Once you’ve put together a proper diet consisting of the ideal amounts of everything you SHOULD be eating for your goal (losing fat, building muscle, being healthy, etc.), there is still one lingering issue…

What about all of those foods that you SHOULDN’T be eating?

You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?

All of those wonderfully tasty and amazingly delicious foods that are some combination of junky, unhealthy, or just nutritionally useless.

The foods that you are supposed to avoid or at least greatly limit from your daily diet but probably wish you could just sit around eating all day long.

Sound familiar? I bet you even have a couple of them in mind right now, don’t you?

Well, that would make you pretty normal, because the thing most people hate about eating right is that they have to limit or completely avoid many of the foods they love.

And this brings up some very interesting questions. Specifically:

Do you ever get to eat those kinds of foods again?

If so, when?

How often?

How much of them can you eat?

Will doing this screw up your diet?

Will it prevent or hinder you from reaching your goal?

And all of this brings us to a part of your diet that you’re probably going to like…

The Cheat Meal

I’ve personally seen this concept referred to in a variety of ways, most often:

Cheat Meals

Reward Meals

Free Meals

For all intents and purposes, these 3 terms mean the same exact thing: eating something that wouldn’t normally be a part of the proper diet plan you have created.

You know, like the types of foods I described a minute ago. The ones you know you shouldn’t be eating, but still want to eat anyway.

Sounds like a pretty awesome diet concept, doesn’t it?

The reason it goes by (at least) 3 different names is because some people like to think of it 3 different ways…

The “ cheat meal ” people view this as them cheating on their diet. Most of the smarter people in the nutrition field hate this term, because it implies you’re doing something really bad, and that type of thinking leads to guilt… which is the complete opposite of how a cheat meal should make you feel (you’ll understand why in a minute).

” people view this as them cheating on their diet. Most of the smarter people in the nutrition field hate this term, because it implies you’re doing something really bad, and that type of thinking leads to guilt… which is the complete opposite of how a cheat meal should make you feel (you’ll understand why in a minute). The “ reward meal ” people view this as a reward for properly sticking to their diet for some predetermined amount of time. I personally think that’s kinda silly, because the positive changes to your body (and health) are the real reward for sticking to your diet consistently… not a cookie or a slice of pizza.

” people view this as a reward for properly sticking to their diet for some predetermined amount of time. I personally think that’s kinda silly, because the positive changes to your body (and health) are the real reward for sticking to your diet consistently… not a cookie or a slice of pizza. And the “free meal” people view this as a chance to just be temporarily free from any real dietary restraints or guidelines. In terms of the actual wording, free meal probably makes the most sense of all.

But, like I said, it’s really all the exact same thing.

And while “free meal” is my preferred choice for what to call it, I’m actually going to use cheat meal from this point on. That’s just what most people know it as, so I might as well go with it and avoid confusion.

Now, where was I? Oh right, explaining whether you CAN or SHOULD eat the foods you love.

Let’s start with the most obvious question of all…

What’s The Purpose Of Cheat Meals?

Cheat meals are all about helping you stick to your diet. The most common reason people fail to reach their goal (or fail to maintain it afterward) is because they stop eating the way they need to be eating.

Why does that happen, you ask? Well, because losing fat, preventing fat gain, or just being healthy in general requires a certain amount of restriction from the “bad” foods we all love to eat, and everyone hates that.

So, what often ends up happening is that people feel deprived and generally pissed off and annoyed because they miss eating the foods they really enjoy eating. And what happens next? They go off their diet and start eating them.

You deprive someone of something they crave (and are constantly surrounded by) for a long enough amount of time, and they will eventually give in to it. And that’s why diets fail.

But, that’s exactly where cheat meals help you succeed.

What if instead of depriving yourself of your favorite foods for the rest of your life, you regularly plan out instances in advance where you will allow yourself to eat those foods guilt-free?

Instead of torturing yourself until you reach your diet’s breaking point, you allow yourself to occasionally give in to your cravings and therefore prevent that “breaking point” from ever being reached.

That’s what cheat meals are: small planned breaks in your regularly scheduled diet that serve to keep you sane and happy. And since you planned for it, there’s no guilt involved. It was supposed to happen.

By allowing yourself to eat the foods you love in this type of controlled fashion, the chances of short term and long term diet adherence increase significantly. And that right there is the purpose of cheat meals.

Now for the next most obvious question…

Will A Cheat Meal Hurt My Diet, Body or Progress?

As long as it’s done properly (more on that in a minute), the answer is NO.

A properly done cheat meal will NOT directly hurt your diet, your body or your progress. Like I just finished saying, as long as it’s done right, cheat meals often only serve to HELP with long term diet adherence.

Think about it. If you’re eating the “right” way 95% of the time, do you really think that other 5% is going to make any real direct significant difference in the grand scheme of things? Trust me, it won’t.

And that means eating some of those less-than-ideal junky/unhealthy/useless foods that you love from time to time will not directly hurt your ability to lose fat, build muscle, or accomplish any similar goal in any significant way whatsoever… as long as it’s done right.

So far so good, right? Now on to the question that’s probably right on the tip of your tongue at this point…

What’s The Proper Way To Use Cheat Meals?

This is the part where you are probably expecting a bunch of specific guidelines, aren’t you? Something about how a cheat meal can only contain X amount of this or X amount of that or only this type of food but none of that type of food and blah blah blah.

Well, the thing is, if I set a bunch of specific guidelines like that, it really wouldn’t be a cheat meal anymore, would it?

So, for that reason, there are no specific guidelines for cheat meals.

And that’s really why “free meal” is the true better term for it… it’s literally meant as a chance for you to be free.

The primary purpose is to give you a mental and dietary break and remove your usual guidelines and restrictions so that you are allowed to eat something you love without feeling guilty about it.

What I do recommend however, are two general guidelines:

Don’t go too crazy. Don’t do it too often.