Hello, my friends!

Have you ever tried doing cheat meals?

I have, although I never really liked the whole idea.

You eat strictly throughout the week, and then the weekend comes around, and it's finally time for your cheat meal.

You get to enjoy the foods you've been avoiding all week. Then Monday comes around, and you're back to your usual diet.

There's something about this mentality that I've always found strange.

We've created these rules around healthy eating, and then we've created another rule that gives us permission to break those rules.

And we call it a cheat meal.

Cheating on what, exactly?

What bothers me is when healthy eating starts to feel like some kind of punishment, and the cheat meal becomes the reward for putting up with it.

Because healthy eating is supposed to be something positive. We're choosing foods that nourish our bodies and support our health.

So how did we end up treating it like something we need a break from?

I understand the appeal.

When you're following a strict diet, having a meal where you can relax and enjoy something you've been craving can make the whole process feel more manageable.

And for some people, that works perfectly well.

They enjoy their cheat meal, go back to their usual eating habits, and don't think much more about it.

I don't see anything inherently wrong with that.

There's actually some interesting research on this.

A 2025 review published in Nutrition Reviews examined eight studies looking at the physical and psychological effects of cheat meals and related short-term breaks from restrictive eating plans.

The findings were mixed.

Some studies suggested that planned breaks could help people manage hunger or feel more satisfied with their diets.

But the researchers also raised concerns about how cheat meals are framed, particularly when they're treated as rewards for strict dieting or as something that goes against our dietary goals.

Some of the evidence found associations with concerning disordered eating behaviors.

The research is still limited. It doesn't establish that cheat meals cause eating disorders, and it certainly doesn't mean everyone who has cheat meals has an unhealthy relationship with food.

Still, I think it gives us something worth considering.

Imagine someone having a salad for lunch every day.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a salad for lunch. It can be delicious and nutritious.

But imagine sitting down to that salad and thinking, Just four more days until Saturday. Then I can finally eat something I actually want.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

They're following the rules. Being disciplined. Eating what they're supposed to eat.

And then Saturday comes around, and they can finally have their pizza.

Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with enjoying pizza on a Saturday.

What interests me is what happened to the rest of the week's meals.

The salad became an obligation. The pizza became a reward.

And suddenly, nutritious food is something they have to get through before they're allowed to enjoy eating again.

I think that's a shame.

Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and other nutritious foods have so much to offer us. And they can be genuinely enjoyable.

Yet sometimes, the rules we create around healthy eating make us resent the very foods we're trying to eat more of.

We start thinking of certain foods as things we're supposed to eat, while other foods become things we have to earn.

I wonder how much of that comes from the way we've learned to approach dieting.

These days, I eat about 90% whole-food plant-based.

I chose that approach because I want the majority of my diet to come from nutritious plant foods. It's a direction that makes sense to me based on the evidence and the kind of lifestyle I want to maintain.

But here's what I love about it:

The imperfection is already part of the plan.

That remaining 10% gives me room for foods and occasions that don't necessarily fit my usual way of eating.

Sometimes that's enjoying something different when I'm out with family and friends. Sometimes it's eating a familiar dish I love.

I can make those choices without feeling like I've broken some rule that I now need to compensate for.

I still care about nutritional quality. I still want most of what I eat to support my long-term health.

But having room for flexibility makes that way of eating more realistic for me.

Of course, you don't have to follow my 90/10 approach. And some people have medical conditions that require particular dietary restrictions.

But for many of us, there is room to build nutritious eating habits around foods we genuinely enjoy.

You might love salads. Wonderful! Keep eating them.

But if you're forcing yourself to eat salads every day because you think that's what healthy eating is supposed to look like, there are so many other ways to enjoy vegetables.

If you like pizza, perhaps there's room for it in your overall dietary pattern without having to designate Saturday as the one day you're finally allowed to eat it.

Food quality, portions, and frequency still matter. So does the overall pattern of what we eat.

And enjoyment matters, too, especially when we're building habits we hope to maintain for years.

I think there's something really positive about finding a way to nourish ourselves that we can actually look forward to.

Because that's a long time to spend eating in a way we don't enjoy.

If you constantly feel like you need a cheat meal to escape from your diet, perhaps some of those rules deserve a closer look.

Because nourishing your body should be something you can enjoy doing for yourself.

What do you think about cheat meals? Hit reply and let me know.

To enjoying the everyday meals,

Grazelle 🌱