What are the positive and negative reasons to allow oneself a "cheat meal" every once and awhile?
I have been on a very strict low calorie, low fat and high protein diet for the last 2 an 1/2 months along with a strict cardio and weight training routine. I have not strayed but starting to feel the little temptations of a meal that reminds my taste buds the flavor of "being naughty ". The fear is that I have had very good success these last two months and I don't want to lost any hard work but at the same time that same fear makes me wonder if I should reflect on an other issue of being over obsessed with results and not learn proper "normal out of program" moderation etc. Any help would be much appreciated.
A few years ago I went vegan because I was moving toward a healthy lifestyle, quitting smoking and beginning to exercise again. I was reading a lot about the benefits of a low calorie diet and I read about people who were able to live on fruit alone or vegetables only. At first it was very energizing and I got more from my workouts by eating mostly fruits and veggies. After a few months, however, my energy was starting to fade. My body fat got dangerously low and the body fat meter I was using was not accurate. Even though the scale said I was in the healthy range, I felt that more fat and calories in my diet would be beneficial to my workouts. It’s a good thing I did because when I bought a body fat caliper it showed me that I barely had enough fat to survive, let alone perform intense workouts most days of the week. Now I am working on gaining weight and continuing my regular workouts. Listen to your body and make sure it has a little bit of everything.