Has anyone lost weight with 'cheat days'?

I'm following a specific plan at the moment but in the past have alternated calories a little, allowing more at weekends and had success losing weight. My weigh in day was always Friday morning and Mon - Friday I would stick to around 1300 calories, and then over the weekend I would allow around 1700 - 1800 calories.

I just made sure that I hit a good amount of protein, plus fruit and veggies and then would allow maybe 400-500 calories of "junk" whether that be higher calorie foods that I avoid to stay within my goals during the week (such as chips or pizza) or it would sometimes be a bar of chocolate and a glass of wine.

Of course it will have an impact on your weight loss, but just allowing a few hundred calories more won't be a massive impact, and I think for some people, it can be benefitial to have this treat to look forward to and can help you stay on plan better during the week.

I would also switch about it needed. For instance if I was going out with friends for a meal during the week I would have the extra calories on that day instead of the weekend.

Definitely not gonna hurt, since you eat seems way too low most days. A cheat day would probably be beneficial.
I'd actually recommend increasing your calories intake because 1200 is too little for most people (but hey, you might be good for that, I don't know your specs). Even then you could fit a cheat day no problem.
As long as you stay close to your deficit the extra calories one day shouldn't hurt you.

I eat about 1400-1500 Mon - Fri cheat with booze and a bit extra food on Saturday then usually with naughtier food again on Sunday (maybe 2000 day sat and sun on average). I have under 20 pounds to lose but lose on average 1 pound a week.

I have my settings set to sedentary and half a pound loss a week but I think I'm possibly more in the lightly active zone as that would explain how I'm losing faster when I "cheat" every weekend.

I find that it's not exactly cheating but not worrying as much about my macros on a weekend if I'm invited out keeps me sane (I try to still be healthy but I don't want to stop having meals and a few drinks with friends on a weekend) This works for me and fits in with my lifestyle and I still manage to lose so I give the odd cheating the thumbs up. However if I was having a boring weekend in I'd probably try to keep in 1400 cal range, my cheats are more flexible than set in stone, I just try to have more good days than bad if that makes sense

I typically keep my daily calories around 1000 to 1100 a day. About once a week I overload on healthy treats and snacks and go up to about 1400 (still lower than my weight loss daily calorie requirement I know). I have found that as long as I carry a deficit and I am consuming mainly lean protien and veggies that one or even two high calorie high carb "Treat" days or nights don't hinder my weight loss at all. I have around 10 lb's to go. Good luck Just keep it all within your calorie range for the day or the week.

It depends on how you define "cheat day". How many calories are you gonna eat?

I know some guys will eat just a "cheat meal"- and go eat 6000 calories at a chinese buffet, then wonder why they're not losing fast enough or at all.

I couldn't have a reasonable "all day cheat day" but I used to have one "cheat meal" a week. That day's calorie total ended up being just a little bit over maintenance,

For you, one day a week at or just a bit above maintenance would probably be beneficial in you reaching your long term goal.

My dad liked having a cheat day. He said even God took a day off on Sunday. He felt like if he was good all week, then he could "relax the rules" on one day. He said when it got to his cheat day, the stuff he wanted he could get by with having a "reasonable amount" - and ended up having less of it than he might have if he had had it all week long.

I know a lot of people swear by them, but I'm not sure it's for me. I would tend to go "wild" with it and would go way overboard.

If you can loosen the reigns a little without going overboard, then great - give it a try and see if it works for you. I would approach it cautiously though.

On the weekends I tend to go a little crazy... sometimes going up to like 4,000 cals or so... But I've lost weight every week.

Yes, agree with the two above me. A cheat "meal" is better than a cheat day.

Personally if I try to do a cheat day I'll just end up binging all day long and the healthy stuff turns into the bad stuff quickly! However, either Friday or Saturday night my husband and I have dinner out. Somewhere extravagant and pretentious haha. I'll typically stick to healthier choices but get whatever I want from an appetizer to dessert.

It's not a 'cheat' if it fits your macros. Eat what you want but in small quantities or work your butt off at the gym to 'earn' it.

QFT. This ^

Honestly, I don't worry about going over my day by 200-300 calories once or twice a week because there's a built-in calorie deficit AND I usually am "planning" for it...I already know I want to eat out, get Ben and Jerry's, whatever...so I take it easier on the meal or two before it that day and hit the gym harder to try and "earn" it. So far, I've kept losing a modest amount (1-2 pounds) all but one week since October. (The one week was the week of Christmas day if you're wondering )

I have a cheat meal. I do my weigh-ins Friday mornings. So Friday evening is my cheat meal. My wife and typically go out Friday night for dinner, so that is my one meal to throw caution to the wind and make poorer choices. Now, that doesn't mean that I'll go absolutely nuts and go to a buffet and pack down a few thousand calories while stuffing myself until I can't walk.

What this means is that if I want to get fries and a greasy burger, I'll do it, because that's my favorite food. Will I still log the calories? Yes because I feel it's important to be honest with yourself. Plus, you get to see just how expensive those foods really are. I'll typically skip the bread, and get a side salad with some low-cal or healthier dressing such as a vinaigrette.

I've lost all my weight, while still having a cheat meal each week. But, I don't view it as cheating really. I plan that meal out as I do most others, and I still log the calories. It's typically the only day that I go over my calorie goals, even after exercise. I find that this one meal is enough to satisfy my cravings for the "bad" food for the majority of a week. I think it's important to indulge every once in awhile. If you don't, you get damn tired of eating the healthier stuff. Yes, some people can get away without doing it, but it worked for me.

Let's be frank about this. Cheat days keep you thinking like a fat person. It's the same "I love food so much and it's so important to me that I need to have as much of it as possible to make me feel good." Just my two cents. As a couple people have said, just work the foods enjoy in to your regular diet. Also, try to address why you feel like you need a whole day to pig out.

Actually, eating at or above maintenance on occasion has helped me break past some plateaus. I'm not sure if there is any hard science to back it up, but if I haven't lost weight in weeks, if I let myself go WAY over one day I always, without fail, lose a pretty large number at that week's weigh in. I've heard people hypothesize that extended calorie cutting lowers leptin levels, and that having a day where you allow your body to eat whatever it craves can 'reset this'. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but it totally works for me. Now, I only do this every 2-3 weeks. Allowing myself to eat massively over my maintenance level on a weekly basis would probably not work out so well.

EDIT: Don't be freaked out if you see a gain right after this. Normally I gain for 1-3 days and then have a huge 'whoosh' and end up way lower than I was before the cheat day.

What i do, rather than have a 'cheat' day, is have what I call a maintenance day once a week (sometimes twice). This is where I would eat my maintenance calories (2500) rather than 1500. This allows me to go out for a meal and not worry about what I eat, or maybe have a large bag of sweets or something like that, plus you don't have the guilt of thinking your cheating.

I don't know. I have cheat days and I eat whatever is in my calorie goal...ppl reccommend eating healthy and with more nutrition so that you are benefiting your body. However, I have seen a lot of body builders after a while have a cheat day where they eat more so that their metabolism kicks in to gear to burn all that off.

Cheat days are not bad as long as you have it in moderation! Don't get upset about cheating...

I save up cals during the week so that I can eat extra on the weekend.