How to “cheat” eat and lose weight

Everyone still has to enjoy their favourite guilty pleasures, here are six tips to help you avoid the guilt that go along with those pleasures. 

1.       Don’t feel guilty about what you’re eating, select a food that you really like and you will enjoy......and then enjoy it.  No beating yourself up about it afterwards, actually enjoy your treat.

2.       Have these later in the day typically after supper.  Now this is going to sound backwards to some people.  Don’t you want to have your cheat meal earlier in the day so that you “burn” most of it off?  In my experience most people if they have sugary food earlier in the day they will get cravings and probably have another cheat meal later in the day as well.  If you have it later in the day it reduces your chances of having multiple cheats in a day.

3.       Eat good quality, nutrient dense food along with your cheat meal.  Most people will worry about having too many calories at one meal so they replace quality food with their treats.  Don’t do this; it will lead to you missing out on nutrients your body needs to function properly. This will mess around your hormonal balance and lead to issues with weight loss long term.

4.       Try to make healthier versions of your favourite treats.  If you like pizza try making your own pizza, if you want something sweet try using honey or maple syrup as a sweetener.  Usually people worry about the taste, but if you get the right recipes it will actually taste better when you make the food yourself.

5.       Know how much of your treat you’re going to eat before you start eating or order the food.  If you pre-plan how much you’re going to have this will help with success, of course you have to hold yourself to that.  Most people once they have a bit fall into that attitude of “I’ve already had some, there’s no point I might as well have more.”  Do <B>NOT</B> fall into this trap, decide how much you’re having before hand and stick to this amount.

6.       Be mentally present when deciding to have your treats.  Many people stress eat, and most of the time they are “autopilot” when they are having these things.  Try to be mentally present and having a treat because you want to enjoy the taste, not because you’re stressed. 

There you have a 6 tips to help you cheat eat and keep on track for your weight loss goals.  Most people get so worried about the guilty pleasures that make up less than 10% of what you’re eating, really invest your energy into focusing on the other 90% and make sure you’re nailing that!

For more information and tips on how to lose weight check out our free resource section of our website http://www.peak-personaltraining.com/resources.html.