Tomorrow is 4th of July and you can bet your last dollar that I’ll be enjoying myself with family and food.
I’ll take it easy during the day, but come night time, I’ll eat and drink whatever I want.
There are two things that prevent people from sticking to a diet:
1) Hunger
2) Deprivation
Humans are constantly trying to do one of those things:
1) Experience pleasure
2) Avoid pain
Hunger and deprivation are painful.
Eating your favorite foods and satisfying your appetite are pleasurable.
This brings me to my next point…
Why you should have a cheat meal for every 3 pounds you lose
The first thing I want to point out is that I said cheat MEAL and not cheat day.
A cheat meal won’t hurt your progress.
Even if you try eating as much as possible, you won’t get far with just one meal.
But if you have ALL day to eat whatever you want, it’s a different story.
You’re more likely to hurt your fat-loss progress with a cheat day vs. a cheat meal.
So why a cheat meal every 3 pounds?
What’s so special about 3 pounds?
I’m glad you asked.
First of all, 3 pounds is a TON of fat.
Here’s what a pound of fat looks like:
…Can you imagine losing 3 of those!
By having a cheat meal every time you lose 3 pounds, not only will you continuously make progress, but your diet will be a lot easier and enjoyable.
Trying to lose 3 pounds is a fun challenge.
It doesn’t sound too difficult or far away.
Telling someone to lose 3 pounds so they can enjoy some pizza is a lot better than telling them to lose 30 pounds instead.
The person who enjoys their favorite food as a reward every time they lose 3 pounds will have higher chances of sticking to their diet than someone who NEVER rewards themselves.
The positive reinforcement of losing 3 pounds will unconscionably motivate that person to stick to their diet.
Are you following me?
“But Alex, what if I gain the weight back after a cheat meal?”
Listen to me, my friend…
You’d have to eat so much for that to happen that you’ll probably get sick and throw up before doing so.
Sure, the scale might go up a little after your cheat day.
It’s not fat!
It’s simply water retention from your cheat meal due to an increase in carbohydrates and sodium.
Don’t panic.
Drink a ton of water so you can flush all the water-weight out.
The #1 rule you must follow
You must always wait until you’ve lost 3 pounds before your next cheat meal.
For example, if I weigh 165 lbs. today and have a cheat meal, I can’t have the next one until I’m at 162 lbs.
Makes sense?
Go ahead and eat whatever you want for your cheat meal as long as you’re 3 pounds lighter.
You deserve it.
But…
Be disciplined and wait until you lose exactly 3 more pounds before having your next cheat meal.
Sometimes it’ll take you a week to lose the next 3 pounds.
Other times it’ll take you 3-4 weeks.
Regardless of how long it takes, you MUST wait until those 3 pounds are off.
Those are the rules.
Got it?
The downside
If you workout, there’s a good chance that you’ll gain muscle as you lose weight.
This means that the scale might go up or remain the same even though you’re losing fat.
You might lose 5 lbs. of fat but step on the scale and see the same number as 2 weeks ago.
What do you do then?
You wait.
No matter what, the rule of this strategy is that you wait until your 3 pounds less than your prior weight.
Again, sometimes it will be quick and easy to drop 3 lbs. on the scale, and other times it will take much longer.
I’ve lost 3 pounds in only 2 days in the past.
Other times I didn’t lose a pound for close to 3 weeks.
In order to guarantee your progress, forget about whether you’re losing fat, muscle or water-weight.
Focus on the number on the scale and reward yourself for every 3 pounds you lose.
Do so and I guarantee that you’ll make your fat-loss journey a lot easier.
You’ll see.
Talk soon,
-Alexander Writer
Leave a Reply