The Cheat Day

I don't know about you but I've tried several "diets" and a lot of them have failed. I've realized that the #1 reason it has failed is because a "diet" means you deprive yourself of the good stuff and to me, the "good stuff" consists of things like cookies, ice cream, cheese fries with bacon, etc. Obviously in order to lose weight, a proper nutrition plan is an absolute must. But let's take a look at something: Do you know why most diets fail? Most fail because of deprivation. What happens is that you completely eliminate the calorie-laced goodies that you love. When you break down and do have that cookie, you either love it so much that you can't stop eating them or you realize you failed, think to yourself, "What's the point now?" and eat a bunch more.

To me, "diet" means deprivation and I hate deprivation. It is the #1 saboteur of losing weight. So I say, "Screw dieting!" and I bring to you the cheat day. Yes, I say it's absolutely okay to have all that good stuff and still get fit and healthy. Here's how it works: For 6 days out of the week you follow your regular nutrition and exercise plan, whatever that may be. On the 7th day, which is supposed to be your rest day, you can eat some of those things that you couldn't have during the week such as an ice cream cone or those cheese fries with bacon.

There's only two rules to the cheat day--1. You are not, under any circumstances, allowed to feel guilty about what you eat, and 2. Moderation is a must. Just because you have the freedom to eat ice cream that does NOT mean you can sit on the couch and eat the whole carton! The idea here is to let you have the things that you normally couldn't have without the need to binge and gain all your weight back in one day. It's also important to remember that although you are allowed to have the "bad" stuff, you should still make good choices about it.

Oh yeah, if anyone asks, I'm not on a "diet". I'm on a "nutrition plan" :-)