The Truth About Cheat Days and Your Health
I am sure you’ve heard of the term “cheat day” at some point or another during your life. Maybe you were having cheat days while on a diet or a family member/friend was. They may have even used the term in a passive-aggressive manner to pass judgment on what you or another person was eating (i.e.“It must be a cheat day for you!”). The truth is, the idea of a "cheat day" or "cheat meal" can lead to feelings of guilt or shame surrounding food, reinforcing an unhealthy mindset where eating is seen as either "good" or "bad," and contributing to cycles of restriction and overeating.
If you’ve been following us at Radiant for any amount of time you’re probably aware that we operate from the mindset of food NOT being a moral issue. Food is food. It’s only agenda is to fuel your body with the macro and micronutrients it needs to survive. That’s really it. Your body doesn’t really care about anything else. It’s your brain that gets in the way. Unfortunately, when you get into the judgement game of deeming food “good” or “bad” (or deeming yourself good or bad for eating the “bad” food) you set the stage for guilt and shame to walk into your life. These two emotions often lead to plummeting self worth and a rapid increase in body image issues. Honestly, in the 30 years I have practiced as a registered dietitian, this style of black and white thinking has never really been useful for my clients.
Cheat days can also set up a binge-and-restriction cycle just like any other diet. Not allowing yourself to have the food(s) you are craving can often set the stage for a hyper-fixation of those foods. And, when you finally allow yourself to eat the “bad” food, you may have trouble regulating the amount you eat of it. Guilt or shame is generally waiting in the wings and you begin the restrict - binge cycle all over again…. I’m feeling exhausted just thinking about it.
In summary, the stress and fear you develop when engaging in the “cheat day” mentality is actually more unhealthy than the food you are avoiding. When your mental health starts to waiver your physical health can follow and that’s never a great thing. At Radiant, we encourage you to incorporate ALL foods into your diet as the best way to nourish your body and mind. If you need help figuring out what this looks like for you, contact us to set up an appointment today!
Written by Trinny Duncan, Student Intern and Peggy Pratt, PhD, RDN, LDN, CEDS-C