If you’ve ever said, “I’ll be good during the week so I can cheat on the weekend,” this is for you! This is a common “trap” I see that derails the progress of so many women when it comes to their health and fitness journey. I want to chat through the cheat day mentality and how it might be the very thing holding you back not just physically, but mentally as well.

The problem with cheat days

A cheat day is a day where you let all your goals go – this typically means eating things you typically wouldn’t, drinking more than you would during the week, or totally neglecting any movement. You justify it by saying things like “I earned this.”, “I’m starting over Monday.”, or “I was good all week so I can be bad now.”

This language and mindset can be SO damaging. Thinking those kinds of things promotes an all-or-nothing approach to your health. We know this doesn’t work because it disconnects us from our bodies. Our bodies weren’t made for perfection but instead we need consistency. When you engage in cheat days it builds a pattern of inconsistency which affects your results. This leads to guilt and shame around food and that’s not something that is helpful during your journey.

Where does this mentality come from?

This mentality comes from diet culture. Which is unfortunate because it’s everywhere… When we restrict it leads to binge cycles (a whole Satruday of eating and drinking whatever, just because it’s Saturday). I’m not saying you can or should never enjoy treats and desserts but leaving it for one day leads to overeating those things which in turn makes you feel icky. When we look at food that can only be eaten on certain days we fall into thinking of foods as “good” or “bad”. The truth is, no food should be categorized as such.

If you allow yourself to eat the same things in moderation your mindset stays on the right path. If you have a “cheat day” mindset it often leads to burnout, frustration, and lack of long-term success. This happened to one of my clients. I had a client who would be ‘perfect’ Monday to Firday, but by Sunday night felt totally out of control and defeated. The cycle repeated week after week and kept her stuck. I don’t want this for you.

What should you do instead?

Let’s solve the cheat day problem. Start with dropping the phrase cheat day. Call it what it is. It’s just a meal or choice. No shame. Focus on consistency, not perfection. You don’t need to be 100% perfect. You need to be 80% consistent. 

If there are foods you enjoy that don’t necessarily fit into your health journey at the same rate as before, that’s ok! Just enjoy those same foods regularly in moderation. Don’t wait for a ‘cheat day’ to enjoy a glass of wine or a brownie after dinner. This might feel scary at first because you’ve told yourself you can’t have these things but the truth is that everything in moderation is ok. And yes, you can still reach your goals even when enjoying those things in moderation.

Here’s what I teach my clients

Your language shapes your mindset. If you call your weekends a ‘cheat day’ then you’ll always be stuc in that cycle. Instead, lets replace that with “planned flexibility” or “no-guilt choices”. This language fosters a much better mindset for your long-term success. 

The way we speak to ourselves matters. If we call it cheating, we feel like we are doing something wrong and that is not health.

It’s not your fault you learned this but it is your choice and responsibility to shift it. Ask yourself – “am I eating this because I think I earned it, or because I truly want it and it aligns with how I want to feel?”

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