Diet Compliance vs Cheating - How Strict
Should You Be?
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
QUESTION: Hello Tom, I've been doing BFL for the past year, and
did well at first, losing 3 dress sizes and 5% body fat, but then I totally
hit a plateau and have had no more results since December. I'm wondering
if I've been strict enough with my eating
I bought your ebook, Burn The Fat, and I'm very excited about the information
I've read so far, but I need some clarification about the eating part.
I've been eating according to the BFL philosophy with one "cheat" day per
week. What I'm reading in your Burn The Fat program is instead, to allow
myself a couple of "cheat" meals any time during the week or on the weekend,
but not to take an entire day off the program.
However, in your list of foods that turn to fat, you mention that certain
foods should only be eaten very rarely. Does that mean that they shouldn't
even be eaten at a weekly cheat meal? I can live with that, but then, what
constitutes a "cheat" meal, (for example, if my favorite hash browns aren't
allowed? :)
I know you get a billion emails, but I would really appreciate it if you
have time to answer.
Kind regards,
Kathleen
ANSWER: It's not productive in the long term to totally deprive
yourself of foods you enjoy. What you have to do is find a sensible way
to work even your most "sinful" favorite foods into your diet, but do it
in an amount and frequency that doesn't set you back or sabotage your progress.
This can be done by allowing yourself some "cheat meals" (some people call
them "free meals" or "reward meals.")
One really good way to look at the "cheat meals" concept is in terms of "compliance," which
means, what percentage of your meals are following the guidelines of the
program and what percentage are off the program.
Too many meals or days off the program and your results are compromised.
Too many days in a row eating nothing but "rabbit food" and you go crazy
with cravings, right?
How much you need to comply (stick with) your program varies from person
to person. It depends a lot on how ambitious your goals are and on how responsive
your body is to nutrition and exercise.
When making your decision, keep in mind we all have different genetics
and body types, which is something I discuss in great detail in chapter
5 of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle ( www.burnthefat.com).
Are you a carb-tolerant mesomorph who gains muscle easily and loses fat
easily or are you a carb-sensitive endomorph who gains fat easily? Depending
on the answer, your diet program may need to be more or less strict than
others.
Don't compare yourself to others - you have to get to know your own body
type. Some people can "Get away with" more cheat meals and still make progress
(Yeah, I hate them too!)
Unless you're a competitor in physique sports like bodybuilding, fitness
or figure, or you're getting ready for some type of transformation challenge
or photo shoot, I suggest at least 90% compliance.
Whether you adjust your level of compliance above 90% (get more "strict")
or below 90% (get more lenient), depends how far away or close you are from
achieving your goals, and most importantly, on what kind of results you're
getting each week.
If you're complying 90% of the time, and you are getting awesome results,
you don't have to change a thing, and you may be able to loosen up your
diet a little. I know some people who are definitely only "on the program" 80%
or 85% of the time and they look great.
90% compliance means you are following healthy nutritious, fat burning
eating guidelines 9 meals out of 10. If you're eating small frequent meals
like the burn the fat program suggests, that's 5 small meals a day X 7 days
a week = 35 meals. 90% compliance means about 31-32 of those meals are spot-on!
The other 3 or 4 are for you to enjoy special occasions, reward yourself,
and live a little.
If you're like most people, and you simply want to drop a few pounds, trim
a few inches off your waistline and look better in shorts or in a swimsuit
for summer, then 100% compliance is unrealistic AND unnecessary. 90% compliance
is more realistic as a lifesytle, while being strict enough for most people
to get results.
On the other hand, if you had a very ambitious goal like preparing for
a figure or fitness competition and you thought you had to reach at least
12 or 13% body fat (which is very low for women), and you knew you would
be onstage with judges looking at every inch of your body in a teeny bikini
(paying very close attention to whether anything on your butt and thighs
was "jiggling"), then you would want to be as strict as possible during
the pre contest diet period (100% compliance or very close to it).
Keep in mind also, that this is a competitive situation and every time
you "cheat" and your competitors don't cheat, you decrease your probability
of placing high in the contests.
Unless you have a competitive physique goal like this, however, then total
deprivation of pleasure foods or cheat meals (100% compliance), is not necessary
because you always tend to crave what you cannot have. That's a binge waiting
to happen.
I prefer this 90 or 95% compliance approach over the "entire day of cheating" approach,
because I have seen people use the term "cheat day" pretty darn loosely
(basically making it the equivalent of BINGE DAY), and they do a lot of
damage in terms of setting their progress back.
They end up frantically playing "catch up" for the better half of the following
week with punishing extra exercise and dietary deprivation. Slow and steady
is better than binge and punish don't you agree?
Allow yourself some leeway. Enjoy food. Enjoy life. Have your pizza, or
chocoloate or your hash browns or whatever makes your stomach happy. It
will help, not hurt in the long run. Just be sure to be mindful of your
calorie limits, and when you say you are going to comply 90% of the time,
then keep your promise to yourself and comply!
For more information about dieting for fat loss, visit:
www.BurnTheFat.com
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal
trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS),
and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom
has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines
such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development,
Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites
worldwide. For information on Tom's Fat Loss program, visit: www.burnthefat.com
