Good heavens, no. Occasionally I have bigger meals, e.g. going out to a restaurant, but they're planned and the calories balanced out overall. Even if they turn up at the last minute, it's still easy to balance the calories over the next few days so that my weekly average remains steady. I certainly don't fuss over them.

I really hate this terminology of shame you get around dieting. It's incredibly destructive, and it's what has caused many of us to be so messed up about food to start with.

No, I don't have cheat days. My mum has cheat weekends and all I've seen it do is keep her overweight and unhappy. She drinks a lot of wine as a way to unwind from the week at work and she just doesn't understand that doing that completely messes up her weight loss plans in the long run =/.

Agree with this 100%. I think cheat days caused me to think about food too much and I really didn't like that. And not allowing myself to eat certain foods is not realistic and certainly not the way I want to live the rest of my life. Now I just work it in. I refuse to feel guilty about something like food anymore. Guilt with food = failure with weight loss.

I love my cheat day. I don't binge eat during that time. I make a list of items that I am craving and have 1-3 of those and some wine.:D On my last cheat day I got ice cream, the scoop was too big so I tossed the rest. But I have cut bad carbs from my diet and a little goes a long way for me.

I don't call it cheats like many of the others don't. I eat healthy most of the time. Last night I wanted a kit kat bar, so I got one. Before my journey about 2 1/2 months ago I'd have a batch of cookies and brownies sitting in the house to eat with the ice cream I'd have to. I also eat subway 2 or 3 times a week, a healthy sandwich and I had BBQ for lunch yesterday as well. Do I feel bad? Nah. Did I over eat? No. I've pretty much done this the whole time, I still eat things I want just not as OFTEN as I normally would. For me, it's kept me on track and it's easier to change my lifestyle knowing I can have treats sometimes and I can eat out sometimes. If I were to cut out everything fattening or sweet. I wouldn't stick to it. I am doing what I can stick to for life, not for a month or a year. So far, I'm happy. I may alter it as I go. I'm not going to worry about that just yet either.

In the beginning for me, it's about SLOW changes. Not feeling bad about food especially if you are doing good MOST of the time. Life is short, losing weight takes a while. I'm not going to quit eating things I enjoy just to binge on it and gain all the weight back.

I can say I do agree with stopping things you are addicted to or eat way too much of. My first month, I quit drinking sodas (that has stuck so far they are so gross now) and I didn't eat any sweets at all except 1 lick of icecream off a cone. I don't even crave sugar much, and after my kitkat bar last night my stomach was tore up- which means I don't enjoy it much anymore so I'll probably have 1 stick next time or not one at all. Your body changes with you, healthier things will come over time, even on those "cheat" meals or treats it may not be so fun to how your more healthy body reacts to the overload of sweets and unhealthy foods.

If I want something that isnt very healthy...ie..cookies, cake, or even chips and queso. I of course have portion control. And I have to make it myself, no store bought premade cookies or chips or queso. all homemade. that way i know whats going into my body and it weeds out my random cravings if Im too lazy to make anything.

While I may indulge for a specific meal or occasion, I factor it into my eating plan for that week. If I allowed myself an entire cheat day, there is a 99.9999% chance it would turn into weeks and months off plan, gaining back most/all/more than what I lost. And that is not an exaggeration. Luckily, I recognize this now, so I haven't made the mistake (this time around).

I can't even allow myself a cheat meal. Maybe a treat item - like a pint of ice cream once a week (my weakness). I find it hard enough to lose miniscule amounts of weight during the week without having cheat days/meals thrown in there.

If I had an entire cheat day, I'd easily erase any gains I had made during the week in weight loss.

Alot of you are mentioning that if you have a "treat" (I'm elinating "cheat" from my diet vocab...you are all right, I don't want to cheat anymore, I want to be healthy and happy way more than I want a brownie!!!!)...but alot are mentioning having a treat and then making up for it the following day...so am I understanding that a majority of people are calorie counting on a weekly basis instead of daily? Meaning that if I cave and have some pizza, I can just be honest, write it down (my tracker thing), and be better the next day?

