Subj: My Favorite Cheat Meals.
The best part of working out is working up a big appetite and chowing down on a feast.
There’s nothing better than eating lots of tasty food after a hard training session. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures that brings me great joy and satisfaction.
Obviously, when you’re on a diet it’s hard to eat all the foods you love. But that’s where cheat meals come in.
You might already be well aware of cheat meals and all their glory. But for the sake of being thorough, I’ll explain what a cheat meal is for our white belts.
What is a Cheat Meal?
A cheat meal is a meal where you eat anything you want. Cheat meals are usually eaten for pure enjoyment.
A cheat meal gives you a break from your normal diet. They give you a chance to enjoy your food. This provides a much needed mental break from a restrictive diet.
Cheat meals add flavor, pleasure, and serves as a reward for sticking to a diet.
Cheat Meal Benefits
The benefits of cheat meals are numerous. There are mental and physical benefits.
For starters, cheat meals give you something to look forward to while dieting. Dieting is hard. It takes a toll on you. Looking forward to a cheat meal is like the light at the end of the tunnel.
Practice self control
Rewards your effort and discipline. Delayed gratification makes it all the sweeter. Most people feel guilty after eating badly. But a cheat meal is pure bliss. This is a subtle but powerful mental shift when it comes to dieting.
Sustainable dieting
Cheat meals keep you on track. They make dieting more sustainable. Because you know you will get cheat meal it’s easier to stay the course. Overall leads to more fat loss over time.
weight loss results a well earned reward after a week of hard work.
Motivating
Cheat meals give you a break from your regular diet. It’s a chance to eat junk food you enjoy. And satisfy cravings you’ve been neglecting.
Replenish muscle glycogen stores
Cheat meals also provide nutrients you normally wouldn’t get while eating a restrictive diet. For example, if you’re eating chicken, broccoli and rice all week, a supreme pizza l will provide some new micronutrients because of its vitamin and mineral profile.
Increase metabolism
Improve metabolic flexibility. Prevents metabolism from down regulating. Which can happen if in a calorie deficit for too long. Cheat meals even boost metabolism for a short time after eating them.
Build Muscle
Muscle building slows down when in a calorie deficit. A cheat meal injects much needed calories into your system for starving muscles to utilize.
Overall helps avoid the negative effects of dieting too hard for too long. They can balance your body’s hormones, increase metabolic rate, and keep thyroid function in a good range.
Cheat meals prevent you from going into starvation mode by providing extra calories your body craves. This is especially helpful while training in a calorie deficit for a prolonged period of time.
The workout after a cheat meal is usually awesome due to the flood of carbs and nutrients. The pump is unreal.
Taste amazing
An underrated benefit of cheat meals is that they taste even better when you’re dieting.
Training hard makes food taste better. Eating clean makes taste better.
Training is the ultimate appetite stimulant. Your senses are heightened and your tastebud get more sensitive. Plus if you couple this with eating bland diet food, and you get a flavor explosion.
You pick up flavors you’ve never tasted before. It’s awesome. Takes eating to a whole other level and completely elevates the experience.
Cheat Meal Rules
The rules for your cheat meals should align with your goals.
If you are getting cut for summer then you can eat cheat meals more frequently compared to if you’re training for a competitive bodybuilding show.
If you’re preparing for a bodybuilding contest you may want to keep your cheat meals infrequent. Again this depends on your current conditioning and goals.
How many cheat meals should you eat?
The amount of cheat meals you eat depends on your objective.
If you want to lose weight quickly, you should eat less cheat meals. Or eat no cheat meals at all until you reach your goal.
If your goal is to lose body fat at a steady pace then a weekly cheat meal would be a good place to start.
It’s best to have a scheduled cheat meal so it’s easier to stay on track. It also gives you something to look forward to and prevents overthinking.
Cheat Meals vs. Cheat Day
You can have a weekly cheat meal or a cheat day once per week. It’s totally up to you.
Sometimes allowing yourself 2 or 3 cheat meals per week works better than having a full on cheat day. It depends on your lifestyle.
When I do a cheat day it’s Saturday. It actually starts Friday night and I eat whatever I want starting Friday night at dinner and all day and night Saturday. This tends to work for me when weekends are less structured and more spontaneous. This allows me to enjoy my weekends without the burden of eating super clean.
Cheat Meal Ideas
This article is loaded with cheat meal ideas and examples. So no matter what your cheat meal strategy is, you’ll find something delicious.
The Best Cheat Meal for Bulking Up
For this section I’ll assuming you’re clean bulking. Otherwise every meal would be a cheat meal. Which is called Dirty Bulking.
Dirty bulking is not sustainable and not recommended unless you are a hardgainer because it can be quite unhealthy.
Chicken and Waffles
Can’t beat a pile of fried chicken with a fluffy Belgian waffle. Chicken and waffles has everything going for it.
It’s crispy, salty, and sweet. It covers the entire nutritional, flavor, and food texture spectrum. I can keep eating it non stop.
Don’t shy away from the syrup and butter. I usually order my chicken and waffles with a hearty side of mac and cheese topped with thick-cut bacon.
Best Cheat Meal while Cutting
These cheat meals are good if you’re cutting. Mainly because they are made of simple, fresh ingredients. Just stay away from the fried options.
