PERRY BUCHANAN: Treat yourself with a diet trick

Boo! Here’s a scary Halloween statistic. Oct. 31 marks the beginning of the holiday season when the average American gains the most weight.

But you do not need to fear. The good news is there’s compelling evidence showing it may help you reach your weight loss goals by taking a regular break from your diet. You read that right. Research has shown that people who are more flexible in their eating patterns are more successful in the long term.

There are two strategies of taking a diet break that will allow you to literally have your cake and eat it too. The first strategy is a regularly scheduled one-week diet break. The concept of taking a planned break from your diet involves a period, typically one week every three months, where strict dieting is put on hold. You shouldn’t go overboard, but calories can be raised during this time

You could plan these diet breaks around times when it’s hard to comply with a diet. One of the best uses of the one-week planned diet break is that it can be used for holidays or vacations when you know you won’t be able to really stick to your diet.

In those sorts of uncontrolled situations people tend to feel out of control and go off their diet never to return. The diet break can simply be planned around those time periods and suddenly the control has been returned to the dieter. They can do their best damage control knowing that if anything the brief period is temporary and won’t do much damage, returning to their diet when it’s over. Basically, it puts the dieter in control of the diet, rather than the diet controlling the dieter.

The second strategy is a strategy to be followed on a regular basis through the rest of the year known as the 90 percent rule. This is a simple rule to follow. Eat any food you like in up to 10 percent of your meals. In the other 90 percent of your meals, eat the foods that will fuel your body to success.

One-hundred percent nutritional discipline is not needed to change your body. Stay strict 90 percent of the time and feel free to eat any food you like the extra 10 percent. For example, if you’re eating 5 meals per day (3 meals and 2 snacks) for 7 days, that’s 35 meals a week. Therefore, you’re allowed to “break the rules” on 3 to 4 meals each week. This ratio will give you the results you want and allow you to enjoy the food you love.

Some dieters will take a “cheat day” each week. Following the 10 percent meals rule will work better for most people because it can be spread out through the week. Binge eating can bring your progress to a rapid stop. This strategy is not binge eating. I also don’t like the term “cheat” because the diet breaks are planned and part of your overall success strategy.

Your 10 percent meals should include foods in reasonable quantities that might not normally fit into your daily nutritional plan. This could be a slice of pizza and a beer on a Saturday night, a gluten free cinnamon roll after dinner on Sunday and some chocolate on Monday morning.

You avoid going overboard because these meal breaks are scheduled into your plan, just like you schedule your workout days. This will keep you committed to your eating plan as well as have you looking forward to something different.

Of course, if you have one of your 10 percent meals outside of its regularly scheduled time, just cross it off your schedule and don’t double up on it. With a little expertise and ingenuity in the kitchen, you can turn many of your favorite meals into healthy options. This will allow you to enjoy many more tasty meals without breaking the rules of good nutrition.

The reality is that tasty food can be one of life’s great joys. But being overweight, sickly and unenergetic are not. Athletes have lighter days where they train less intensely and take occasional time off to recuperate physically and mentally. This same principle applies to their diet.

It’s a concept that tends to be counterintuitive. How does going off a diet make it work better? These strategies are proven to work. Take a break and let this diet trick be your treat. Happy Halloween!

Perry Buchanan, owner of PT Gym, is certified as an Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine, and Fitness Nutrition Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Email him at [email protected]. Follow @ptgym on Twitter.