Why Fat Friday Is Keeping You Fat – Food as a Reward

I’m all about positivity, I hate being around negative people, it brings you down. So I’m sorry if this sounds like a rant but, for the last year I have been working in an office and there’s something that has been brewing that I need to get off of my chest.

This might be a tradition in your office, workplace, school, university or between flat mates. Fat Friday. The non flexible-dieters fancy name for a cheat meal… or cheat day.

In the last two weeks I’ve been called the “healthy guy” and been mocked because I don’t join in on “fat Friday”. I really don’t mind being called healthy, I actually take it as a bit of a compliment that people recognise that I take pride in the food that I choose to eat. What annoys me is that my colleagues don’t understand that being healthy doesn’t mean that I have to avoid food groups or certain meals.

Every Thursday I hear the familiar, “oh, we will have a Fat Friday tomorrow, it’s been a good week and we deserve it”. Friday comes and everyone brings in their shop bought cakes and sweets and get stuck in, but that’s not for me.

My co-workers are  using food as a reward for following a “clean diet” and “eating healthy” Monday-Thursday. The thought of eating whatever, in whatever quantity they want sums up Fat Friday in a sentence.

I follow Flexible Dieting, and have been for some time. I’ve had pretty poor relationships with food in the past and eating this way really allows me to eat what I want in a controlled and accountable way. In the past, like so many people I’ve been a clean eater, paleo, low carb, high carb you could name a diet I’ve tried it. Except shake diets (let’s not go there).

I hear flexible dieters discuss the ratios of their diets – 80% nutrient dense foods and 20% “junk” foods, and hey if that works for them then great. Personally, I choose to eat the majority of my calories from single ingredient, nutritious foods, I am literally like 95%-5%.

I love cooking and get a real buzz from experimenting with different foods, flavours, recipes and combinations. Unfortunately, people at work don’t see this because during the week I tend to stick to bulk cooked foods, this allows me to stay accountable to my calorie intake, macros and ultimately, goals. This applies whether im cutting, or eating to build muscle.

From the outside looking in, I probably look like your typical “clean eater” until postworkout when it’s all about the goodies! People at work don’t get to see my bowls of Greek yoghurt topped with nut butters, dark chocolate and homemade brownies (check out this awesome no-bake nutella protein brownie recipe). They don’t see my ridiculous postworkout oats mixed with whey protein and topped with chocolate!

I can just imagine their faces if they did…I’ll leave that to your imaginations but it would be a picture.

Peer Pressure & Diet

I find it really interesting to sit and watch people get stuck in around their treats and then try and justify it to me because I’m not joining in, it’s almost as if they are looking for my seal of approval or want me to judge them, but I won’t and here’s why.

People can eat and do what they want, I really couldn’t care less. What other people choose to put into their bodies is up to them. I’m not here to judge. I know what my goals are, and I am going to eat in a way that meets these goals. Banana Milkshake? Nah, give me a protein shake instead. That’s MY choice.

I don’t get enough enjoyment out of eating large amounts of junk to allow it to derail my own targets. I can quite happily stop after a small piece of chocolate or two or three crisps, I feel no need to binge.

Here’s what I won’t do. I won’t reassure people that it’s ok to use food as a reward or a target. Just last week we were being pushed to work harder so that we could be bought a breakfast roll. This did nothing for me, but people around me were going nuts. I will not use food as an incentive, I aint no dog!

The week before that, we had a team meeting and as part of that 4 domino’s pizzas were bought in, I factored it in to my macros, and enjoyed two slices, for the rest of the day I ensured that my calories were made up of nutrient dense foods. Easy, did I feel guilty? No, did I get fat? No, did I taste good? Damn right!!

As you can imagine, because I was joining in, not one person made a comment or batted an eyelid, if I had rocked up with my pre-made meal I would have been ridiculed for being different.

What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd. Be the fly in the milk if it means that you are going to hit your targets. A little bit of mocking is not going to hurt you. It will make it all the sweeter when everyone sees what you have achieved. As the saying goes;

“First they will ask why you’re doing it, and then they will ask how you’re doing it”.

Why Fat Friday Is Keeping You Fat

As I mentioned earlier, I follow flexible dieting. That means I eat what I want, track my macros, and make sure I don’t end up over eating.

The problem with the traditional “fat friday” advocate is that they have no idea what they’re eating through the week. Someone might think they’re eating healthy, but if they’re not eating below maintenance, they’re not going to lose weight.

Let’s use an example. Assuming a “clean eater”, who doesn’t track their macros or calories, might, be eating below their maintenance. Let’s assume they are. They have no idea how much they’re consuming but they’re eating potato’s, vegetables, rice. Along with other “healthy foods” from the “be good to yourself” range of supermarkets.

They might not even enjoy these foods, but they feel that they need to eat them to be healthy and lose weight.

So lets say on average, at a guess, they’re eating 200 calories below their maintenance. Fat Friday comes around.

They have a slice of cake. A few biscuits. They order in lunch from the local fast food van parked outside the office. This is then capped off with a Friday night take-away. That calorie defecit that has been adhered to over Monday-Thursday, has just been blown out of the water in one day.

Oh but they ate “good” for 4 days, so they’re allowed to eat what they want on “fat friday”.

If you’re serious about losing weight, your first tool should be your common sense.

Do What Works For You

I’m not going to change the way that I eat for anyone. I certainly wont be pressured into eating something, or forced to work harder with the reward being food. How about you pay me some overtime instead?

Likewise, I don’t expect others to change the way they eat. A lot of people don’t care about losing weight, being healthy or how their physique looks. All power to them. That’s their decision.

My macros will still be tracked, and I will still include the foods that I enjoy to eat. Don’t let outside influences have a negative effect on you, your goals and that (potential) summer body, maybe not in the UK!

Be accountable for your food choices & diet. Do what works for you and don’t let anyone get in your way. Job done!