Post by Ashley
What constitutes a cheat meal? ANYTHING non-paleo. See our post titled the Rundown for a list of foods to avoid.
Mark Sisson, avid Paleo enthusiast and author of “The Primal Blueprint”, does not promote cheat meals, but recognizes what he calls the 80-20 rule. Meaning that while the goal is to eat Paleo 100% of the time, he realizes that most of us will only succeed 80%. If you want the short version though in fewer words, here it is: EAT GOOD MOST OF THE TIME. There DONE we should copy write that.. if you can follow that one SMALL rule you will stay healthy.. simple. Also relevant to daily life, here's 10 guidelines for living primal (the basis for his book).
Ok, so we’re shooting for 100%. When I say that Gerard and I are allowing ourselves 1 to 2 cheat meals per week, what I mean is that if we fall off the wagon twice we know we need to check our will power and make the extra effort to watch what we eat more closely. Or, if we've been really clean about our eating and are craving something non-paleo then we'll allow ourselves a splurge. Keep in mind that we don't eat out. There's nothing wrong with eating out but for us, eating out means not knowing exactly what we're eating, paying more, and leaving out beloved german shepard home who will bark his face off and cause the neighbors to write nasty grams... That being said, If we do eat out it's very rare so all of our cheats will most likely be made at home where we can control the ingredients, save dinero, and watch the dog growl at himself in the mirror.
Ok, so we’re shooting for 100%. When I say that Gerard and I are allowing ourselves 1 to 2 cheat meals per week, what I mean is that if we fall off the wagon twice we know we need to check our will power and make the extra effort to watch what we eat more closely. Or, if we've been really clean about our eating and are craving something non-paleo then we'll allow ourselves a splurge. Keep in mind that we don't eat out. There's nothing wrong with eating out but for us, eating out means not knowing exactly what we're eating, paying more, and leaving out beloved german shepard home who will bark his face off and cause the neighbors to write nasty grams... That being said, If we do eat out it's very rare so all of our cheats will most likely be made at home where we can control the ingredients, save dinero, and watch the dog growl at himself in the mirror.
Beware that scheduling cheat meals is dangerous and can easily lead to cheat days and cheat weekends - As it did for us a few months ago when we started designating Friday as Nacho Night. Granted, our nachos were made by me with gluten free tortilla chips, shredded chicken breast, low calorie cheese, and pico de gallo, and were considerably healthier than nachos from any restaurant. This would have been a fine, once-a-week cheat as far as I’m concerned. (Dairy is more or less allowed on Paleo depending on how strict you want to be, gluten free, corn tortilla chips aren’t the worst thing in the world for you, and the rest is acceptable.)
BUT we started having left over tortilla chips, which we’d finish off on Saturday morning. Then we’d have leftover salsa so naturally, we’d have to buy more chips. Then I started making chili and we’d eat that for dinner Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon - with tortilla chips, of course. It got a little ridiculous. The two of us were eating 2 or more bags of tortilla chips in a weekend, on top of drinking alcohol Friday and Saturday night. In addition, other weekend splurges included things like Mara Natha Almond Butter, which is full of fat and contains sugar (and between the two of us we’d eat a jar in a day), two or three 2 liter diet soda, and holiday sweets. The weekend splurges began to spread into the week. Do you understand now how this can get out of control? Let’s just say we’re lucky we like to play outside (workout, hike, bike, etc..)
Before you get discouraged, I’m not saying that you can’t EVER have your favorite non-paleo foods EVER again. You better believe nachos are in the near future for us (it’s kind of our thing). Just be aware that “allowing” cheat meals means you’ll have to find the will power to stop and get back on track, even if you have leftover chips and salsa.
Another piece of advice is don’t overdo it. I know pizza is a huge thing to give up, but if your cheat meal means that you’re going to down an entire large pizza every Friday night then your voiding a lot of the calorie cutting progress you made during the week. Be reasonable and moderate in your cheats. If you’re going out to eat with friends and want pizza or whatever then get it. If you’ve been dreaming about ice cream for a month then have some bleeping ice cream! If you visit your significant other’s family and they eat rice and beans for dinner then eat rice and beans. If it’s your birthday, eat cake and whatever else you want! It won’t kill you and it won’t completely derail your progress to cheat every once in a while. Just remember, there is more to this diet than weight loss. These foods are avoided because they lead to weakness, disease, and other ailments as well as weight gain and lethargy. Think of that as your incentive to get back on track. Remember how awesome you feel when you’re putting good food in your body.
In summary, this post is mainly to assure you that there is wiggle room in this diet. Yes, eating this way should be a habit you adapt for the long haul, but we’re saying it’s ok to have indulgences here and there. It makes this change seem possible and a lot more enjoyable because it takes away the deprivation that so many other, less effective diet plans leave us feeling. There are many ways to implement the 80-20 rule. You just have to figure out what’s right for you.
When our gym did a 30 day paleo challenge last year they allowed 1 cheat meal a week.
When I first heard about paleo I was told that I was allowed 3 cheat meals the first week, 2 the second, and 1 the third. Then the cycle would begin again with 3, 2, 1, etc. I think this is a great option for beginners because it allows you to ease into eating this way.
You may also want to dive right in and commit to 30 days of strict paleo. If you have the willpower this would be my choice.
Just like a fitness program, choose an option that works for you.
Whew! if you made it through all my blather then good for you! If not, I hope you at least clicked on the links provided! I've got to work on not being so long-winded!
Meal Description | Ashley | Gerard |
Breakfast/morning snack | - 2 eggs, 2 egg whites - ½ cup spinach - 2 cups coffee - 1 apple Hungry this morning… | - 6 eggs scrambled - 1.5 oz almonds - 2 cups coffee |
Lunch | - 5 oz spaghetti squash - 10 oz spaghetti meat sauce - 4 oz sliced cucumber - 2 oz roasted eggplant dip (contains eggplant, onion, garlic, spices and a little olive oil) | - 1 baked chicken breast - 7 oz spaghetti meat sauce (made with can of tomatoes, spices, onion, ground turkey and turkey sausage) - 1 ¾ cup spaghetti squash (baked) |
Snack | - 1 apple - Green tea So hungry today! | - |
Dinner | - Bowl of hot and sour soup (adapted this recipe but still came out too salty so I don’t think I’ll be making it again as I’m not really supposed to have salt. Woke up in the middle of the night with swollen fingers…yuck) - ½ cucumber - 2 tbsp roasted eggplant dip - Green tea | - 8 oz pulled pork - 1 tbsp guacamole - 1/3 cucumber - 2 tbsp roasted eggplant dip - water |
Exercise
Ashley | Gerard |
Rest Day Apparently I really needed a rest day. Had every intention of taking Jax for a walk but it was cold and gross outside and I nearly froze just thinking about taking off my pjs to put on walking clothes. Made soup instead. Felt incredibly guilty for being such a slug. | Warm Up: jogged dog 1 mile, foam rolled, 1 set of 10 of slow controlled- pushup-pullup-oh squat with bar- glute ham dev- back extension-glute ham raise- dynamic leg swings then 10 clap push ups-10 butterfly pull ups- 10 jumping lunges- 10 jumping squats- ghd-ghr-be- then dynamic leg swings. workout weighted lunges- 5x5 with 135 and 5x5 135 snatch grip behind the neck push press. This was more of a rest day since its my 4th day in a row. |
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