Does one cheat day hurt?

It is not considered failing if you do not stick to your diet for one day. Actually in the past when I have found that my weight have hit a plateau, I have to eat foods that I normally wouldn't eat to give my body a little something to work on. I thing if you eat right and work out for five days this week, your body will burn that 3 lbs and you'll get a little boost in your metabolism. I've done it before and just became very strict for a least two weeks and became really fit pretty quickly.

Nothing I can say to validate this besides the fact that I am still the same weight I was in high school and this is 22 years later and 3 children later.

i allow myself a cheat day...but for only 1 meal. I try not to go over board. You are right that if you cheat too much...it is like you crave more, and you just get lost in the cycle. For instance...i will cheat with take out pizza...but i get mushrooms on it...and put my own turkey pepperoni on it. I splurge on the crust, and dont' go thin, and have 2 large squares...for dessert with that cheat i allow myself a ice cream sandwhich. I do it on the day after i have weighed-in...that way i can recover the rest of the week for next weigh-in.

They say that everyone has different taste buds...therefore you have different cravings. Mine are sweets, bread, and pizza. When i eat those kinds of foods..i have a hard time stopping at a small portion. i have learned to find certain sweets and pizza that i can control myself with.

Dr. Oz said on t.v. one time that everyone's taste buds will take in different flavors of the same sweet. For some it might be just ok..but for another, they might just explode in delight! Makes total sense to me.

How many calories are you eating?? I noticed that a lot of people on here that hit a plateau have increased thier calories a little. Sometimes not eating enough will put your body in starvation mode...and you can start storing fat because of it. Others have said that they were not totally tracking everything to a T. I am a bad member of the BLT's. Bites, licks, and tastes. I think that if i take a little this or that... i dont' need to count it. Well...it all counts. By the time i cook a meal...i could have had one before i eat it...just taste testing it! lol! How about kids...I use to eat off thier plates...it is just one bite! How many time a day though... for 3 meals? Those were a lot of my bad habits before i joined MFP...and w.w.!!! Just a thought.

When I was realy strict with my diet-I used to eat really well during the week and pretty much let myself have whatever I wanted on the weekend-within reason and I seemed to lose weight pretty well-

My last sushi visit cost me 4 days of progress, but not, they don't hurt permanently. And most people don't have $80 worth of sushi.

I used to do this every 2 months or so. I'm a sushi fiend!

See how it works out. If you break throug the plataeu, then you discovered a new weight loss tool for your body & could even schedule one in every so often. But, if you find it only hinders your progress (emotionally & physically) then I would take a drive, bubble bath, chat group or chew gum when the urge/thought is there. Take care!

My last sushi visit cost me 4 days of progress, but not, they don't hurt permanently. And most people don't have $80 worth of sushi.

I used to do this every 2 months or so. I'm a sushi fiend!

$80???

You need to find less expensive sushi. There's a place near my house that's $25 for all you can eat.

My record is 56 pieces - I usually go about every two months as well - or the night before a race.

Honestly, I'm probably eating around 800-900 calories, being that with my schedule with school, I'm always running around and on the go, and hence the splurge lol. I just fear that I won't be able to lose the weight in time before I go back home from school. Right now I am 140 (143 after the binge) and trying to get to 128 by May 11th.

Then you're probably way under-eating, and doing more harm than good (losing lean body mass, negatively affecting your metabolism, etc.), and that's also probably why you were so hungry. Why not eat at a healthier and more sustainable level, and achieve your goals in a more realistic manner? When you have so little weight to lose, half a pound a week at most is a reasonable expectation.

Honestly, I'm probably eating around 800-900 calories, being that with my schedule with school, I'm always running around and on the go, and hence the splurge lol. I just fear that I won't be able to lose the weight in time before I go back home from school. Right now I am 140 (143 after the binge) and trying to get to 128 by May 11th.

Then you're probably way under-eating, and doing more harm than good (losing lean body mass, negatively affecting your metabolism, etc.), and that's also probably why you were so hungry. Why not eat at a healthier and more sustainable level, and achieve your goals in a more realistic manner? When you have so little weight to lose, half a pound a week at most is a reasonable expectation.

I've been eating a lot of apples, grapes, carrots, and other fruits and salad as meals, along with chicken for the protein. I wonder if I should boost up the protein intake?

Those are definitely all great foods. Upping protein may not be a bad idea (can't see your diary but will assume that you're using default MFP settings). Why not keep all those nice fruits and veg, and add on some extra lean protein (fish, pork, eggs) and healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, nuts etc) on top of it. You can up your cals that way and fuel your body properly so you can workout more effectively and retain muscle a bit better.