what do you do...?

I don't diet, I just pay closer attention to what/how much I eat.

I can't diet. I've never been able to stick to one. Ergo, I can't "cheat" per se; I may have days that I don't watch as closely. In my opinion, a diet implies that you are depriving yourself of something. I don't do well when I try to cut something out, so I just cut back. It is working for me!

I try to stay within my 1200 cals a day. but if I want something (cheat) I figure out much extra workout I have to do to have it. That way it is not cheating I work it off.

Agree with these ^^^^^^ . Having this moderation mindset about "cheating" has really helped me get back on the wagon where I would have let "bad days" snowball in the past.

I have splurge days instead of cheat days and I normally have them just on special occasions. I normally don't do too bad on those days but last Sunday was crazy! I ate more than I have in one day the entire time that I have been on here. But I almost never go over and I got a workout in and got over it. I am not super strict with what I eat but I eat a few items a lot of the time (same breakfast nearly every day, a couple different lunches most of the time). I eat right before bed if I am hungry and have cals left. I weigh every day to keep me motivated but I only log if there is a nice change from the last time that I logged or if it's been about a week.

I go just a little bit under my goal on weekdays and a little over on weekends, and look at the weekly stats on the phone app to make sure I'm in check for the week.

I don't have specific cheat days or meals. I used to but it didn't work out well, I cheated TOO much. Now I try to focus on mindful eating. If I feel like having a "cheat", I make myself wait for an hour or so. If I still want it after that, I have it, as long as it fits in my calorie allotment. Weekends are much harder on me though, especially with the treat-filled holidays around this time of year. AKA: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. So wish me luck cuz I'm still working on it! :ohwell:

Oh and I weigh in every morning, but have just decreased my log updates to just once a week. Every day it fluctuates too much to record that in the log. It ends up looking like an EKG monitor haha

I don't do planned "cheat" meals or days. I'm not strict at all in terms of what I allow myself to eat; nothing is off limits. I am quite strict with fitting things into my calorie goal, and hitting my macronutrient goals. (I do struggle to hit my protein goal, but I try!) So, because I can have whatever I fancy day-to-day (chocolate, bread, bacon, cheese, wine whatever...) I think that helps me not to feel so restricted, and not to feel the need to have a cheat day. I don't really feel like I'm on a diet, other than the planning, measuring and logging aspect. If I know I'm going ot have a higher calorie meal, if I'm going out for dinner for example, then I try to eat lighter through the day, and get plenty of exercise in (I eat back all my exercise cals). I do sometimes go over my calorie goal, but not because I planned to, just because sometimes life gets in the way and I can't always plan ahead. If I go over, I sometimes go under a bit the next day, or a lot of the time, I just carry on as normal.

Since starting on MFP in January, I've had two planned diet breaks where I've eaten at maintenance (but still logging) for two weeks.

I weigh in every day, first thing in the morning. It's really helped me to become less emotionally attached to the number on the scale. I've learned a lot about what affects my weight, and I no longer panic if I gain a couple of pounds overnight. My weight goes up and down constantly. I'm pretty geeky about it, and log it on a spreadsheet so I can make graphs etc. It allows me to see the overall trend, rather than just the daily numbers. I only log it on MFP every now and then.

And yes, I eat at any time of the day. I sometimes eat breakfast, sometimes don't. If I have breakfast, it's usually less than 200 cals, then a smallish lunch, and then I save most of my calories for the evening when I have a large dinner and then snack right up until bedtime. I have some chocolate, or a biscuit (cookie), or some chocolate oat milk before I go to bed almost every night.

Honestly, I eat what I want. I tend to not log what I eat on the weekends due to the fact that I'm not on my computer as much during that time. I try to log everything during the week though. For me, I'm not as strict about what I eat. I tend to cook a lot at home, and when I do, it's on the healthy side. If I want something that's not that great, I eat just a small portion. I stay within my 1410 calorie range, and if I go over, I just work out a little harder. I also tend to eat back my exercise calories.

I don't stop eating at a certain time. I don't get home until 5:30-6pm on a normal day, and on days that my kid has gymnastics (3x a week), we don't get home until 6:30-7. We get home, cook dinner, eat and then have family time until kidlet goes to bed at 9pm. Then I hit the gym. I try for about 4x a week. If I'm hungry after my workout, I'll eat a snack. Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not.

I weigh myself daily and log it to see trends, but I only actually take an 'official' weight on Saturday mornings. I measure myself once a month too.

I know that what I do isn't for everyone, but it works for me.