Cheat meals mean different things to different bodybuilders. To some, a cheat meal simply means allowing themselves to eat slightly more of the good, wholesome and healthy grub they always eat for their training. To others, a cheat meal means saying: “Blough it, I’m having a Döner kebab with everything on it, chips, and I’m gonna wash it down with a can of Carlsberg.”
My own personal definition of a cheat meal is latter. Sue me.
Cheat meals can serve two purposes…
- Cheat meals can either be used to serve a purpose to further bodybuilding goals, such as eating more to gain more energy for a workout or recovery (re-feed day).
- Or, cheat meals can be for enjoyment. A reward. And one which jerks you from the isolated, sacrificial bubble of bodybuilding you spend most of your life in, and brings you into the real world to enjoy some of the offerings there.
Who should, and shouldn’t have cheat meals?
In my opinion, everyone should have a cheat meal, at least once a week. Even pro bodybuilders aren’t as junk food averse as you may think they are.
People who enjoy the odd hamburger, pizza, kebab, fried chicken, or whatever else, should make the odd cheat meal a regular fixture in their diet. The psychological benefits of this are great. Some people (like myself) don’t particularly like missing out on what we do, and sacrificing what we do in the name of a better body. It gives us very little kick whatsoever (besides in the balls), and being able to look forward to a junk food meal at the end of the week or whatever is just enough to keep us sticking to the script the rest of the time.
Now, I’ve never particularly enjoyed having to eat the way I do, but, put a hamburger or a Döner kebab in my hand, and I’m a happy man. A man who forgets all about the hard week he’s had of eating food he didn’t particularly want to, all in the name of getting in better shape. It’s my reward, and woe betide anyone who wants to argue the toss with me on this.
One junk meal a week won’t make a blind bit of difference to anything. And for those who are completely obsessed over the huge negative impact upon their lives and bodies of a weekly cheat meal – and one which they’d love to have but deny themselves for ludicrous reasons – I have some choice words for you: stop being soppy.
(P.S. I recognize many people have come into bodybuilding for refuge from severe eating problems, and, good for them. Truly. They maybe have made the commitment to themselves to never even look at junk food again. That’s their choice, and I respect their decision – even if I don’t totally agree with their reasoning. Each to their own.)