Carl's Jr.
Would it be OK to eat this Carl's Jr. burger while on a diet? Dr. Paul Rivas, author of “The Cheater's Diet,” says controlled cheating has worked for many of his patients. |
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Cheating is always wrong, right?
Wrong – at least not in some weight-loss programs. Participants in a program called Body for Life get one cheat day a week to enjoy more calories.
There's even a book, “The Cheater's Diet: Lose Weight By Taking Weekends Off.” The author, Dr. Paul Rivas, a weight-control specialist from Baltimore, insists that letting loose on weekends actually perks metabolism.
So dieters, you may have your cake and eat it, too.
Cheating is based on the notion that most diets fail because cutting out certain foods, or entire categories of foods, is nearly impossible to sustain. So a plan in which, say, chocolate is allowed – even encouraged – is awfully tempting.
The concept has its detractors.
Saying someone trying to lose weight can cheat “is like telling an alcoholic in recovery to go ahead and drink one day a week,” said Julia Havey, a St. Louis author and counselor who has maintained a 130-pound weight loss over 11 years.
The issue is moderation, said Havey, motivational counselor for ediets.com and the author of books including “The Vice-Busting Diet.”
“If they have one cookie, they'll have 100. If people could control that, we wouldn't be in this situation with chronic obesity,” she said.
The cheaters would give her an argument.
In August 2005, Bill Eitner weighed more than 400 pounds.
“That's a size 66 portly suit,” he said.
He's now 259 pounds and credits eating moderately while watching his carbohydrate and calorie intake.
“I prefer the term 'treat' to 'cheat,' ” said Eitner of Menlo Park. “If it gets out of hand, the person shifts gears and deals with it. To me that's a healthy relationship with food; under control, but not overly controlled.”
That's also what the American Dietetic Association preaches. As spokeswoman Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian in Tampa, Fla., said, “There's a huge difference between an entire day of bingeing and a little bit of splurging each day.”
The American Dietetic Association recommends that 80 percent of food consumed be nutrient-rich and spread over the day. This leaves room for a little treat – perhaps one piece of high-quality chocolate.
“I had a client the other day who was very good during the week and ate whatever she wanted on weekends,” Sass said. “She hadn't lost any weight because she was surpassing the calories cut during the week on Saturdays.”
The man who literally wrote the book on cheating is Rivas. He's worked as an obesity physician for more than a decade and claims success with many patients on controlled cheating plans.
The key is “controlled,” he said.
“If they know after one piece of chocolate they'll have to eat a pound,” Rivas said, “they can't have it.”
Rivas said his plan works because it charges the metabolism.
“The biggest thing on any low-calorie diet is that the metabolism drops,” he said.
