I'm just curious about peoples personal eating preferences. Do you feel better or lose more weight giving yourself "high calorie" days, or do you work better staying on a consistent diet? I personally like having a few extra calories when im trying to break a plateau but then there's always a danger of overdoing it And on that note, what do you consider "overdoing it"? Im very new to this site and also very curious about peoples opinions on dieting and overeating - Share your thoughts? Thank you!

My thoughts: If i start a diet and then "allow" a planned cheat or increase in something..i end up falling right off the wagon..Im a person that needs routine in order to stay disciplined..Unfourtunatly it makes my life rather boring..cause when i want to cheat and eat something i love.. i cant..and if i do..then i go on binge vacatiotn and dont get back on the weight loss wagon for several weeks to months..Ive learned..cheating is so not worth losing months of success

Hey. I was doing well when i was literally eating the same thing every day lol. I knew what i was having and so didn't have the old..ahh what do i do panic.. i would switch it up a tiny bit.. e.g. have tuna instead of chicken with pasta, but everything else stayed the same, this way i lost these 9lbs in the last two weeks (also this is probably due to the fact that i was drastically eating less calories, though not in a unhealthy way) Now, unfortunately I am staying with family, so i can't do this, but hopefully after a while i will settle down and stop worrying. I consider having an extra 10 calories over doing it, but that is ridiculous really - i tend to think i need to be extra strict else i wont lose weight, then when i "overdo it", i quit and think ahh im going to be fat forever so might as well eat as much as i can fit in...
again, this time (the latest in many many attempts to lose weight) i am doing a bit better with this. I am seeing that one tiny slip up does not mean i have to quit, nor does it mean i am going to be 'fat' forever lol.
I think you have to go with what is working for you, i don't think i could allow myself to have more calories on certain days etc i would feel way too quilty and regret it.. though this is probably not the healthiest way of looking it :P

My method has always been to be somewhat strict during the week and let go on the weekends. My work schedule and living arrangement allows this easily, as I am pretty much on my own all week long and socializing through the weekend with friends/visiting my boyfriend.

It has meant slow weight loss, but still loss. Free-ish weekends seems to give purpose to saying "just a little" and "no thanks" all week.

I'm with Krampus on this one. I've been losing slowly but consistently by being more restrictive on weekdays and allowing myself more leeway on Friday nights and Saturdays. It's also helped prevent binges, as I haven't had one for 13 weeks now, a personal record.

What an interesting set of questions...

Being consistent is usually best for me on a day to day basis. It's like keeping to a routine, and I can appreciate it.

That being said, I like leeway, so I either work in treats or the like within my normal daily allotment, or I have a few extra to play around with.

Overdoing it is a few things... it's eating when I'm not hungry, or stuffing myself until I feel like exploding. Overdoing it is ALSO any point at which I don't track my food. I have to be vigilant. And not tracking means I wind up guessing or estimating. Dangerous territory when done too often.

Love all the answers! especially from people who have been doing this whole "healthy" thing so much longer and better than I have: its really nice to know other people's strategies. Lovely, I'm totally with you on the food tracking thing! Guesstimating is one mind game I'm no good at - ontargetnutrition.com has been my salvation and usually I'll let myself have just a little bit of garbage twice a week if it doesn't put me over my calories.