How bad is one cheat meal?

[Mr.April]

So i'm competing in 3 weeks in my first show I've been on a strict diet now for 5 weeks I weigh 140 and my bf% is right on target

How bad would it be to have a cheat meal for dinner?
Should I do anything if I cheat like run extra?

I'm new to this so thanks

[otongki]

You shouldn't feel bad about cheating. When you follow your diet 24/7 all week round, you need a cheat meal. Truth to be told, that cheat meal keeps your mood happy, while the other meals (your staple diet of perfectly balanced nutrition) are needed to build your body.

The meaning of having a cheat meal one a week is to feed your mind, while the other meals are to feed your body. To have a balance between your mind and your body is important to get what you want.

So, enjoy your cheat meal. Just don't get indulge with it.

[stayfit2008]

My trainer says this concerning cheating on a prep diet. Imagine on contest day it's down to the wire,..between you and the other guy,..The other guy is just a tad bit leaner, developed, vascular than you,..only a tad bit,..but enough to swing the decision of the judges his way,..All you can think about after the show is,.."If I didnt have that one cheat meal what could have been"! Your show is only a few weeks away,..stick to your diet! Theres always the meal after the show that will be all worth it! Hang in there!

[scoobysnacks]

with three weeks away why risk it? Here is my take.

I NEVER cheat on my contest diet, but I do have a refeed meal that i work into my plan which consists of:

Outback: 7 oz filet, sweet potato with sugar but no butter, 1 loaf of their pumpernickel bread no butter, and broccoli.

I do this once per weekend after a large leg workout. The next morning Im always hot as hell when I wake up; a tell-tale sign of a reved metabolism, if you are freezing upon waking when dieting, you have problems, anyways.

One meal, worked in, when I stop dropping 1 lbs per week I may take it out, we will see.

So NO to a cheat, but if you had a refeed worked in its valuable.

Ss

[jess_muscles]

don't do it. its 3 weeks, you've done it for 5 already. in no time you'll be back to a more flexible diet where you can indulge here and there.
like stayfit said, in the end it can really come down to ONE cheat meal.

[FATHER FLEX]

This is not even on my mind at this point. Focus bro.

[ste247]

listen to stayfit from what i can gather he has been there seen it and done it and has a lot of experiance, he has given me solid advice in the past......just have a refeed meal lots of rice maybe some chicken with the skin left on for flavour and a nice coffee made with whole milk and some veg. 3 weeks is not a long time hang on in then after the show indulge in ye fav pizza and stuff its not long to wait...

[otongki]

"Passion on a bowl"

Half an apple
Half a peach
Half of segmented orange
One kiwi
3 strawberries

A scoop of vanilla shakes

Diced all the fruits into a bowl, pour the protein shakes in it. Add a little bit of cruesli whole-wheat cereal, and dashed it with a tbsp of honey.

Is that also a cheat meal? I think, if it's in a 4 W/O region, a cheat meal is something that is not in the menu, but still have the similar nutritional ratio with the original plan; just a little bit more "exciting".

I ate that usually when I crave for sweet, it's gives me relief ands keep my brain sanity from all those un-seasoned chicken and meat.

[Fjock]

Cheat meal @ 3 weeks out and not in ketosis = fail

[Cape1]

Cheat meals are fine but their time has come and gone. You're too close at this point. If you were going to have cheat meals, it should have been weeks ago.

Also, I wouldn't make cheats too sloppy. I'm with SS on this one. Peronally, I like a POrterhouse, roasted yams (in olive oil) and a salad with some crushed nuts and parm cheese. Always with a glass of Cabernet. That's my cheat and it's not really all that bad. But I sure as hell wouldn't do it with 3 weeks to go.

Either way, good luck at that show.

[Colemans#1]

So i'm competing in 3 weeks in my first show I've been on a strict diet now for 5 weeks I weigh 140 and my bf% is right on target

How bad would it be to have a cheat meal for dinner?
Should I do anything if I cheat like run extra?

I'm new to this so thanks

which show is this?

[jack90]

im not competing so i dont need to be chiseled, but figured id ask this here as you guys are the most experienced with dropping to low bodyfats.

i want to cut below 10 percent bodyfat. i am currently around 12 percent bodyfat if i had to guess. do you think a cheat meal once a week would slow my progress that much?

