Contest Prep Cheating

[HUZBETTA]

who here cheats on their diet when getting ready for a contest...?is it a cheat day or cheat meals...and also how often do you cheat..?

[James5567]

i am getting ready for a contest, and i find it harder if i cheat once every month or so then if i never cheat..so for me if i never cheat, it never becomes an issue (cause after a cheat ill be craving those nasty foods worse than before i cheated,, make sense??)....that being said, having more carbs once a week or so is a nice treat...im sure there are others (but not many) that can get away with cheating, and im interested to hear how it works for them....

[Veins]

In my opinion a good cheat meal or refeed day once a week does far more good than bad

[philcat]

I used to cheat quite heavily once per week and have at least one huge junk meal, but with my tendency towards fat gain it doesn't really work for me. So over a long period of time (18 months) I gradually tightened things up, made better food choices and stopped "cheating". Once I taste the forbidden food I find it difficult to stop! I agree with James5567, if you don't put it in your mouth, you can't crave it!

I would consider reducing EFAs and increasing carbs once a week, but that is as far as I would go depending on how far out I was.

Eating clean works best for me, but incorporating a few luxuries, like sugar-free jelly and a spoon of peanut butter at least keeps me relatively sane!

I'm sure cheating works well for some, those that can get away with it, but not for all of us. Keeping good quality food coming in, in large quantities is what works best for me!

I have my first contest tomorrow and having been preparing towards it for nearly 2 years, I think avoiding the wrong food is a small price to pay to get into good shape.

philcat

[Veins]

Originally posted by Veins
In my opinion a good cheat meal or refeed day once a week does far more good than bad

Oh, when I say cheat meal, I thought I might add that I have them in AM to give my body some chance to metabolise it. I also keep it reasonalby healthy like a 350g lean steak and a cup of veges, and a bit of wine sauce. Or a footlong turkey & ham subway sandwich, etc.

[philcat]

Yeah I could go with that Veins! It's just that some folks take a cheat by the implication of the name as a full blown hog-fest! A refeed is a better name and either upping carbs at the expense of fats or having what you suggest, which is hardly junk, would seem to be the way to go.

philcat

[James5567]

lol a true cheat is a trip to the buffet or eating a whole pizza....chinese buffet or golden corral if u guys have them near u...those places should be banned from the earth, how can you not overeat there....

[cdmuscle]

Usually start with a cheat day, then as it gets closer I switch to just cheat meals. Depends also on how close I am to my contest weight. I have allowed only one day in the past 4 weeks, but I'm cutting it close this time.

[MsFit]

I do the same thing...knock it down to one cheat meal.....eventually, instead of a cheat meal, I do a high carb meal (refeeding) to thorw a shock in it.

I have to have the cheat or I'll go nuckin futs. Makes me not want it after I eat it too.