The Problem With Cheat Days (and What to Do Instead)
The Problem With Cheat Days (and What to Do Instead)
I see this pattern soooo much more than you’d think.
Women grinding through a calorie deficit or working on recomp five or six days a week, training hard, being diligent…
Of course they want flexibility, and don’t want to live life like a bodybuilder at the end of prep with no variety or fun, so they let themselves have a cheat meal, and the one or two ‘cheat’ meals undo the entire week without them realising.
Depending on what you have, when you average it out, some of those meals can push someone straight back to maintenance, or even into a surplus, despite “being good” most of the time.
I’ve been working as a nutritionist for almost a decade now helping women get their results while still having some flexibility and a LIFE. So here’s a few tips for you if that sounds familiar:
Why Your ‘Cheat Meals’ Backfire
The biggest issue isn’t the food, I truly believe that we are able to (within reason) fit most foods into a healthy lifestyle, it depends on quantity and frequency.
The glaring issue is the mindset created by the word “cheat”.
20 years ago a cheat meal was just like an off-plan meal. But thanks to the 10,000 day calorie challenges on YouTube, ‘cheat meal’ photos of food pileeeedd in front of celebs like The Rock, and other presentations like this, the ‘cheat meal’ has evolved into a monster of a thing.
And now the phrase ‘cheat meals’ turn food into:
Something forbidden
Something that only happens scarcely
Something emotionally charged
Which makes the brain go: “Better make the most of it.”
That’s when one meal turns into an entire event, and suddenly calories climb far beyond what was intended or needed.
Tip 1 - Don’t Go Bananas With the Meal
One enjoyable meal does not ruin progress !!!! Let me be clear on that!
HOWEVER, turning it into a blow-out absolutely can.
There’s a big difference between:
A main and a dessert
And:
Multiple courses
Extra sides
Drinks
Plus snacking later because “the day’s already ruined”
OR
3 slices of pizza and a little sweet treat
And:
A whole pizza
Garlic bread
And some little dippy things on the side
You don’t need to eat like you’re never going to see food again..
Tip 2 - For Clients I Use The Phrase “Free Meals” Instead of Cheat Meals
Same idea. Completely different outcome purely from the terminology being used.
A free meal is:
Planned (usually once or twice per week)
Neutral
Integrated as part of your regular structure
It’s not something you earn, and not something you need to punish yourself for afterwards.
For many people, this single reframe removes the urgency and guilt that turns meals into chaos. You’re not cheating on anything, you’re just eating flexibly within a structure.
Tip 3 - Don’t Save Calories All Day
One of the fastest ways to derail a free meal is arriving to it starving.
Under-eating all day in anticipation almost guarantees:
Loss of appetite regulation
Daydreaming about what you will have, and over-ordering
Larger portions
Post-meal grazing
A balanced intake earlier in the day leads to you making much calmer decisions later.
Tip 4 - Choose One Indulgence, Not Everything
One of the simplest rules that works remarkably well:
Pick what you actually care about.
Do you want dessert?? Or do you really want to have a cocktail with your friends? Or maybe you just want some comforting noodles at home curled up watching a movie while it rains outside…
For example:
You pick dessert or cocktails
You pick pizza or sides
Stacking high-fat, high-carb, high-sugar foods all at once is where calories skyrocket without satisfaction increasing in the same way.
Enjoyment doesn’t scale linearly with volume.
Tip 5 - Keep the Next Day Boring (On Purpose)
After a free meal, the most effective move is… nothing dramatic.
Normal meals
Normal steps
Normal training
Trying to “undo” a meal with restriction or punishment cardio is how the restrict–overeat loop forms, which is a slippery slope.
Tip 6 - Your Goal Matters More Than You Think
Free meals are easier to integrate during:
Maintenance phases
Reverse diets
Gentle fat loss phases
However, being completely realistic with you, if you want good results in a short time frame, they need tighter boundaries during:
Short-term cuts
Very small deficits (e.g. only a 200-300 cal/day deficit)
High-stress or poor-sleep periods
Trying to eat with lots of flexibility during a very aggressive phase often creates more friction than it’s worth. You’ll feel like you’re dieting all the time, but you end up treading water due to the overall caloric volume during the week. The approach and level of flexibility has to match the goal.
Tip 7 - If Every Free Meal Turns Into a Spiral, Pause Them
This is important.
If having 1-2 free meals as part of your week consistently leads to:
Loss of control and overeating
Guilt and ruminating afterwards
Compensatory restriction the following day(s)
The solution is to keep attempting to do the same thing over and over.
It’s actually temporarily removing free meals, stabilising intake, and rebuilding trust with food. Learning that it’s not scarce, and that you don’t need to panic every time there is an opportunity to. Knowing how to work within structure comes before flexibility, not the other way around.
Tip 8 - When in Doubt, Track Briefly
If fat loss has stalled and free meals feel reasonable, a short period of tracking or estimation can be incredibly clarifying. So during the week instead of leaving your free meals out of your tracking, you track them in (even just estimates if restaurant food), and see where the day is actually landing.
Some foods are far more calorie-dense than you realise.
Seeing where those meals land across the week often explains everything, then you can make a simple swap with your choice, or change your portions to match your goals.
Data removes guesswork and unnecessary stress.
Also..
If your plan requires suffering all week and “letting loose” on the weekend, it’s neither sustainable nor effective. It’s not something you’re truly “living” and embodying, it’s something you’re playing pretend with during the week and then bouncing back to what you actually want to be doing on the weekend.
Learning how to eat enjoyably within your goals is the skill that actually keeps results long-term.
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
If you’re ready to ditch the all-or-nothing mindset and build a strong, confident body—you're in the right place.
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