The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly About Your Cheat Meal
Kate Irwin • March 3, 2020
That One Meal Can Undo Your Work For The Week
A typical fat loss meal plan has you consuming a set number of calories per day. Historically these diets have you consuming less calorie-dense foods like vegetables, fruit, and lean protein in order to fill your daily requirements. Adding in things like donuts, cake, chips, and higher calorie-dense foods has been frowned upon in the diet world.
In recent years the idea of a cheat meal has been encouraged as a way to get away from the mundane Monday to Friday chicken and vegetables. By scheduling a day where you can “cheat” on a meal it gives you the mental and physical break from being so strict and not enjoying your food.
But is this the answer to being able to maintain the diet? The answer is probably not.
When we determine your daily calorie goal we look at the number of calories you burn in a day, including exercise, and subtract a select number of calories from that to put you in a caloric deficit.
For this example let's set the daily calories burned to 2,000 calories, a conservative but maintainable caloric deficit would put the daily calorie goal around 1,800 calories. This 10% deficit will allow you to decrease fat and weight while still having the energy to function.
In this example, you consume 1,800 calories a day Monday through Friday. On Saturday when you indulge in your cheat meal - not only is it unlikely you track it but it is likely that it is a very high-calorie density meal. If you eat normally all day Saturday and indulge in a cheat meal Saturday for dinner (think a restaurant burger, fries, glass of wine and a couple of bites of an appetizer). While it’s only one day that you are going over calories you can easily undo your week’s worth of hard work.
Five days at a 10% caloric deficit is equal to 1000 calories. At that rate, you should lose just under half a pound a week. Once we account for the increase in calories in the cheat meal you can easily decrease your deficit by half or more! This means that you will work extremely hard all week to decrease your calories and one meal can undo all that hard work which then becomes frustrating and causes many people to give up on the plan.
So what now? If you want to lose weight do you have to stick to consuming only “clean” foods? The answer is no, but it is time to start changing the mindset. Rather than focusing on a cheat meal where all rules go out the window, you are better served to calculate the calories and macronutrients in all your meals and include them in your tracking. By tracking everything and making higher calorie density foods like french fries or a slice of cake fit into your meal plan you are both less likely to fall off the wagon and more likely to hit your goals!
If you need help learning how to incorporate less nutrient-dense and historically forbidden foods into your diet think about joining the Nova Health Club Nutrition Challenge that will be running at the end of March. During this challenge, we focus on increasing your awareness of what you are putting into your body and how to make less healthy foods fit into your daily routine but not take away from your goals!
Andrew has been a Nova member for 9 years. One of his long standing goals was to do his first triathlon. He has been working towards this for years and just at the end of August he did it!
If you're doing all the “right things” — working out, eating clean, trying to stay consistent — but still struggling with stubborn belly fat, low energy and slow results, you’re not alone.
Tanya’s dedication to rebuilding her health after surgery offers valuable lessons and perspective for anyone facing setbacks.
