So you’ve let go of those nutrition reins – indulged in too much fatty and sugary foods, not to mention the multiple glasses of wine you’ve had as well! Before you know it, the overindulging behaviour continues. It’s so easy for a cheat meal to become a cheat day and then a cheat week (we totally get it!).
So what damage does a cheat week do to your body and how do you get straight back on the wagon?
Your mindset will suffer
Perhaps the biggest damage a cheat week will do is send your positive and focused mindset wayyyyyy off track! By forgetting about your healthy food choices across consecutive days, your mind quickly begins to see these indulgent meal choices as ‘habits’. So all that amazing focus you’ve put into shaping your healthy mindset will quickly become undone. Your drive to eat well and exercise daily will be diminished and it’ll be MUCH harder to get back into your healthy food routine.
You’ll feel lethargic and tired
Ever wondered why you get an overwhelming sense of tiredness after you indulge in a big meal – hello whole pizza or burger & fries meal deal?! It’s because your body is working extra hard to break down the large amounts of food in your tummy, making you feel as though you need to go to sleep! The same thing happens on a grander scale when you ‘cheat’ with your nutrition for the entire week. You may fall asleep quickly at night with a hugely full tummy, but each morning you’ll wake up lethargic and drowsy (good luck getting up and pumping out your morning workout feeling like that!).
You may gain weight
Seems obvious right? This goes back to the basic body weight equation. If calories going in is more than calories going out, you’ll put on weight. If you’re indulging in most of your meals over a week long period, that’s a LOT more calories you’re tallying up each day. So, unless you’re quadrupling your usual exercise routine, chances are you’ll see the scales head upwards.
Your weight loss will plateau
If you’re lucky enough NOT to put on weight as a result of a cheat week, you most certainly will see your weight loss results plateau. Your body can’t continue to support your previous healthy controlled nutrition and calorie blasting workouts if it all goes out the window, replaced with an entire week of indulgence.
Your workouts won’t be as effective
Food really is fuel, and when you feed your body excessive amounts of rich, high fat and high sugar foods, you’ll feel your body working less effectively and efficiently during exercise. You’ll feel as though you’ve lost strength and fitness because your body isn’t functioning at its peak performance during workouts. Combine that with a less positive mindset and your workouts will probably end early (or not happen at all!).
