I sometimes get sick and tired of the noise, clutter, and inconsistent BS that floods the internet daily. “Do cruches to get abs”, “Eat 5 meals per day”, “Don’t forget about intermittent fasting”, “You need to eat clean”, “Paleo is the only way to go”. C’MON!! No wonder so many people give up on the mysterious and secretive world of nutrition and fitness. But something I strive for as a Team Beachbody Coach and leader here at Sweet Life Fitness is no-nonsense while Making Fitness Fun! So today I’m giving you some info on: “Can I eat that Donut?”
Yesterday I splurged and ate a Vanilla Creme Donut from Dunkin’ Donuts. OMG!
I am not going to lie – it was tough eating that in the middle of my P90X3 journey. I think it’s funny how our minds works sometimes. After eating a cheat food/meal, you really almost feel like you just cheated on your mate, or murdered someone. Relax, you aren’t going to get fat off of one donut.
Can I Eat that Donut – The Truth You Should Know About Cheat Foods
I have started feeling better about having small, manageable cheat meals within my fitness boundaries. Once you have the knowledge about how to succeed with weight loss and fitness, you won’t have to worry about sticking to that “salad-only” zombie diet. In fact, you have a better chance to make fitness a LIFESTYLE versus a January New Year’s roller coaster.
I have done a lot of research in my quest of health and nutrition. You can literally search anything in this industry and get over a million different, hypocritical, and varying opinions on practically everything.
But the revelation for me was understanding HOW to balance cheat meals without really calling them a “Cheat Meal”. Many Clean Eaters out there are doing a great thing, but then they allow themselves a “Cheat Meal” that blows their macros and daily caloric intake. Why set a day up for failure like that (in my opinion)? If I could tell you how to get away with eating donut (or a “cheat meal”) with pride and still be right on track, would you be interested? Then read ON!
What to Focus on When you Eat that Donut (or “Cheat Meal”)
There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to being a SUPERSTAR at losing fat and making nutrition fun and easy. This will help you with the “Can I Eat that Donut” question as the first important thing to know.
- FIRST: CALORIES – If you are looking to lose fat (not gain muscle), you need to be in a calorie deficit. Check out the Harris Benedict equation alongside of your Beachbody Fitness Program nutritional requirements. Do not just go “low calorie” and think you will lose weight. You might end up in a catabolic state and end up storing more body fat than you want.
- SECOND: MACRONUTRIENTS – You can eat a low amount of calories and STILL not lose weight!! How? Too many carbs, too little healthy fats, etc. You need a delicate balance of the three major macronutrients: Protein, Carbs, Fats. You should consult your Beachbody nutrition guide to see what works best for your program (or contact me if you are on Team Sweet Life). OR, a safe haven macro balance is 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fats (this means 40% of your calories are from protein, 40% from carbs, etc).
- THIRD: MICRONUTRIENTS – There are two things that can ruin your results. They are: SUGAR and SODIUM. When you plug your statistics into the CUSTOM settings of MyFitnessPal (see how to do that here), Sugar & Sodium will be automatically filled in. If you are going to let yourself have a cheat meal like a Donut or Candy/etc, watch the sugar. Will one day of eating too much sugar or sodium ruin you? No. But repeating this over a few days or in a consistent pace will!
As long as your meal fits within your macro and micro-nutrients, you are in such a great place. There is even websites dedicated to this stuff including IIFYM.com that shares tips on how eating is fine as long as it “Fits in your Macros!”
How to HIT the HOME RUN with your Cheat Meal Selection of Food
If you hit a Home Run with your Cheat Meal – it really isn’t cheating at all! It becomes a selection of food that you eat sparingly so you don’t go insane! If you can fit it into the following goals for the day without going over (or without going over by 2-5 grams at most), you hit a home run! But please be sure you keep eating like you should be (don’t take a shortcut by just cutting out eating for the rest of the day – that is a catastrophic game plan).
- Calories spot on
- Protein spot on (or at most off by 2-5 grams)
- Carbs spot on (2-5 gram window only)
- Fats spot on (the big one – keep it no more than 2-5 grams)
- Sugars spot on (don’t blow this one at all!)
- Sodium spot on (another one not to mess with)
Help! I Cheated on my Diet!
Check out this video for more details on my Donut experience at work:
At the end of the day – it’s all about playing it safe and playing it smart. When you do that, you’ll not over-indulge, but rather ENJOY your life while committing to a healthier, more fulfilling life!
Until next time – keep it simple!
Coach Bob