Do Hard Things Now, So Life Becomes Easier Later Modern humans default to the easy way but it's not our fault... Throughout human history, we were wired to survive constant hardship - scarcity of food, threats from predators, harsh environments and manual labor for everything. Our DNA evolved for survival in these conditions, not for modern living. Imagine an early human stumbling across a fruit tree. It made sense to gorge - there was no telling when the next meal would come. The human who gorged had a higher chance of survival than the human who only ate a few pieces of fruit. Practicing self-control in an environment of scarcity would have been a death sentence. Likewise, if given a chance to rest instead of walking miles or hunting, rest was the obvious choice. The problem? Our genes haven’t caught up with modern life. Today, food is everywhere. We don’t have to fight to meet our basic needs. Technology does the heavy lifting, cars replace walking, entertainment is on-demand and calorie-dense foods are always within reach. Left unchecked, our instincts will always lean toward easy options like overeating unhealthy foods (that are so easily accessible) or driving to the store instead of walking. In other words, we’re still hardwired to take the path of least resistance. But here’s the catch: Choosing easy now often means a harder life later and choosing hard now often means an easier life later. Most modern humans are overweight, stressed, tired and dealing with chronic health problems because we’re following outdated survival programming that no longer serves us. It’s time to become aware of these defaults. To override them. To consciously choose the hard thing - because doing hard things is what actually makes life easier in the long run. Hard things like: Going to bed on time instead of watching another episode Preparing a healthy meal instead of grabbing fast food Moving your body instead of sitting all day Walking or biking to the store instead of driving Managing stress with deep breaths and fresh air instead of pouring a drink Looking at your habits instead of masking symptoms with medication It might feel uncomfortable because it goes against everything your biological programming is urging you to do. But that’s exactly why it matters. Don’t think of it as punishment or sacrifice. Think of it as an investment. Every time you take the stairs instead of the elevator, cook instead of order out, or put your phone down to truly rest, you’re building a life that’s easier, richer, and more fulfilling down the road. And remember: Do easy things, and you’ll have a hard life. Do hard things, and you’ll have an easy life. Most of the above information is probably not new to you. That’s because we live in the information age with the internet and now AI - we already know what it is we need to do. The problem however is implementation. This is where having a customized plan and accountability comes in. If you know the hard things you need to do more of but struggle with breaking past your ‘default mode’ then contact us for a complimentary consultation HERE .
Congratulations to Sonya Jeyaseelan, Our July 2025 SuperNova!
Congratulations to Liz Belford, Our June SuperNova!
We are back with our second series of 'Pod Calls' available exclusively to our Nova Health Club members. Don't miss these unique sessions to help you level up your health and wellness game! What is a Pod Call? A Pod Call is a live online (webinar like)_ session with a Nova coach, offering support and insights on key health topics like fitness, nutrition, recovery and overall wellness. Why did we create Pod Calls? Our goal is your success and your health goals can not be built on fitness alone. After delivering thousands of personal training sessions, we noticed a disconnect between fitness sessions we were delivering and the other pillars of health (and lifestyle habits that happen outside of the gym). To get the most out of your health and your fitness sessions at Nova we need to link other pillars such as mindset, nutrition, stress and recovery. Training coaches who care about your results will agree that a couple hours of personal training each week is not enough time to workout AND learn everything you need to know about maximizing those workouts... Things like how to eat before or after workouts, what recovery habits should be practiced or the link between stress and working out are all subjects that you need to know on your health and fitness journey. Pod Calls are dedicated sessions where we teach you essential health and fitness insights that we can't often cover during your gym workouts. We hope you take advantage of these expert-led sessions that will enhance your workouts, teach you new concepts about health and bridge the gap between fitness and overall wellness. Upcoming Pod Calls (all times in EST) Mon Jun 2, 2025 (6:00pm) Topic: How To Eat Carbs For Better Energy, Muscle & Fat Loss Coach: Josh Allen Wed Jun 4, 2025 (2:00pm) Topic: Hip Mobility Using the 'CARS' (active session) Coach: Kim Vo Sat Jun 7, 2025 (12:00pm) Topic: Benefits of Single Leg & Arm Training for Overall Strength Coach: Matthew Nadler Tues Jun 10, 2025 (6pm) Topic: Releasing Neck Tension Coach: Zack Fernandez Wed Jun 18, 2025 (1:00pm) Topic: Training The Backside of The Core Coach: Colin Soltesz Thu June 19, 2025 (7:00pm): Topic: Ayurveda for Healthy Ageing Coach: Kayla Hutchinson These calls are free for Nova members and Zoom links for each call can be found in the Nova Mighty Networks platform. If you are not a Nova member and would like to attend any of these please email Info@NovaHealthClub.com for a seat. We look forward to seeing you then!
Check out the interview with Beth to see the habits, mindset and lifestyle shifts that helped her reach her goals
Simon’s 6-Week Transformation: From Stressed & Stuck to Strong & Energized
Simon joined Nova through the LeanDads 12-week program in February. Like many busy professionals...
