30 Nov, 2009
Weight Loss: Cheating's OK if you achieve your goal
Rewarding yourself every now and then will do you no lasting damage
Ireland's world cup dream is over for another four years. One night in Paris has left the nation devastated. Holidays to South Africa next year have been cancelled.
It is the manner in which France defeated Ireland which has left a bitter taste. French captain Thierry Henry used his hand to control the ball before passing it to team-mate William Gallas to score the goal that broke Irish hearts. The 'hand of Henry' will shatter the talented player's legacy for fair play.
When this storm has blown over, the result will stay the same. The French people will be in South Africa and the manner in which they got there will be forgotten.
Backlash
Every team who ever won a championship had someone they could turn to to do what was necessary to win when the chips were down. You can cheat and still win. Diego Maradona proved it in 1986 when his 'hand of God' goal helped Argentina knock England out of the World Cup. A similar media backlash followed but nothing happened and Maradona still lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy.
We can learn a lot about nutrition from Ireland's experience in France. As we near the Christmas party season people are looking for advice on diets in books and in the media. Some suggest you take a solemn vow of junk-food abstinence. You need to "play fair" and abide by the rules of your diet.
First and foremost, the first three letters of the word 'diet' spells 'die' and it is associated with long-term unhappiness. The avoidance of your favourite treat is a stumbling block to a lot of people trying to embrace a healthier lifestyle.
In her book Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell, author Deborah Waterhouse explains that avoidance of favourite foods will allow cravings to build. These cravings are ignored and then the cravings intensify.
When they are ignored again they rebel and it will result in excessive overeating which leads to weight gain. The ignorance of self-proclaimed diet gurus to zero tolerance of 'bad foods' leads people to believe they are a failure if they fall off the wagon!
The solution is to engage in a healthier lifestyle as opposed to a diet. Consistency in eating healthily is the hallmark of people who successfully lose body fat and keep it off.
You must work hard to maintain your discipline and keep a regular eating schedule seven days a week but you must allow for damage control when a special occasion occurs. You should reinforce your success by rewarding yourself. This is known as a cheat meal.
It is my experience that clients lose body fat quicker and maintain compliance when they are allowed a cheat meal every four to six days. The leaner you are the more often you get to cheat.
Cheating has the physiological response of kick-starting your metabolism and the psychological benefit of satisfying your cravings.
The more body fat you have, the bigger the wait for your cheat meal. But like anything in life, there are rules to remember so that you learn to cheat within the guidelines.
It is a cheat meal, not a cheat evening. It is scheduled in your diary like a meeting or a workout and you sit at a table at home or a restaurant but not in front of a TV. You should eat your protein and vegetables before you cheat as this will reduce the damage and maintain blood-sugar levels.
The cheat meal is decided before you sit down at the table so you don't deviate from your plan. The goalposts are fixed so learn to be a good cheater and stick to gluten-free products.
It should be noted that 75pc of the population train and work better on a low-carbohydrate diet. So the ratio between low-carb meals and cheat meals should be 20:1 or 30:1, never less or more.
Disperse
This means that if you are having five to six meals a day, your cheat meal will fall on day five and preferably after training. It is normal to retain 2-3lbs of fluid after a cheat-meal day but don't worry as this will soon disperse out of your system.
Getting lean takes discipline in training and nutrition choices. Both teams in Paris worked hard to get to that stage of the competition but Henry's willingness to cheat took his team to another level.
You too can prosper in long-term weight loss if you schedule a cheat every five to six days. Staying disciplined in the days in between is hard. Infamous American football coach Vince Lombardi said that perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.