of Sport Science, PhD
Best Results: Snatch – 165 kg,
C&J – 200 kg
Sergii Putsov, Ph.D., is a former professional weightlifter and National team member, achieving multiple medals in the 94 kg weight category at national competitions. With a Master’s degree in “Olympic & Professional Sport Training” and a Sport Science Ph.D. from the International Olympic Academy, Greece, Sergii now leads as the Head of Sport Science. He specializes in designing training programs, writing insightful blog articles, providing live commentary at international weightlifting events, and conducting educational seminars worldwide alongside Olympic weightlifting expert Oleksiy Torokhtiy.
