You may have read many fitness articles that praise cheat meals. The concept of eating a “cheat meal” once a week is not very helpful. The main problem is the strong junk food cravings you could get throughout the week. Once you get to the cheat meal of the week, you might binge, eat way too much, and feel guilty. Not only is that bad, but you also may lose the progress you made that week.
It is true that eating balanced, healthy, and nutritious meals is key to any fitness goals. But you also need to take care of your mental and emotional health. That means you also need to feel good about yourself. You may find comfort and happiness with eating cookies and fry bread, and that is okay! Keeping yourself mentally healthy is also important for any fitness goal.
The best way to maintain a healthy eating lifestyle is to start slowly. Try to eat more healthy foods along with what you already eat. Once you feel comfortable, you should slowly reduce the amount of junk food you eat, and replace it with more vegetables, fruits, and nuts. The ultimate goal is to have the habit of eating healthy all the time without feeling stressed, and not having too much junk food cravings.
Special Thanks:
Derek Chang graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Utah. Go Utes! He was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He aspires to become a physician-entrepreneur to find and create new ways of improving overall patient health. He enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, reading books, meeting new people, and learning anything new.