Sushi
Simple and delicious. Sushi is a great meal to carb up. Plus it has protein and is loaded with flavor. I stay away from the fried sushi. It makes me feel like poo.
I load up the rolls and sample all the different types for the sushi feast. The trick is to find sushi with the right ratio of fish to rice.
Korean Barbecue Bao Nuns
There’s a place near me that runs $2 bao buns happy hour. I order a pile of them and eat until I can’t no mo’.
Asian cuisine in general is good for cheat day. Chicken stir fry, general so, orange chicken and pepper steak are all superb cheat meals.
Favorite Cheat Meals
In addition to what I mentioned above, I love the following foods.
Depending on what mood I’m in and what I have a taste for I’ll indulge in these foods.
Butter Chicken
With lots of buttery naan bread to sop up the extra sauce.
Tacos
Not just any tacos. I have one place in mind that’s so good I can barely believe it. There’s this authentic Mexican place I go to for the best tacos, burritos, and quesadillas I’ve had in my life.
This place is a house in the hood. And it’s only open on Saturdays…sometimes. You have to order through instagram and it’s all cooked in their driveway.
I park my truck on the street out front and they bring me my food. It’s amazing. I would eat there every Saturday if it was open.
Burritos, birra tacos, and quesadillas, homemade salsa gravy for dipping. Phenomenal.
Pizza
A classic cheat meal. Everyone has their favorite pizza. Lately mine has been one of three options:
- A XL New York style pizza from a family owned restaurant a few blocks from my apartment.
- A pizza from Whole Foods grocery store (awesome actually. I was impressed at how good it is. On that note, Whole Foods has a phenomenal range of food at their hot bar. Lots of cheat meal inspiration to be had here.)
- And a local Italian restaurant that I go to for happy hour sometimes for half-off pizzas which they cook from scratch in their brick oven.
Gourmet Sandwiches
Sometimes, for whatever reason, a fresh made submarine sandwich just hits the spot.
Philly cheesesteak, beef carpaccio, buffalo chicken, pastrami, roast beef, rueben on rye, or an old fashion Italian grinder. I’ll get 2 sandwiches and chow down.
Cheese Burgers
Not some Micky D’s nonsense. Although that’s cool if that’s what you want. Not judging. I used to crush McDonalds back in the day.
Now I’m talking gourmet, fresh, juicy, fully stacked burgers with no punches pulled.
A thick beef patty or two with cheese, fried eggs, avocado, thick crispy bacon, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, mmmmmhmmmmm you get the idea.
All the good stuff piled high and overflowing from a buttery soft brioche bun.
Barbecue Brisket
With all the sides of course – baked beans, Mac and cheese and creamy slaw. Oh yeah.
Bonus points for Biscuit Brisket sandwich which no longer exists except in my memory bank. These things were legit.
Other Cheat Meal Ideas
We’re not close to done. I’m just getting warmed up. I’m a fat kid at heart and I’m happy to share all the good stuff I’ve eaten.
To be fair, I usually do a cheat day. (Unless I’m doing the, which calls for a very specific type of cheat meal.)
So let’s not forget dessert. I have a sweet tooth and binge regularly. Here are some of my favorite desserts during my cheat day.
Thai Rolled Ice Cream
Thai rolled ice cream sandwich which is ice cream, cookie dough, brownie chunks, chocolate syrup smashed between two warm chocolate chip cookies and topped with whipped cream.
Chocolate chip cookies. Coconut cream cake. Fresh baked cinnamon rolls. And gourmet donuts are all on my cheat meal menu. I enjoy every bite like it’s my last.
That’s a tip I would like to share – Be extremely grateful for your cheat meals and enjoy it to the absolute fullest. That’s how you make the most of it. Eat it with a grateful heart and it makes it much better for you.
Cheat Meal FAQs
Are cheat meals okay?
Yes. Yes they are. They provide a much needed mental break and they replenish depleted energy and nutrient stores.
How often should you have a cheat meal?
Like I mentioned previously, it depends on your goals. But 1-3 cheat meals a week are typical in most cases.
When is the best time to have a cheat meal?
After a workout or training session when your hunger is peaked. Nothing like eating your favorite foods on a Friday night after a killer leg training session.
Should you do a cheat day or a cheat meal?
Again, it depends on your goal. If you’re on a strict diet and what to get shredded quickly, then just have a cheat meal once a week. If you are a little more relaxed have a day and eat whatever you want all day that day. Up to you. One day won’t ruin it for you if that’s your objective. Especially if you where on point for the other 6 days of the week.
What are the best cheat meals for muscle gain?
First and foremost the cheat meal with the most calories is a good cheat meal for muscle gain. Next, it needs to be high protein. Then carbs and fat. Bonus points if it also has a lot of vitamins and minerals and is freshly prepared and made of all natural ingredients.
What are the best cheat meals for bodybuilders?
That all depends on your goals. If you’re dirty bulking eat whatever you want. If you’re cutting, eat whatever will help you achieve your cutting goal. (Target bodyweight, body fat percentage, etc.) If you’re doing a lean bulk you need to dial it in based on your weekly calorie intake.
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That’s all for now. Bookmark this page and check back later because I will be adding to it.
In the mean time, what is your favorite cheat meal? Let me know in the comments.
Inflation food prices hurting your gains? Looking for cheap meals? See how to bulk up on a budget here.
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