Cheat day?

im new to al this but i did give myself time out once this first month for one meal. it was nice not to have to count cals....if you are worried about it, can you get in more exercise those days?

A cheat meal is much better than a cheat day

If you are eating to lose weight then a "cheat" day will become very important for your progress. However, we need to eliminate a few misconceptions of what a cheat day really is. There is some theoretic science behind a cheat day (I prefer to refer to it as a high carb day, which I'll explain later), but with that said I've not yet found any empirical studies to give hard evidence to support a "cheat" day. Personally, I've had great success overcoming plateaus and a host of others have also found success with this strategy.
Many people think that you can eat all you want on your "cheat" day and that your metabolism will burn it all up and it won't effect your weight loss, this is a misconception. To loss weight you need a deficit and eating to much on your cheat day will ruin that. Misconception number two is that you can eat anything you want on a cheat day, this is also incorrect if you intend to maximize the benefits of a cheat day and maximize fat loss. One thing I want to point out is that we should be looking for fat loss not weight loss, up until now I've said weight loss because of the common use of the term but this is a very important distinction. Many studies and experts have said that you should only try to lose 1 to 2 pounds of fat a week, anymore and you'll shock your body into starvation mode and begin conserving fat and burning protein. This isn't a good thing.
Returning to a cheat day, the body (over time) begins to adapt and does so very efficiently. It adapts to our diet, our exercise levels and it learns to do the same routine with less energy. Plus, as we lose fat our bodies need less fuel to support itself so your daily caloric need will actually decrease. These two things lead to plateaus, which many if not all will experience. You'll stop losing fat or slow to a crawl and become very frustrated. If it hasn't happened, give it time. There is a chemical response in the body that causes this. Fat cells create a hormone called leptin, it regulates appetite and metabolism. When you lose fat cells less leptin is sent to your brain and your metabolism slows, many also become accustom to now eating less than we once did.
Cheat days help to raise leptin levels so that your metabolism stays high and you continue to burn fat at a higher rate that you were once at. The reason I refer to my cheat day as a high carb day is because leptin is closely associated with insulin, they closely parallel each other. So on my cheat day I eat more carbs but I still try to eat clean foods. I will enjoy foods on my high carb day that I usually wouldn't for the psychological benefits but I committed to a life style change not a short term fad diet. Eating large amounts of carbs about 60% of your total daily caloric intake will raise your insulin levels which in turn signals to your body to boost its leptin levels and raise your metabolism. If done right your body will feel warmer that day.
The second component to a high carb day is not to wreck the progress you have made so far by overindulging. My body response best to a 1 1/2 lbs. of fat per week reduction, more than that and I hit starvation mode and my metabolism slows. So I cut 1000 calories from my maintenance level which is 2900 calories a day putting me at 1900 per day. If I didn't have a high carb day this would equal a 7000 calorie deficit per week which is equal to two pounds. Since I aim for 1 1/2 pounds I up my daily calories on my high carb day by 1750, which means I eat 3650 calories that day and break it down to be 20% proteins, 20% fats and 60% carbs. Using this technique I consistently lose 1-2 lbs. of fat a week. There are several other techniques I use because I'm a very active individual but for the average person looking to get a better beach body, then a "cheat" day will help.
I would like to make one more point that my body type is a mesomorph and it took me 4 weeks to accurately determine my basal metabolism and gather proper data to successfully use this technique and I personally believe it works so well for me because of the scientific approach I took and my particular body type. Having said that, your bodies and body types are different than mine and a similar approach should be followed to gain the best results. Endomorphs may need a lower carb ratio to be successful.