What do you made for a cheat meal

As a general guide for cheat meals, do you guys find hearty / dense foods benefit your body more during a cheat versus empty calories like cookies or donuts?

I find that when I cheat with something hearty and nutrition dense like chinese for or a big mac, it sticks on my body for a few days, whereas grabbing a box of cookies and eating those in one sitting will only make me look like shit for 24hr.

just curious if this is the case with anyone else?

I experimented with a few clients last year... both clients were at the same point when they began prep,,, they were both around 220 with 15% bodyfat when they started prep, give or take 5-10 pounds.... but generally they were similar and good clients to test this cheat meal theory on

ANYWAY here is how it went:

During client #1's contest contest prep I gave him only dense cheats like wings or big macs, set him back a few days more than we had expected

and during client #2's prep I gave him empty calorie foods like a bag of fuzzy peaches / or timbits / or cookies and I found that he got the energy boost from the cheat for the following day, without setting him back or adding any real bodyfat. it could just be how their bodies responded but i think it has something to do with the density or nutritional value of the foods, I think there is at least SOME nutrition to be gained from a hearty cheat like a rack of pork ribs versus a bag of chips having next to no nutriton. I think your body burns through the empty cheats faster.

Just food for thought
 
I came across the same result as your client in my last diet. Even the wife had the same problem, having dense meal even if "healthy" seems to set us back on our progress for 2-3 days.
Switching for only higher carb meal (umm ice cream) seem to have less impact.
 
bebeav said:
I came across the same result as your client in my last diet. Even the wife had the same problem, having dense meal even if "healthy" seems to set us back on our progress for 2-3 days.
Switching for only higher carb meal (umm ice cream) seem to have less impact.
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totally agree, i found that during prep, sacrificing a quality nutritious cheat meal for something completely junk is actaully better for prep

however when I'm not prepping clients I give them dense cheat melas because I think there is still a way to get some beenfit from a cheat meal, like a few baskets of wings ... while containing TONS of fat and sugar in the sauce, can still give a client lots and lots of protein which can be used for some growth... so during off-season I give clients cheat meals that will still help them grow,

but during prep i switch it to complete junk... A bag of fuzzy peaches pre workout can be the key to giving a drained nervous system what it needs for a great leg workout during prep

and i could barely tell he had cheated afterward, I think during prep the body is so primed to burn through calories like a furnace that if you feed it fast acting, high GI, empty foods, it can burn through them giving a client the energy he needs without the fat gain that you dont need

For myself, since I dont plan to compete in the near future, I always use quality cheat meals with high protein... 2 big macs are my go to... yeah it sits on me for a few days and makes me look a little bit worse but theres 60g protein in 2 big macs and theres 0 in candy or cookies... i guess it all depends what someones goal is with their cheat meal.
 
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Magic said:
As a general guide for cheat meals, do you guys find hearty / dense foods benefit your body more during a cheat versus empty calories like cookies or donuts?

I find that when I cheat with something hearty and nutrition dense like chinese for or a big mac, it sticks on my body for a few days, whereas grabbing a box of cookies and eating those in one sitting will only make me look like shit for 24hr.

just curious if this is the case with anyone else?

I experimented with a few clients last year... both clients were at the same point when they began prep,,, they were both around 220 with 15% bodyfat when they started prep, give or take 5-10 pounds.... but generally they were similar and good clients to test this cheat meal theory on

ANYWAY here is how it went:

During client #1's contest contest prep I gave him only dense cheats like wings or big macs, set him back a few days more than we had expected

and during client #2's prep I gave him empty calorie foods like a bag of fuzzy peaches / or timbits / or cookies and I found that he got the energy boost from the cheat for the following day, without setting him back or adding any real bodyfat. it could just be how their bodies responded but i think it has something to do with the density or nutritional value of the foods, I think there is at least SOME nutrition to be gained from a hearty cheat like a rack of pork ribs versus a bag of chips having next to no nutriton. I think your body burns through the empty cheats faster.

