Cheat day Yes or Just a little

My only "cheat days" Complete days where you eat and drink whatever I want I only do on special occasions such as; holidays, birthdays, or out to dinner maybe once every few months. But maybe about once a month I do have a day where I will eat one thing that I should not that will blow my calorie count. Or if there is something I want for dessert my breakfast will be something
with less calories like sugar free oatmeal. I will pick things that have less calories but have the same amount of nutrients that I need so I can eat something I have been craving. I do however have the biggest sweet tooth ever so I make sure I can eat 3 Gharadelli squares that are chocolates pre packaged as individuals so you know when to stop instead of the whole candy bar in your hand you are not paying attention and eat more than you meant to. I call that mindless eating. So whatever I can do to prevent that I do. I leave enough room at the end of the day to at least have the chocolate to keep me satisfied with being on a diet/life change.

I have 'cheat with in reason days.' So basically what that means is that I still log EVERYTHING and try to stick with my goal. But if I'm out and man, that (fill in the blank) SOUNDS GOOD! I get it, eat half and move on.

And honestly, during the week, if I want a little treat, I'll just budget for it! Last night I had some cotton candy, today I'm at the gym.

For me, so far it's all balancing out. Yes, I could be a little bit more strict, but I know for me that too being restrictive screws me in the long run. So if my cocktails & sushi on saturday slow me down, it's ok. It's better than me ruling out so much that I'll fizzle out and eat everything in sight! I'm not taking this as a diet, I'm taking this as living. And in life, I'm not in a race - just trying to treat myself better.

You know yourself...try it one way and see what happens, and then try it the other. What ever gets you the results you want to see, go for it!

I have my cheat days on Sundays where I just don't log my food and don't worry about calorie intake. It's also my day off from exercising. I still try to not over eat but it keeps me sane so I don't feel like I'm depriving myself (in the past I've noticed that if I feel deprived when I do eat what I wanted, I eat WAY too much). I use sundays to drink soda, get a baked goodie, and go out to eat with my husband

They don't seem to be interfering with my ability to lose weight.

I'll give myself at least one cheat day a week- in the sense of not going to the gym/rigorous exercise but I restrict myself to one cheat meal- you need some reward but not indulgent enough that you're losing ground!

I don't do "cheat" days or meals. Who would i be cheating, myself?

I definitely have days when I eat over my calorie allowance, but that's not cheating, it's life. It's called "going out to dinner for my husband's birthday" or "eating a big piece of cake with coffee yesterday morning" or "I just ate too much crap today".

I just try to ensure that I have more days when I don't go over.

This may seem like semantics, but to me, words are powerful - deliberately deciding to "cheat", doesn't sit well with me. It implies that what I'm doing is hard and not sustainable and that's not the way I plan to eat for the rest of my life.

I agree. I log in everything I eat even if I'm over my calories for the day. I do try to exercise to lessen the damage, but usually the day is full already (wedding, shower, birthday etc.) so I don't have time for much. I double my efforts the following days. Your body doesn't reset itself at midnight, although you do need enough food for the energy to get though the day.

I have a cheat day every friday or saturday, depending on weekend plans, but I make sure I am REALLY diligent with my exercise and calories the rest of the week! Its working for me! Almost 20lbs down! Weight loss isnt the same for everyone though! Do what works best for you!