Do you do free days or "cheat" days?

Nope. For various reasons (usually doe to lack of sleep and / or humidity as both affect me badly) ill occasionally go over, but it's not by design. If there's something I particularly want then I'll plan around it. As I need this to be my way of life now and forever I'm trying to learn to manage all I take rather than have pre planned good and bad days, if that makes sense.

I think of my calories as a budget. Although I may go over it at times, overall I need to keep it in check.

I don't think in terms of "cheats," because to me, that's a negative term. I think in terms of "treats," and I typically plan for them. For me, thinking of it as a treat means I can fully enjoy it without guilt -- counterintuitively, that tends to make me be satisfied with less.

I wouldn't call myself a foodie, but definitely enjoy food. I've found that I am simply not satisfied without one hearty meal a day, so I typically eat light breakfast/lunch and snack little so I can eat a full plate at dinner and still stay in my budget. You'll have to experiment with what strategies work for you that still leave you enjoying life. It has to be sustainable, or it won't stick.

I, like ksolksol above, think of my calories as a budget. I have a daily budget and a weekly budget. I try to keep within my daily budget, but sometimes go over. Last week was my birthday and between friends taking me out to eat and for celebratory drinks, I was way over two Saturdays in a row. I know that technically you can't make up for it, but I made up for it by doing a bit more in my workouts and planning a bit more "tight-like" in the days before and after.
I tend to do better in keeping to my budget if I do a solid breakfast. (I fought that for years, convinced that I was not a breakfast person.) 2 Eggs over a piece of toast with 3 slices of Turkey bacon. On days when I wake up famished, I change the budget to allow half an avocado or a slice of cheese on my breakfast toast. Light lunch and light dinner, with a strong portion of my daily budget left for my nocturnal gnoshing. I work strange hours and the wee hours of the morning are my trouble times, so plenty of budget left for snacks. I also allow daily "treats." I love a good dark chocolate...so I budget a square, piece or portion into every single day! Best of luck to you!

Yes when I really NEED one (typically when my body just keeps asking for more food). But that's why I've only lost 20 pounds in a year and I'm still not at my goal weight.

I think it depends on what you are used to eating. You will find that if you tend to eat less refined sugars and carbs, that these just don't taste as good as they used to. This is an easy way to manage on those temptation type meals. Usually they will seem too rich and as such you will not feel the need to consume large amounts. This also allows you to stay within or near your calorie range. I still enjoy birthday cake and red wine, but definitely not in the quantities as before. I find that now that I eat clean, everything tastes better, but bread is too bland and sugar is too sweet so I rarely eat them. Just my two cents:)

Yes - they're not regularly scheduled or anything but on occasions when it would be too much of a hassle to count calories (spending all day with other people, eating out, etc) or maybe if I go out on a date with my honey to a great restaurant and just want to indulge or something like that. I'd say it only comes up once or twice a month and has not slowed my progress. I don't use those days to binge or anything and I bet on occasion on some of those days I even stay under goal - I just don't want to be obsessive about it - it's a marathon not a sprint

Well I keep my calories and my macro's in check all week and then Sunday I have a day where I still count my calories but I dont count my macro's allows me to go out have fun and have pizza every so often

I really can't do cheat days. If I don't stay with it, I can still fall off the wagon pretty quick. It's hard trying to get a good relationship with food again but it'll happen. It's a marathon; not a sprint.

Since nothing is really forbidden as long as I stay within my calorie counts, I don't really worry about "cheat days." I can eat what I like as long as I don't go over my calories.

That said, while I intend to LOG everything I eat on Christmas and Thanksgiving, I may not wind up being within calorie counts there. Otherwise, I just don't worry about it, stick to my calorie counts and eat what makes me happy.

I have to feel spontaneous some times. I have been doing great and steadily been losing and am half way to my goal. I know the days when I need to give myself some indulgence. I can fight it but it will nag at me so why fight it, why not reward myself for the early morning workouts and counting the calories. Certainly don't binge but out to eat with dessert or a special dinner at home with hubby, YES! No guilt. All things in moderation, including moderation. Not guilt tripping myself allows me the mental stamina to get right back on the horse the next day with even more enthusiasm. I have a day like this a couple times a month and it actually seems to give my weight loss a little boost, a couple days later I will see a difference, boosts my metabolism or something.