What I noticed after a "cheat meal"

JasonsJourney84 · March 2020

My daughter wanted Burger King today, so away we went.

I eat fairly clean. Not much red meat. Mostly chicken, fish, and ground turkey. Vegetables and fruits and only water. I cut out pop completely.

I know you can make healthy choices at FF places but I went all in. I ate a chicken bacon and cheese sandwich with onion rings and a large coke.

1. I felt uncomfortably full after eating. I eat decent sized meals, just not ones so high in sodium and calories like this one.

2. I normally use the restroom several times a day, but have only had the urge to go once since lunch. It's now 12 a.m. (number 1 btw) I've had plenty of water since that meal.

3. Since changing my eating habits I rarely get tired mid-day, and I'm asleep most nights by 10. I was so tired this afternoon, but now I'm wide awake.

4. I've had no desire to eat since lunch.

5. I can honestly say I can't wait to get back to a normal day of eating tomorrow.

I won't say it wasn't worth it. You shouldn't sacrifice time or occasions with loved ones over 1 meal, or 1 dessert. I just wanted to share some of what I experienced afterwards. I'm fairly new to eating healthy, but I never realized how much one fast food meal can change your whole day. I'll definitely tale what I've learned and use that in the future to maybe make some different choices.

Theoldguy1 · March 2020

Nice you found out a bit about your body.

I'm guessing you won't go "all in" next time you go, will probably look at the healthier choices based on your experiences. Don't have to sacrifice an occasion with a loved one and won't feel like crap for a day afterward.

mandabeth34 · March 2020

“Cheat meal” can have different meanings as time goes on. You don’t have to go all-in. Try having one indulgent item instead of 3: choose which one will give you the most satisfaction: the chicken bacon sandwich, the onion rings, or the coke? I’d choose the onion rings all day long.

My kids love McDs and we usually have it once a week. No way I could sustain having just a salad and a bottle of water long term. So I have one indulgent item in addition to my salad and water, be it fries or a hamburger or an ice cream cone. It’s still considered a “cheat meal” (although I don’t use that phrase myself), but it’s a sustainable way to maintain a healthy diet while raising my skinny, energetic, constantly moving kiddos.

sammidelvecchio · March 2020

I'm the same way, but its mostly the high sodium that gets to me. I LOVE take out chinese, but feel so yucky after I eat it. Worth it a few times a year, but that's it.

leggup · March 2020

FYI no such thing as Clean or Dirty or Not Clean for food.

It sounds like the meal was disproportionately high in fat, simple carbohydrates, and sodium compared to your new way of eating. A change in fat levels plus simple carbs (less fiber) will mess up your toilet habits.

PAV8888 · March 2020

JasonsJourney84 wrote: »

1. I felt uncomfortably full after eating. I eat decent sized meals, just not ones so high in sodium and calories like this one.
2. I normally use the restroom several times a day, but have only had the urge to go once since lunch. It's now 12 a.m. (number 1 btw) I've had plenty of water since that meal.
3. Since changing my eating habits I rarely get tired mid-day, and I'm asleep most nights by 10. I was so tired this afternoon, but now I'm wide awake.
4. I've had no desire to eat since lunch.
5. I can honestly say I can't wait to get back to a normal day of eating tomorrow.
I won't say it wasn't worth it. You shouldn't sacrifice time or occasions with loved ones over 1 meal, or 1 dessert.

1 - you had a highly caloric meal. it is GOOD that you feel full / too full if it was overly caloric for your needs at the time. Your body is functioning CORRECTLY!

4 = this is excellent. this is the CORRECT response of what should be happening when you've had a larger than normal meal. there is NOTHING WRONG with this. why would your body prompt for more calories when you've already over-fed it?

1 and 4 indicate that you're getting good physiological cues and feed-back.

3 -- a large meal = digestive effort = slow down of other functions = tired = had a semi nap = now don't feel tired + have extra energy available, therefore I am wide awake trying to expend the energy. Again it seems to be a normal sequence of events by a well functioning body!

2 -- the fiber content of your meal was probably different than what you're normally used to? Also the items you ate may require a different amount of digestive effort as compared to your regular items. In any case... it is a different meal and it upset your regular body routine. Ooops.

You had a potentially for your regular intake very large (calorie wise) meal. Full sandwich, full onion rings and you don't even mention condiments, and large coke.

Looking at USA burger king nutritional: Your sandwich was 800 Cal, rings from 320 to 500 depending on size and without any sauce, coke 390 to 510 depending on 29 oz or 38 oz. So you might be talking a single 1800 Cal meal.

I might have gone for the following during a BK outing, assigning to myself your stated taste preferences (I would get a whopper junior with mustard and no mayo, for probably close to 250 Cal to TBH instead of the chicken options):

6 piece spicy chicken nuggets for 320Cal (or regular nuggets for 260, or chicken fries for 290, or 2 tenders no sauce for 270, using ketchup or yellow mustard for sauce), small rings or small fries for 320, soft serve cone for 190, and diet coke or decaf/normal coffee black for a drink.

Total about 850 Cal with some ketchup/mustard or less than half of your total.

Still keeping company with the same person. Still not hungry after the experience. Including a dessert. But probably not as stuffed as you were!

What I noticed after a "cheat meal"

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