What you eat behind the scenes is usually what dictates whether you get results that week or not. Stephanie and I recently realized after speaking with several different people that many of you out there think fitness professionals like ourselves, or even physique competitors live a life of working out 3 hours/day and eating only plain chicken breast and broccoli…that is true to some extent, but I’m here to share with you the other side! That’s right, we’re going to share with you our previous week’s “cheat meals” so you can see there is always a balance to life and that you can be in shape and eat delicious food too!
Believe it or not we too indulge in delicious foods and it’s probably more often than you think! My philosophy to meal planning (and life for that matter) is if you’re going to do something, do it right. We apply the same mind set to our eating plan as well- What I mean by that is we follow a very strict meal plan 85% of the week and then when the weekend comes and we need to “hit the reset button” we have whatever we want (within reason) and it doesn’t affect our results or physique!
Before I spill the beans here, let me preface with this- Everyone’s body, macro needs, exercise regimen, and physique goals are different which means their meal plan and amount of wiggle room to stray off their meal plan will be different. Some people may have to be more strict than others (especially at first) when it comes to allotting these “cheat” meals into their weekly eating plan. Obviously someone who exercises vigorously 5-7 days/week and is naturally on the thinner side will be able to get away with more “cheat” meals than say someone who is not exercising regularly and has a history of being over-weight. Many factors come into play, so don’t think that because we can get away with having 3-4 “cheat” meals/week that you can. The bottom line- the more you exercise, the more muscle mass you have, and the more strict you are during that other 85% of the week, the more likely you can get away with several cheat meals.
So without further explanation, here is what Stephanie and I had over the course of the weekend after following our meal plans strictly all week long:
Friday Night: Homemade- Asian sticky wings w/ a mushroom & onion white pizza, as well as several cocktails
Saturday Night: Homemade- double cheese burger with several cocktails
Sunday Night: Takeout- Numerous sushi rolls and pad Thai noodles…again- several cocktails
As you can see, we do make many of our “cheat” meals at home, but we do go out pretty often for them as well! We don’t worry to much about portions…we eat until we have had our fill, but stop before we make ourselves feel sick. We also like to have some adult beverages these nights too!
There are actually several benefits to having these “cheat” meals and they’re needed not just for mental sanity, but have some metabolic benefits as well. The key is finding the right balance for you and your current body/fitness goals. As long as you’re following a strict meal plan 85% of the week, you can usually have the tasty things in life as well!
If you’re interested in starting a meal plan, I am here to help! I offer custom meal planning (which always includes cheat meals off the plan) with unlimited nutrition coaching and revisions to your plan. It’s not a diet and you don’t have to guess at what you should be eating to get results! Custom tailored meal pans to your specific needs, schedule, food preferences, and physique goals. We do weekly check-ins and weigh-ins, then adjust things accordingly until you get the results you’re looking for!
Ready to start your custom meal plan? You can email me for more information or to request a meal plan questionnaire to get the process started.
Justin Check, NSCA-CPT, NESTA-FNC Check Total Health justin@check-yourself.com 239.209.7878