Cheat Days

Aaaahhh… the much-loved Cheat Day. It’s the chance to throw everything to the wind and live a little. Or is it? As you’re beginning to see, the key here is discipline. You’re right: a cheat day can do wonders for keeping you on track in many areas. It’s a little indulgence that provides a dopamine hit, a sugar spike, and a little freedom from the disciplined grind of creating the “you.” It’s also beneficial for other areas of your life, for example, your community. Grandma takes pride in the recipe for her favorite dessert, given to her by her mother, who received it from her mother. It makes her feel like she can still contribute to the family in her older age, and who are we to deprive her of that memory? Besides, we’ve all been around those people who turn their noses up in disgust at something that doesn’t conform to their chosen “lifestyle of the week.”

The potential problem here is when things drift out of control. You have a slice of Grandma’s tasty dessert, which leads to some chips and salsa, then… “Oh, why not? I’ll have a drink too,” followed by waking up the next morning feeling like shit. You already feel horrible, so some pancakes, bacon, and chocolate milk may help.

Lol, I guess today is shot too…

The next thing you know, it’s four months later.

Defining the barriers

So how can we indulge in some of our favorite foods and drinks without letting things spiral out of control? One way is by defining barriers: for example, one of the challenge rules is no alcohol, except once per week when meeting with other participants. This provides the opportunity to indulge but defines the constraints of when it happens. It also sets the stage for the second tool to manage cheat days: changing the relationship with food.

By wrapping the cheat into the meeting with others in the challenge, we’re wrapping it in the context of one of our other spinning plates: community. Sure, you get to have a drink or two, but you’ll also get to talk about the challenge and other areas of life with like-minded people. This facilitates a significant transition in your brain: it becomes less about the cheat meal and more about catering to the five areas of your life for balance. Over time, the food or drink becomes less important than the event itself.

Make deliberate choices

Once you decide to embrace a cheat day occasionally, deliberately define how and when that will happen. Make deliberate choices: if you’re going to cheat, sitting on your couch alone pounding a pint of Ben and Jerry’s is not as satisfying as going out for ice cream with friends. Make it worthwhile, deliberate, make it known (i.e., let your friends know today is a cheat day), and make it time-boxed. Best-selling author Tim Ferriss has written about his cheat days in detail, including staying up to midnight with friends to get those last few cupcakes devoured before the clock tolls twelve. This approach satisfies the desire to eat junk food, embraces friendship and community, is time-boxed, and at 12:01 AM, everyone knows it’s over.

Today’s Tasks

Don’t forget to complete today’s tasks for the challenge.

• Drink 1 gallon of water
• Workout for 45 minutes
• Read ten pages from your book
• Stick to your meal plan (unless you are fasting) Once completed, head over to the tracking site and mark them as completed to track your progress for the challenge. Tomorrow we talk more about foods that fit/don’t fit into a healthy meal plan when we discuss “Are chocolate and wine healthy?”