Comments on: The Ultimate Fat-Loss Secret. Seriously, This is it!

By: Snillson

Snillson — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:05:01 +0000

Cheat meals for me are an absolute no-no. I have many pounds to loose but total avoidance of high carb foods is the only way I get results. I do consider myself a carb addict and a low carb diet can be difficult at the beginning but has a detox effect on me. After a week or two with an extremely low carb intake the food cravings go away. A cheat meal to me would be like telling an alcoholic they could have one night of drinking a week.

By: Paul Berube

Paul Berube — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:18:20 +0000

I think planning “bad foods” can be an effective strategy. I do something similar, but with a twist. At big meals like 2st breakfast or 1st lunch, I load up first on two or three plates of healthy foods- the super salads, the ‘sticks & twigs’ cereals, the dark green veggies – and once I’ve eaten all of them, I’ll have a small serving of the cheating foods. I feel like it helps you clean off that last plate of less flavorful but nutritious food, and kills the guilt and loss of control you feel if you do “cheat”. (huge factors in dieting)

Twain had it all figured out:
“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”

By: nick

nick — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:14:05 +0000

I totaly agree! I used to tell myself, as long as i eat healthy, i can eat on special occasions. but then, i could pretty much make everything a special occasion, for example: spending the night at a friends house, the movies, going out to dinner, hangin with friends, holidays, and ALOT more. so for those who (Right now) eat very bad, i wouldnt go with that aproach, because you might end up telling yourself everything is a special occasion haha

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:42:46 +0000

I ~have~ to have a menu, a plan, a stockpile of only healthy items or I can’t stay focused. Rather than try to be at odds with the rest of those in my house; I just keep containers and a section of the fridge and freezer that are mine. My ‘cheat’ is only when we go out and I still tend to eat fish or lean protein and vegetables, or a sweet potato, no rice and I don’t eat the bread unless it is a cheese biscuit from that seafood chain restaurant…

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:43:44 +0000

Doesn’t this go against some of the stuff that guys like Joel Marion espouse? From reading some of his writings, if one go from 10% bodyfat down to 7-8%, on his Cheat To Lose plan, you’d go from having an all out cheat day every 7 days up to 6 days. I’m just curious, because if people aren’t going to cheat, Do you think they should just have a day of eating clean with excess calories to give their metabolism a boost?

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:36:04 +0000

I agree with you. Cheat days are an excuse to fail and procrastinate. We don’t drive to a destination by moving two miles forward, one mile back, two miles forward, two miles back. Why set your progress backwards by giving in to the very same habits that placed you in an unhealthy, out of shape existence? Next thing you know, you are lying to yourself about working harder tomorrow to make up for it. Telling yourself you will eat just one more then stop. Then telling yourself tomorrow you are going to work harder in the gym so its ok. No you’re not. No wonder diets fail. Listening to others tell you its,ok, look at you, you look great. What they are really saying, ‘Don’t make me feel guilty by eating bad while you are the picture of health. Eat bad with me, so I will feel good about my bad habits.’

I love standing firm and saying no. Mirrors won’t lie. Scales won’t lie. The way your clothes fit won’t lie. Everyone wants that magic pill that turns us into a sleek Adonis, and they want it in a hurry. Want to reach your goals in the quickest time possible? Stop cheating yourself.

By: Fred

Fred — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:11:40 +0000

I agree with the latter circumstance in which you are looking at the “last 10 pounds”. Going tee-total in my freshman year and then allowing myself to have a drink on say birthdays and end of exams instead of getting smashed twice a week really helped my athletic performance.

In regards to people with more to lose I think that there needs to be at least a 21 day within there must be 100% compliance. This is because people who have been loose with their previous nutrition are more susceptible to going back to their old selves. Rationalisation is very easy.

The alternative which probably actually works better is a “de-cheatising”. As an extreme a pizza can be easily be made into something quite clean. Likewise chocolate can easily be replaced by 100% cocoa which is in fact good for you. Bad curries can be home made into amazing meals. The list goes on.

By: Gabrielle Young

Gabrielle Young — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:19:55 +0000

I am a medical doctor, with an undergrad in nutrition and former swimsuit model, and I must say you offer the best info to date.
Keep it up! Love FITCAST!
Dr. Young

By: Gregg

Gregg — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:19:13 +0000

Not planning cheat meals is a recipe for disaster. If you don’t plan a cheat meal you end up getting a craving and blowing your diet entirely and then that carries over until maybe one day you get back on track. Planning the cheat meal allows someone to indulge a bit and not feel guilty making it easy to get back to their plan because they never fell off the wagon to begin with. They just followed their plan. I agree there are times when someone may need to cut out the cheat meals, but frankly the vast majority of people can get away with eating 10% foods. I’d imagine the majority of the audience is weekend warrior types just trying to stay fit and healthy. Bodybuilders/performance athletes should know when 10% foods are acceptable. I like the fact that you are trying to stir up a little controversy here, it’s making me think…a little.

As for emotional eating, I think that is a separate issue. Taking a hard stance on flat out eliminating those foods is probably more disastrous than having someone plan their “bad” foods. This will allow them to reward themselves for successfully following their plan. An emotional eater isn’t going to be fixed because you told them they can’t have any bad foods. That’s just silly, because when they get that craving they will fall off the wagon and have the all or nothing attitude.

I’m planning to have some NY pizza when I go home for the holidays and I’m not going to feel bad about it. I also plan to follow that meal up with a compliant one and continue on out following my plan.

By: Kujo

Kujo — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:53:17 +0000

I currently only have cheat meals PWO, one day a week (Mondays). They are always clean. It’s just added carbs (either sweet potato/pumpkin, or quinoa + extra fruit). I’m extremely disciplined, so I never use this an excuse to let my diet get off track. It’s one meal, that’s it.