I’ve only recently become acquainted with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a social media superstar (he has about 3.5 million followers on Twitter, @TheRock). His feed is really entertaining, even if it is only pushing his own info into the stream. Recently, he posted about a cheat day he had following 150 days of clean eating … it’s rather impressive.
- 12 pancakes
- 4 double dough pizzas
- 21 brownies
All was documented on his Twitter stream. (The pic is above.) Yikes! Starches and sugars, oh my! And guess what? According to the prevailing wisdom these days, there’s nothing wrong with it. Yes, cheat days are trending and you can get in on the “so-cool-even-The Rock-does-it” bandwagon. Heck, I do it regularly too (although not to such epic proportions).
Cheat Day Basics
Step one. First off, you have to earn a cheat day. That means you have to eat clean for a certain period of time. For most people, that’s a week of lots of veggies and lean proteins and generally “good for you” stuff. Did you earn it? Yes? Good for you … move on to the next step.
Step two. You’ve gotta plan your cheat day. Are you craving sugars and starches? Mom’s chocolate chip cookies? A burger and french fries? Have the ingredients you need on hand or know where you’re going to eat for your cheat day.
Step three. Indulge, indulge, indulge! Yep, and skip the guilt too. If cheat days are built into your schedule andyou’re following your eating plan and you’re generally happy, then enjoy your day. Eat whatever you want and try not to burp too loudly in public.
Step four. Now get it out of the house! After your cheat day is over, you want to keep temptation as far away from you as possible. Make sure there is NO left over junk food in the cupboards. Throw it out if you have to, but don’t have it lying around. You want your treat to be a cheat day, not a cheat year!
Step five. Get back to your healthy eating plan and you’ll be golden. And try to wait a few days before you start thinking about your next cheat day.
Do you use cheat days to stay balanced with your eating? Or do you think they’re dumb and you should just eat in moderation with an emphasis on healthy? I’d love for you to share your thoughts.
Cheers,
Lisa