Mod Glo

Cheater cheater ice cream eater

I have discovered a little trick that seems to be serving me well. 

I cheat. Just a little.

Once a week (on Saturday night), I allow myself to eat anything I want. I do this for two reasons. First, because I love food, especially sweets (who doesn’t?), and second, because it helps to speed my weight loss. I’m telling you guys, it sounds crazy but it really works. 

Operating in a caloric deficit can be difficult and knowing that I can relax and let loose - even for just one meal a week - is hugely beneficial to the psyche. It can be hard work sticking to a diet or eating plan. Everyone deserves a little break from time to time. But the benefits of a cheat meal (or even a cheat day) aren’t just psychological. 

You can read all about why a cheat meal/day speeds up weight loss and helps to overcome dieting plateaus here and here. But because I’m such a nice blogger, I’ll break it down for you in a quick Cliffs Notes-esqe summary:

• Leptin is a hormone that is responsible for, among other things, regulating the rate of your metabolism. Higher leptin levels = faster metabolism / lower leptin levels = slower metabolism.
• Fat loss and a lower calorie intake will cause leptin levels to plummet.
• After as quickly as one week of dieting and operating in a caloric deficit, leptin levels will drop, metabolism slows and weight loss can become more difficult.
• Strategically “overfeeding” with high calorie, especially high carbohydrate foods cause leptin levels to rise, thus speeding up metabolism.
• Have one cheat meal/day per week if you have less than 15 pounds to lose; have one cheat meal/day every two weeks if you have more than 15 pounds to lose.
• By strategically cheating in this manner, your body will be primed for faster, easier and more sustainable fat loss!

I kinda stumbled upon this technique and I truly believe it works. I’ve dropped 2 dress sizes in less than a month and I’ve been diligently enjoying whatever I fancy every Saturday night. Notably, after a Saturday night cheat meal, I try to eat extremely lightly on Sunday, clocking under 1000 calories within the entire day if possible, and I give myself a rest day from the gym on Sunday as well. Also, it’s not unusual to gain back as much as a pound after a cheat day. But rest assured, this weight gain is quite temporary and not authentic.

As I type this now, I’m enjoying a chocolate mint ice cream sandwich. Viva la cheat meal!

My new pal

So last week was a bit weird for me. 

I was really discombobulated and out of sorts. My house was disorganized, I came down with a cold, and my daily schedule went right out the window. And, inevitably, my diet followed suit among all the chaos. 

In my opinion, mindful and intuitive eating is always best. But what happens when one’s intuition feels “off”? I craved bagels, sweets and coffee. And truth be told, I indulged more than I probably should have. Which didn’t help my cold, or give me the energy to clean the house or go to the gym. (Note: If anyone out there thinks I have it all together, all the time, you’d be quite mistaken.)

So I sat there, feeling sick and scattered, and almost overwhelmed with lack of direction. Have you ever felt like you’ve got so much on your mind that it’s almost paralyzing?

But then yesterday, I found a new pal. I serendipitously stumbled on to this free app/website called MyFitnessPal. Right out of the clear blue sky, it landed in my lap and it was just exactly what I needed. MFP is basically a nutrition and exercise log and it’s helping me to set some basic dietary parameters and lay out a steady path to help me reach my health goals (AKA Operation: Skinny Jeans). 

I love it. Like, really, really love it. It’s very user-friendly and easy to implement into daily life. My favorite thing is probably the bar code scanner. With a simple click, I can aim my iPhone camera at any food’s bar code and all the nutritional information pops right up. No entering data, weighing or measuring. Amazing! 

I feel so much more organized having this little tool in my arsenal. It was like a light went off and suddenly, I knew exactly how to proceed. As soon as I got started with MFP, a huge wave of relief washed over me. I finally had some direction and I didn’t feel overwhelmed anymore. I made a meal plan, did a big grocery shopping, stocked my kitchen with healthy eats, and even went to the gym yesterday - for the first time all week. It felt good great fantastic.

My plan is this: I’m going to use MFP for the next 3 months or so. At that point, I’m going to put the tools I’m learning (about portion sizes, nutrition and exercise) into effect and wean myself off. Because as I said above, mindful and intuitive eating is the ultimate goal and programs like this can easily become a crutch that may potentially prevent me from listening to my body. But in the meantime, I guess I just need to hit the reset button. This approach is making sense to me at the moment and it feels right, right now.