I calorie count on a daily basis, but I cut myself some slack on the weekends because I'm not at work and on schedule. Most of the time it is just about on par with the week and just separated out differently (larger breakfast, no mid morning snack, etc).
I don't under-eat in order to overeat the next day, though. I think that creates an unhealthy balance.
If you want pizza, just remember that one slice of cheese pizza can range from 275-350 calories, but making it yourself, for example, (LIKE THIS) is only 207 calories it's more than one slice.

You learn to weigh out your options to find the best way for you to stay successful. If that means a cheat meal or day will do it for you, go for it! If it hinders your weight loss, you may rethink and revise your plan.

I don't know that the majority do it this way (there's no accurate way to tell something like that), but it is quite possible to use a weekly average. I only caution that it shouldn't turn into this scenario: DietPerson has pizza for dinner, but then wants to make up for it, so they skip dinner entirely the next night and treadmill for four hours.

Having a weekly average is not really "making up for it" so much as it is balancing for it. Some people balance ahead of time, but there are going to be nights when we have something we weren't planning for, so it's natural to keep the balance. Not go overboard one way or the other.

If you find yourself too often indulging in things you don't want and then trying to "catch up" then that's something that needs addressing.

Other than that point of caution, there's nothing wrong with it.

I think I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't count calories on a daily or weekly basis. Or rather I do, but I don't have a hard number I'm aiming for. I'm averaging about 1530 per day, and looking back (I have a dorky spreadsheet), it doesn't look like my weekly averages have been off that than much more than 150 calories in either direction. But my daily intake has ranged from 1100 to 2100, although either of those extremes are rare.

I'm not suggesting that the way I do things is the right way. But it does indicate that hitting a certain number everyday isn't critical. This is what works for me. I like to have a lot of flexibility. Some people even recommend a zigzagging calorie count to keep your metabolism guessing. Diana on the daily thread, likes to mostly eat the same thing everyday and has a rock solid daily intake. That clearly works for her. I think you'll probably just need to experiment and figure out what works for you, because you can't force yourself into a mold that doesn't fit.

No, I didn't cheat. I can count on 3 fingers the amount of times I went over my calorie allotment during the 17 months it took me to get to goal. My Birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas 2008. I was on track all other days, with a few (3 or 4) other days eating at maintaince levels. I stayed on plan because I was SO SICK AND TIRED of being FAT that I wasn't about to risk any setbacks. I didn't want to linger in clothing sizes, because I had 12 sizes to drop. I'm cheap, I didn't want to buy a bunch of clothes I couldn't wear for very long. I didn't trust myself to get back on the wagon if I cheated.

So...now I get to cheat some. It was worth the weight! ;)

I don't believe in a "cheat day" where I completely go nuts and eat whatever, HOWEVER, I firmly believe that at least one day per week(probably two) should be higher calorie(but still under maintenance calories) than the others to break up the monotony and mix things up for your metabolism.

I feel like too many people on here decide to lose weight and want to do it quickly, so they decide to go straight to a huge restriction instead of trying for a healthy, sustainable pace. When you go around eating low calorie all the time, your body will adjust to that and slow down to meet your pace and try to sustain it's own fat stores(which is it's safety net); and mixing things up by throwing a few more calories every once in awhile will actually help rather than hinder.

An example would be adding in a 1,600-1,800 calorie day if you are usually trying for 1,200-1,500 calories per day. It will not cause an actual fat gain because *most* adult women should have a maintenance range of 1,900-2,200(more if you have more to lose). So you will be eating more calories that day than the rest of the week, but not enough to cause you to gain weight.

If by cheat day, you mean have a 3,000-4,000 calorie day and eat everything, then no, I absolutely do not think that is beneficial and would probably be more of a set back.

While I hear this happens to some people, thankfully it did not happen to me, or several other "big losers" here at 3FC. I never had a plateau...though the last 10 pounds came off slower than the first 10. I'm going out on a limb here and will suggest that this weight loss phenomenon happens to everyone who loses a substantial amount of weight, no matter how quickly or slowly they lose the weight. So, to cheat or not to cheat, it's up to the individual... neither way is wrong, and both ways are right if it works into long term maintaince.