Just food for thought
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Interesting!
 
Oldguyjiujitsu said:
Yeah and thai food
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Oh yeah, Thai food - not sure how could I have left that out as I probably have that even more often than Chinese food. It's probably because the last time we had Chinese food for a cheat meal they forgot to bring out our order of fried rice which is likely the most sinful item we ordered (fried carbs). I was happy in the end though since they did me a favour by forgetting it as I would have regretted it after. I ended up with the usual steamed rice instead so at least I felt somewhat back on track... :D
 
OntarioDude said:
Oh yeah, Thai food - not sure how could I have left that out as I probably have that even more often than Chinese food. It's probably because the last time we had Chinese food for a cheat meal they forgot to bring out our order of fried rice which is likely the most sinful item we ordered (fried carbs). I was happy in the end though since they did me a favour by forgetting it as I would have regretted it after. I ended up with the usual steamed rice instead so at least I felt somewhat back on track... :D
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Thai is the ultimate asian food. Shrimp green curry, beef with basil, pad thai, all with about 2 lbs of coconut rice.
 
ABMonkey said:
Jungle curry is awesome also.
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I've had Panang (peanut) Curry, Massaman Curry (cashew), Green Curry, Yellow Curry, Red Curry but have never had Jungle Curry yet but I will certainly use it as an excuse to try it. Thai Food is a good compromise for a cheat meal and be satisfied as it can be pretty healthy still as long as you focus and don't have too much rice, noodles or greasy items (spring rolls, fresh rolls with peanut sauce, etc.) or lots of salty items (huge bowls of soup, etc.).

It's a good thing I just ate and still have a protein drink to look forward to in a few hours... :)

OD
 
OntarioDude said:
I've had Panang (peanut) Curry, Massaman Curry (cashew), Green Curry, Yellow Curry, Red Curry but have never had Jungle Curry yet but I will certainly use it as an excuse to try it. Thai Food is a good compromise for a cheat meal and be satisfied as it can be pretty healthy still as long as you focus and don't have too much rice, noodles or greasy items (spring rolls, fresh rolls with peanut sauce, etc.) or lots of salty items (huge bowls of soup, etc.).

It's a good thing I just ate and still have a protein drink to look forward to in a few hours... :)

OD
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Jungle is spicy. I love spicy food. Which is handy as it's also pretty great for you.

I do love the greasy stuff also such as spring rolls and chinese food - sticky beef, Peking duck etc etc.
 
ClearWater said:
@Magic how long you been training people?
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About 4 years. I try to stick to the coachingsidrw of it: diet advice, supplementation, training regimens, for guys / girls doing regional or provincial shows, I’m no Hany Rambod, but I’m also no instagram wannabe lol

I don’t really have the time for “personal training” as I have a career and don’t have the time to spend hours in the gym with clients, but the coaching side of it helps bring in a few extra bucks.
 
Oldguyjiujitsu said:
Thai is the ultimate asian food. Shrimp green curry, beef with basil, pad thai, all with about 2 lbs of coconut rice.
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My favorite Thai foods would be Tom Kha Gai soup which is chicken in a coconut soup with some veg and basil...mostly mushrooms for veg....its phenomenal!! Pad Thai, spring rolls, veggie rolls, and my absolute favorite is Red Curry!! And just like you said, copious amounts of delicious coconut rice!!
 
DeviousD said:
My favorite Thai foods would be Tom Kha Gai soup which is chicken in a coconut soup with some veg and basil...mostly mushrooms for veg....its phenomenal!! Pad Thai, spring rolls, veggie rolls, and my absolute favorite is Red Curry!! And just like you said, copious amounts of delicious coconut rice!!
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Yeah Tom Kha Gai is wicked good. I eat Thai food at least every 10 days.


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You guys might be appalled but my cheat has and always will be Dunn’s Famous. Smoked meat sandwich extra fat with a side of smoke meat poutine. Yup freaking yum. I went without for years moving to Vancouver but there has been one here for a while and it’s litterly my nemesis.


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