Do cheat days help you lose weight?

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I don't get the concept of cheat days. I mean, why deprive yourself of stuff you love. Just eat less of it and adjust. I mean if I want Mad Mex then I know I can't eat a lot during the day so I meet my calories and work out later.

Cheat days are for people who diet. People who view this as a lifestyle change learn to live with all of the temptations.

"just eat less of it and adjust"

Yeah, you and I are nothing alike. Eating not-enough of the things I love is torture. Eating half of an In-n-Out double double is next to impossible, and would be much more likely to lead me to an unplanned binge than just eating the whole damned thing during a planned cheat meal.

A small serving of mac and cheese? Why even bother? My body/mind will scream at me for days afterward unless I eat enough to be satisfied. I tried to keep a box of Samoas in the freezer and only have 2 per day until the box was gone. I did it, but it was an exercise in self-inflicted torture. I'll never do that again. It has to be half the box or nothing at all.

Consuming only small quantities of things that I love but that are not particularly healthy is completely unsatisfying. It makes the cravings *much* worse.

So, for one meal a week, I pick either the thing I've been craving most, or a celebratory social event, and make that my cheat meal. I track wheat I eat, but eat what I like. It's been working, and yes, I understand that this is the rest of my life. Lean proteins, leafy greens, and whole grains 20 meals per week. Pepperoni pizza and beer 1 meal per week. This is maintenance. God, that's depressing when I lay it out there... (Dear self - Suck it up.)