[Rsardinia]

with three weeks away why risk it? Here is my take.

I NEVER cheat on my contest diet, but I do have a refeed meal that i work into my plan which consists of:

Outback: 7 oz filet, sweet potato with sugar but no butter, 1 loaf of their pumpernickel bread no butter, and broccoli.

I do this once per weekend after a large leg workout. The next morning Im always hot as hell when I wake up; a tell-tale sign of a reved metabolism, if you are freezing upon waking when dieting, you have problems, anyways.

One meal, worked in, when I stop dropping 1 lbs per week I may take it out, we will see.

So NO to a cheat, but if you had a refeed worked in its valuable.

Ss

what are the macros on that meal?

[Cumulonimbus]

I usually have my cheat meal on my re-feed day.

[str8flexed]

sure it's ok to cheat if you don't give a **** about winning

[SUPER_MANLET]

sure it's ok to cheat if you don't give a **** about winning

I was wondering also .. if i don't do refeeds .. would my fat loss get slow?

cuz i don't want to do refeeds .. every time i do refeeds i feel like watery .. and i don't eat anything unusual just oats / rice / and 3 or 2 whole eggs..


i hate the watery feeling :s .. and i really want to get down to 7~8% bodyfat

[OnTheRoad]

For me...it would be too much to give up! I stand on that stage and know I have stuck to the plan 100%...you will kick yourself if you don't come in awesome condition!

[NaturalLoco]

sure it's ok to cheat if you don't give a **** about winning

/thread

[str8flexed]

just curious, are you saying that about refeeding or nonlinear intake in general for a contest prep diet? or just the concept of "cheating," as in breaking the diet due to a lack of willpower?

cheating is different than a controlled increase in calories with a targeted purpose with specific protein/carb/fat targets.

[andregregoire]

I love having refeeds and cheat meals bet even my fat ass won't do that **** starting 5-6 weeks out...lol

Let's put it this way, it's not going to help your progress.

[jscan1]

with three weeks away why risk it? Here is my take.

I NEVER cheat on my contest diet, but I do have a refeed meal that i work into my plan which consists of:

Outback: 7 oz filet, sweet potato with sugar but no butter, 1 loaf of their pumpernickel bread no butter, and broccoli.

I do this once per weekend after a large leg workout. The next morning Im always hot as hell when I wake up; a tell-tale sign of a reved metabolism, if you are freezing upon waking when dieting, you have problems, anyways.

One meal, worked in, when I stop dropping 1 lbs per week I may take it out, we will see.

So NO to a cheat, but if you had a refeed worked in its valuable.

Ss

this....but for me my once a week was Wahoo's fish taco's

[regreb01]

I'm 12 days out and haven't had a cheat meal since 10weeks out. Its not worth it man. Just think bout the meal after the show. Go get urself a diet cherry vanilla pepsi or something to give u a flavor boost, or use a different flavor of hot sauce on your chicken for a meal lol.

[cassiegose]

im not competing so i dont need to be chiseled, but figured id ask this here as you guys are the most experienced with dropping to low bodyfats.

i want to cut below 10 percent bodyfat. i am currently around 12 percent bodyfat if i had to guess. do you think a cheat meal once a week would slow my progress that much?

Not sure if you guys noticed this but the original thread about cheating 3 weeks out was posted in March of 09. Its was opened back up by this guy ^.

Jack90... It really depends on what your cheat meal consists of, what your diet/workout looks like the rest of the week, how badly you want to meet your goals...

In moving from 12% to 10% I don't think a reasonable cheat meal once a week is going to hurt you all that much. By "reasonable" I don't mean 5 cheeseburgers and an entire cheesecake. You could try it with the cheat meal and see how your progressing... If you can get by with the cheat go for it. However if you do it for a few weeks or a month and find that you're not progressing like you'd like to simply take out the cheat and go from there. I've found that cheats don't work for me at all. They simply open up my cravings and make me more likely to binge. Instead of cheats I found that refeeds worked really well for me. Keep in mind though that I was prepping for a contest and everyones different.

Good luck.