Can You Eat Food You Crave Everyday While Dieting?
Is it okay to sneak foods you crave into your diet everyday? These are foods you which are usually labeled as ‘junk’ foods or ‘bad’ foods. To answer this question, you have to understand the two most common models used to satisfy cravings.
Watch the video explanation below!
The first model is an IIFYM model using the 80/20 or the 90/10 rule.
The second model is conventional wisdom. You eat clean throughout the week and reward yourself with a cheat day!
The problem is that there are people who swear by both of these!
Which One Works Better?
To answer this, let’s look at an example.
These are the stats we’ll be using for our example.
Let’s take an individual who maintains his weight at 2500 calories/day.
To lose weight, he eats 2000 calories/day, creating a deficit of 500 calories daily.
We’ll split this into 2 cases
Case 1 - Eat 15% of daily calories from ‘junk’ foods everyday based on the first model.
Case 2 - Eat ‘clean’ foods 6 days a week and save the ‘junk’ for the cheat day based on the second model.
Here’s what it could look like:
Now, let’s calculate the total calories from ‘junk’ food in both cases.
Case 1: 300 x 7 = 2100 kcal
Case 2: 2500 x 1 = 2500 kcal
Before you jump to make a conclusion, keep in mind that this is me being conservative!
An actual cheat day, if not tracked, is generally over maintenance.
This means the total calories from “junk” food could be higher in Case 2!
What if you’re someone who doesn’t care about how many calories you get from junk food?
In my opinion, the second model still has a few issues.
1. Binge Eating - Waiting for one day a week where you get to reward yourself may lead to binge eating problems.
2. Poor Relationship With Food - Looking at foods as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ can result in you building a poor relationship with food, especially if you are already struggling to lose weight.
3. Erase Progress - An untracked cheat day could erase one or more weeks worth of progress.
4. Attach your self-worth to your food choices - You start feeling guilty and like a failure if you have to indulge in ‘bad’ foods during the week.
Is There A Better Alternative?
If you really want to follow the 2nd model, here’s a better alternative.
Have planned Refeed Days instead of untracked cheat days.
At least this way you won’t be erasing the progress you have been making over time.
Now that you know all this, the choice is yours. What do you prefer?
Here’s something you should remember:
There’s no one size fits all in fitness.
There is no black or white answer.
Do what you find sustainable and works best for you!
You’ll only be able to adhere to your plan if it fits your lifestyle, so make sure you make decisions based on what you know you can sustain, and not based on what you see someone else doing.
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