For 12 weeks I cut to lower my bodyfat for my men’s physique contest and last night when it was over I had an EPIC cheat meal. You hear all these stories of bodybuilders eating 15 big macs or 6 dozen donuts in an eating binge following a contest…
I am afraid that I didn’t live up to the “Epic” label here which doesn’t bother me because the word “Epic” has become epically overused :) Anyway, here was my post contest cheat meal.For appetizer, refried beans to dip my tortilla chips in, for main course enchiladas with extra cheese and for desert, sopapillas. Thats it, thats all I wanted.
The thing is, although I was running a caloric deficit for 12 weeks to lower my bodyfat I never, ever felt hungry, nor did I really feel deprived. Thats because my custom designed meals had lots of low net carb vegetables so I always felt satisfied and never was hungry. Avoiding hunger is necessary for the success of any bodyfat reduction plan. The thing I found too was that after eating clean for about a month, I lost my cravings for sugar, salt, and junk foods and it becomes even easier to eat clean. These are the kinds of meals I was eating all day long:
So yes, I was “dieting” for 12 weeks in the sense that I was running a caloric deficit but because I never felt deprived, I don’t feel any need to “reward” myself for anything nor binge. I had my cheat meal now I am back to eating clean low carb meals.
Afterward that epic cheat meal, I realized, OMG, for me that was such a cheat meal but for many people, thats just a normal meal. No wonder people are obese! There is nothing wrong with going out and getting cheesy enchiladas, pizza, or Italian food BUT its got to be a treat and not an everyday occurrence!
Everyone needs to make a choice. What do you want more? A delicious cheesy high-carb dinner every night or washboard abs? You cant have both. They key is to find your own, personal, happy-place. You need to find a nutritional plan that lets you eat healthy, avoid hunger, be satisfied, and maintain your weight. Different techniques work for different people, thats fine. Experiment and find what works best for you BUT please make sure that your technique satisfies these criteria:
- Healthy – must have sufficient vitamins, fiber, protein, anti-oxidants, and healthy fats
- Hunger management – it must prevent you from ever being hungry
- Bodyfat management – it must allow you to maintain your bodyfat at the desired level 365 days a year.
Low carb or keto can work well if you do it right but high carb can work just as well. Vegetarian and vegan can work great and so can the Mediterranean diet. The macros percentages are not nearly as important as WHAT you are eating!
If you think that simply by putting the words “Epic” and “Eating” in the same document I am somehow promoting eating disorders, then please read about eating disorders.