How to Give Up Cheat Days for Diet and Exercise

Rid your house of unhealthy food., Give yourself non-food rewards., Enjoy treats from time to time., Include healthy "desserts" in your meal plan., Eat more on big training days.

5 Steps 2 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Rid your house of unhealthy food.

    If you want to stick to healthy diet and avoid cheating, it is important to get rid of any temptations at home.

    Go through your cabinets and fridge and ditch anything that doesn’t fit into your meal plan.

    If the junk is not there for you to grab, you’ll stick to healthy food instead., The logic behind a “cheat day” often has to do with rewarding yourself for hard work.

    You can still reward yourself without indulgent food.

    Think up some non-food rewards to give yourself weekly, monthly, or simply when you reach specific goals.Treat yourself to a massage.

    Buy some new clothes in a smaller size.

    Go see a movie. , One of the problems with “cheat days” is that they create a kind of shameful buzz around certain foods, causing you to crave them even more.

    Rather than allowing yourself a “cheat day” where you go crazy, simply allow yourself a few reasonable treats now and then.If you’re at a wedding, for instance, allow yourself to eat the food provided.

    Don’t feel guilty.

    Don’t go overboard.

    Just accept that a few treats won’t undo all your great progress. , You can work reduce your impulse toward big indulgences by planning healthy dessert options right into your meal plan.

    You can avoid processed flour and sugar while still satisfying your sweet tooth.

    Try using a chocolate protein powder to make smoothies (look for one sweetened with stevia).

    You can add fruit, greens, peanut butter, and flax seed to make it more of complete meal.

    You can bake chocolate chip pumpkin muffins.

    These are totally grain-free, and you can make them even healthier by using dark chocolate chips, or substituting cacao nibs.You can make date balls that taste like girl scout cookies!, Instead of having “cheat days,” aim to have some “big training” days.

    If you plan on hitting the gym extra hard once a week (or twice per month), you can allow yourself to consume more calories on those days.

    The extra calories can actually give you energy and help you build muscle.
  2. Step 2: Give yourself non-food rewards.

  3. Step 3: Enjoy treats from time to time.

  4. Step 4: Include healthy "desserts" in your meal plan.

  5. Step 5: Eat more on big training days.

Detailed Guide

If you want to stick to healthy diet and avoid cheating, it is important to get rid of any temptations at home.

Go through your cabinets and fridge and ditch anything that doesn’t fit into your meal plan.

If the junk is not there for you to grab, you’ll stick to healthy food instead., The logic behind a “cheat day” often has to do with rewarding yourself for hard work.

You can still reward yourself without indulgent food.

Think up some non-food rewards to give yourself weekly, monthly, or simply when you reach specific goals.Treat yourself to a massage.

Buy some new clothes in a smaller size.

Go see a movie. , One of the problems with “cheat days” is that they create a kind of shameful buzz around certain foods, causing you to crave them even more.

Rather than allowing yourself a “cheat day” where you go crazy, simply allow yourself a few reasonable treats now and then.If you’re at a wedding, for instance, allow yourself to eat the food provided.

Don’t feel guilty.

Don’t go overboard.

Just accept that a few treats won’t undo all your great progress. , You can work reduce your impulse toward big indulgences by planning healthy dessert options right into your meal plan.

You can avoid processed flour and sugar while still satisfying your sweet tooth.

Try using a chocolate protein powder to make smoothies (look for one sweetened with stevia).

You can add fruit, greens, peanut butter, and flax seed to make it more of complete meal.

You can bake chocolate chip pumpkin muffins.

These are totally grain-free, and you can make them even healthier by using dark chocolate chips, or substituting cacao nibs.You can make date balls that taste like girl scout cookies!, Instead of having “cheat days,” aim to have some “big training” days.

If you plan on hitting the gym extra hard once a week (or twice per month), you can allow yourself to consume more calories on those days.

The extra calories can actually give you energy and help you build muscle.

About the Author

K

Kimberly Cook

Experienced content creator specializing in practical skills guides and tutorials.

84 articles
View all articles

Rate This Guide

--
Loading...
5
0
4
0
3
0
2
0
1
0

How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: