One cheat day per week

I have a cheat day or weekend once a month. Maybe this isn't the best but it I recover pretty fast although I do notice my body feels like total crap the entire weekend, I even wake up from stomach pains is it worth it? Maybe not

If you replace a cheat day once a week with a binge day once a week does it still sound like a good idea?

Answer, it's not.

I have heard several people say that there is no good or bad food, but looking beyond weight loss there are good and bad foods. We should be taking care of ourselves as a whole and the best goal is to be healthy. With that being said, I need to work on eating better myself. I do eat pizza and desserts. Almost everything that I crave, but for the most part I do this in moderation and plan ahead so I have a lighter lunch and still keep in my dietary goal. My down fall is we have a lot of get-togethers in my family for birthdays, holidays and special occasions and I have poor self control when my family gathers. It also does not help that my mom is a awesome cook, healthy usually, but I eat too much of it.

I try not to "cheat" beyond my calorie deficit unless it's a special occasion.

I always eat whatever I want. Just not too much of it.

Every week. It's just too easy on weekends. If you do alright though, you can still lose weight. For me, it stagnates a little, but I have yet to actually gain weight so a cheat day a week can't be that bad...

Careful with those cheat days. A full day of going hog wild can completely wipe out a whole week's deficit. Going over every once in awhile for a special occasion or whatever is no big deal. Making a frequent habit of it might be an issue, depending on how crazy you get with it.

If I can fit fast food and chocolate in my calorie goal (and I can), then I don't need a cheat day.

I always have a day when I don't use my fitness pal, and that usually involves a higher calorie meal that I wouldn't eat on a normal day. I just think it gives my mind a break and gives me motivation for the next week to stay on track.

"Cheating" implies things about food that I don't think are conducive to healthy eating, so no, I don't do "cheat days," but I do choose to eat at maintenance (or occasionally, on holidays, above maintenance).

This is one of the things I stopped doing when I started being successful.

That said, it depends on your definition of "cheat". In the OP you stated to "eat whatever you want for a day" which usually equates to eat way more than you should one day a week and erase all your hard work from the last 6 days, and no progress.

Cheating includes lying, sneaking and stabbing in the back. I would never do that to myself. An intentionally undisciplined day however, is another story.

First, remember that different things work for different people. Elle's program follows eating by MACROS, and eating this way is very specific, and can be restrictive, meaning you need to stay within certain parameters. The Cheat Day is simply that you do not have to follow those specifications for a day. She doesnt mean to go nuts and stuff yourself silly, simply that if you feel like having a hamburger or a cookie, then eat one and dont feel bad about it. Also, in her program she eats 8 times a day, cutting small amount of calories from each meal at a different rate. Due to this, her calories for the 6 days are lower each week, so the calories you intake on the 'cheat' day are not likely to hinder your total intake. And, you have heard of the plateau effect? When you do the same thing over and over, day after day, week after week, you burn out. Our body can do the same thing. Remember that her goal was to be in a body competition in 9 months, so plateauing is Very discouraging. Having a 'cheat' day helps keep your body from getting too used to the same thing over and over. Its kind of like working all week and then having a great Saturday to go places and do things.

I'm quite new at this but I simply can't hit my deficit goals continuously. So, in the week I stick to my target calories but at the weekend I'll eat at maintenance which is working ok so far.