Does Cheating on Your Diet Actually Help?

Additional Info

• Segment Number: 2
• Audio File: healthy_talk/1518ht4b.mp3
• Featured Speaker: Chazz Weaver, MA
• Book Title: The O.C. Diet Revolution
• Guest Website: Chazz Live
• Guest Bio: Dieting Counselor and Fitness Coach, Chazz Weaver, M.A., is the Founder of ChazzLive.com, a streaming health and fitness video network. Chazz holds both a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree from UCLA and Syracuse Universities and is a PhD Candidate in Psychology, pursuing his interest in the mental health aspects of weight loss. With over 30 years of experience in fitness training and weight loss coaching, Chazz Weaver has been interviewed by ABC News, Fox News, the Los Angeles Times, CBS News Radio, GoodMorningAmerica.com and many others.
• Transcription: RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: April 30, 2015
  Host: Michael Smith, MD
  
  Anti-aging and disease prevention radio is right here on Radio MD. Here's the author, blogger, lecturer, and a national medical media personality, Dr. Michael Smith MD with healthy talk.
  
  DR MIKE: So this cheating on your diet helps you? We have always been talking, "Oh no! Don't cheat, that's why diets fail," and all that kind of stuff. Well, my guest Chazz Weaver, actually, he is going to help us to understand why cheating might actually be beneficial on the diet. He is a dieting counselor and fitness coach and I am going to mention something right there. Lots of people out there call themselves a dieting counselor, fitness coach or life coach or what have you, but Chazz actually has the degrees to back it up; he has a Master's degree from UCLA and Syracuse universities and he is a PHD candidate in psychology, pursuing his interests in the mental health aspects of weight loss. So, he has the schooling and education to back up the title of fitness coach and dieting counselor.
  Chazz, welcome to healthy talk.
  
  CHAZZ: Well, thank you. I am glad to be here Dr. Mike. How are you doing?
  
  DR MIKE: I am doing really good and you sound really excited. I love that in a guest. So, let's get right to this. First of all, we have been told and you know this is true, that cheating on your diet is bad. Is that necessarily true?
  
  CHAZZ: I can tell you that the simple answer is no. I loved what you said about me coming on air and I think I should add to that for your audience so they understand. Even though we are on the radio, I have been doing this for almost forty years. I am sixty years old and for the audience and for the viewers, if they were to go to chazzlive.com, they would see a photo of me. So, not only from the education or the academic background, I have been doing this for a lifetime.
  
  DR MIKE: It is also important Chazz, there is a long list behind us, there are a lot of so-called experts out there now and it's easy to develop a website and call yourself whatever you want. So, I think I always like to bring people along that have the education, the experience, which you definitely do. So, let's get back to this cheating thing, I mean, you said it might be okay. So in what context, is it okay to cheat on my diet?
  
  CHAZZ: Well, what happens when I go through this on my own? As we know, the human body is incredibly efficient. So, as we go on, let's say, a calorie restrictive diet to lose weight or body fat, the body is going to get used to everything you do. Not only from the physical standpoint but all of a sudden, you are going to have these natural cravings that we have. Think about it! Our bodies were not made for this environment. We changed our environment as a human species in the blink of an eye. But all those mechanisms for survival that worked for us thousands of years ago are still with us today but working against us.
  
  So, as we work on say losing body fats, restricting our calories, also with a good exercise or activity program. And when we go on a cheat meal--when I say cheat meal, I am talking about increasing your calories. You don't necessarily have to eat junk food. And what I talk about with people is to increase your calories at that point, you are going to have some satisfaction in the body relieved, and if you are doing it correctly, you can have some incredible benefits of increasing your metabolism for a certain period of time as well.
  
  DR MIKE: Yes, but, you know, when most people--let's be honest. When they think of cheating, they are thinking of going back to the pizza with extra cheese and extra sausage, and you know 3 or 4 heavy beers or that kind of stuff. So, let's go back to that. Let's make sure my listeners understand how you are defining cheating and what you mean by that cheating meal.
  
