Cheat Meals? page

[sbevill7]

I just recently started the primal diet and am loving it so far. Before this I had tried numerous other diets and either was not able to stick to them or they just didn't help me lose any weight. The diet that I stuck to the longest (over 1.5 years) was the Abs Diet. This diet (and numerous others that I've heard of) strongly advocate a cheat meal or a cheat day in order to "shock" your metabolism and keep your body's fat burners on their toes. I think this is also done through fasting, but the cheat meal also allows you to have foods that you have otherwise cut out. I was wondering what the primal community's take on cheat meals are. I am down 13lb in 3.5 weeks and couldn't be happier. I'm mostly just curious to everyones take on this.

-Do you guys do cheat meals?
-If so, what types of foods do you eat for your cheat meals?
-Do you allow introduction of sugars and grains when you cheat?

I'd love to hear back from some of the more experienced people on here.

[ChristineCrain]

I wouldn't cheat with grains just because it isn't the carb load I worry about it's the effect it has on my digestive system. My idea of a carb cheat is a sweet potato swimming in butter and fruit for dessert. It's plenty sweet and doesn't kill my gut.

[MikeEnRegalia]

Cheat meals are a piece of cake for me! ;-)

[rphlslv]

I had a huge cheat day on Sunday and even though I was bloated as hell the following day, I actually feel skinnier by now. I really regretted having cheated but I think it was worth it.

[alexa85]

i'm not as experienced as a lot of the people on here, but here's my take on it.
i believe in the "foot in the door" theory in social psych...basically by letting in a scheduled cheat meal you're kinda opening up the door to that kinda thing creeping in more often. "well, i had pizza yesterday, but only one slice so this brownie will be the second half of the cheat meal." see what i'm saying? this may not be true for you, but i have had that sort of creeping problem in the past, where a lil cheat gradually grows larger and larger...that being said, i don't think it's bad to cheat a lil bit every once in a while. i do incorporate sweet potatoes in my diet maybe 2-3 a month. i also eat more fruit than a lot of the people on here, but don't consider either of those foods cheating, but some very strict PBers would. my cheats have been (after almost eight weeks) - one organic cream soda which i wouldn't take back for anything. it was so delicious and beats the shit out of diet coke any day! an a sliver of my sister's birthday cake and a scoop of my mom's homemade vanilla icecream.
those weren't scheduled, just happened...random. so instead of every saturday for dinner i have a wicked blowout maybe have a few lil cheats every now and then when you feel good about it.

[Daemonized]

I have desert once a week at my family's Sunday dinner as my cheat for the week. I also eat vegetables and salad with that meal as well. For the rest of the week I've pretty much gone carnivorous.

[Diana Renata]

I don't purposely cheat. I don't see the point. There are occasional unintentional slips or indulgences (cheesecake perhaps) but I don't set out to eat the wrong thing on purpose.

[coach81]

I just recently started the primal diet and am loving it so far. Before this I had tried numerous other diets and either was not able to stick to them or they just didn't help me lose any weight. The diet that I stuck to the longest (over 1.5 years) was the Abs Diet. This diet (and numerous others that I've heard of) strongly advocate a cheat meal or a cheat day in order to "shock" your metabolism and keep your body's fat burners on their toes. I think this is also done through fasting, but the cheat meal also allows you to have foods that you have otherwise cut out. I was wondering what the primal community's take on cheat meals are. I am down 13lb in 3.5 weeks and couldn't be happier. I'm mostly just curious to everyones take on this.

-Do you guys do cheat meals?
-If so, what types of foods do you eat for your cheat meals?
-Do you allow introduction of sugars and grains when you cheat?

I'd love to hear back from some of the more experienced people on here.

Please refer to Mark's book on the 80/20 rule..

[sbevill7]

Thanks for the input guys. It's always nice to hear from people who have made the life change and have been through it all.

[jo]

Sometimes if I am going to be in a social or work situation where I know primal choices are limited I will plan it as a cheat meal (without going crazy on it) and then make sure I am clean or IF before and afterwards.