  CHAZZ: Correct. When I say "cheat meal", I am not talking about being bingeing, number one. And we could use a cheat meal--I have heard it called a reward meal; I have heard it called the free meal. Just growing up in the old days we came up with cheat meal and it just stuck with me but it really is something to reward yourself, if you will, let's say, throughout the week. And that's what I am talking about. I am not talking about going crazy. You have mentioned pizza. All right, let's say a pizza, for example. If that's what you want to have, then have one or two slices. Don't have the entire pie. Don't go crazy. Cheat meal is not an excuse to go nuts and do everything you want.
  
  DR MIKE: So, why do we? I think you kind of hint on this a little bit in your opening remark, Chazz, but why do we cheat on our diets? Is it because the diets are just too restrictive? Does it just go back to the things we crave – flavors, textures, etc.? What do you think are the big reasons people cheat?
  
  CHAZZ: Well, again, if we look at the human evolutionary process, that is an evolutionary mechanism for survival. We crave fat and the reason is thousands of years ago, it was beneficial if fat was available to eat it because we got a lot of bang for our buck for survival. You didn't have to eat a large volume of fat to get the calories we needed for survival, as opposed to, let's say, vegetables at that time. You would have needed a tremendous amount.
  
  So, fat we crave along with sugar because while they are available, we can eat them as much as we want. But remember, we are talking about thousands of years ago for their survival. Now fast forward to today. As I said, we changed our environment but the same biological instincts are still within the human body. So, we still crave fats.
  
  However, thousands of years ago, we would have to get up and go out and hunt, forage or scavenge for food to find your take. Today, you just open up your refrigerator and pull out anything you want. So, unless we understand how to truly live in this environment that we created, and when I say live, I'm not just talking about just existing. I'm actually talking about living. We have to understand how the human body works when we are talking about food and eating. So, these are reasons we crave it.
  
  DR MIKE: So, again, I've talked about this before, Chazz, on my show that. I think if there are certain flavors that you enjoy, certain textures that you enjoy, you can't eliminate those. That's setting yourself up for a failure. I mean, if there are certain textures that you really enjoy, you need to figure out how to fit that in to your diet plan in a controlled way, and then you might stick with your diet more, right?
  
  CHAZZ: Correct. You are absolutely right, Dr. Mike, on that. You know, that's why I tell people a cheat meal. So, if, in the beginning stages, you are moving towards the healthy stage, somebody who needs to lose quite a bit of body fat, if you don't want to take them from just a cold cut, turn everything off because you are setting yourself up for failure.
  
  But, let's say, throughout the week, when you are watching what you are eating, you've got a good activity program or exercise program going on, let's say, towards the end of the week you are going to reward yourself with one cheat meal. And, again, you don't have to remain on this kind of diet for the rest of your life, it's until to get that healthy state.
  
  So, with that cheat meal you look at it and "Okay. I am going to work to get to that Saturday night." Saturday night you are going to go out, have a good time, and for that one meal, you are not going to worry about it. So you get those textures, you are going to get those textures, you're going to get those flavors that you enjoy for the satisfaction. So, you are working up to it rather than just opening that refrigerator anytime you want.
  
  DR MIKE: Right. And as people experiences more success in their diet, maybe they could add another meal or two, a cheat meal or two, as long as the cheat meal is not the whole pizza. I mean maybe there is a certain amount of reward that you can give as you have some success. That would be okay, right?
  
  CHAZZ: Oh exactly. And this is where I really utilize my age, its fitness level at this point when I talk to people. For me today where I'm at, and I am an active individual because I just love doing that.
  
  DR MIKE: I will tell you what, Chazz, let's do this. Hold that thought because I want to hear more about your personal experience and then we will get in to the kind of do's and don'ts of that cheat meal. So, just hold on to that thought.
  
  This is healthy talk on Radio MD. I am Dr. Mike. Stick around.
• Length (mins): 10
• Waiver Received: No
• Host: Mike Smith, MD