Cheating on your diet is a smart long term weightloss strategy. It teaches you self-control, moderation, and balance. The key to cheating and losing weight is to do it the smart way. Below are 3 ways not to cheat and why those strategies will cause you to lose and gain and lose and gain. Plus 3 ways to cheat on your diet the smart way for faster stress free weightloss.

1. Don't Starve All Day For A Big Pig Out
When you starve yourself all day just so you can pig out at a special event like somebody's b-day party, a holiday bbq, or a celebration dinner, you are telling your body to slow down it's metabolism, burn less calories, store everything you eat as fat, and worst of all you're sending your brain a message that it's o.k. to binge eat. Sounds like the dumbest weightloss strategy ever created so why even bother being on a diet at all? Instead of starving all day just so you can stuff yourself beyond belief later try:

Smart Cheating Strategy for Big Events: Eat micro-mini meals 2-4 times before the big event. For example, have 3 triscuits with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter early in the morning. A few hours later have a handful of almonds and a slice of lowfat cheese. If the event is later in the day try adding two more micro-mini meals a few hours later in the day. For example, have 3 cherry tomatos and 1 stick of celery, with 1 tbsp. of cottage. A few hours later have 1-2 turkey slices and a tbsp. or dried cranberries or dried cherries. Drink lots of water throughout the day to hydrate too. When you're at the event you'll be more likely to eat like a normal person but if you do go overboard at least your metabolism will be working properly so those calories won't be as likely to get stored as dimply fat on your thighs or belly.

2. Don't Drink Alcohol Including Wine Every Single Day
It's o.k. to indulge in beer, wine, and mixed drinks but when you drink on a nightly basis you are increasing calorie intake, short circuiting your body's ability to burn fat, you are stimulating your appetite, and you're creating a dependency. According to Dr. Weil "the alcohol calories you consume aren't stored. Instead, they're converted to acetate, a type of fuel that the body burns quickly. As a result, you burn off your alcohol calories before you burn the fat... Also, alcohol can actually stimulate your appetite, loosen your inhibitions and undermine your willpower, causing you to eat more than you planned. A 2002 Danish study published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders found that men who were told they could eat as much as they wanted ate more when meals were served with beer or wine rather than soft drinks." Instead of using alcohol to relax or have fun every night try:

Smart Cheating Strategy for Indulging in Alcohol: Committ to drinking alcohol two days a week. Save those two 2 days for restaurants, special dinners, or for a weekly spa night, movie night, or party night with friends. If you're using alcohol to destress then it's time to find other strategies. Start treating yourself to massages or sessions with a personal trainer. Try yoga, hiking, zen gardening, or volunteer work. The more healthy your strategy the less you depend on alcohol and the faster your burn fat and lose weight. Nobody's saying you can't drink just do it less often.

3. Don't Buy Multiple Servings Of Cheat Foods
If you really think that buying a whole pack of skinny cow ice cream sandwiches at costco because it's a good value and you can portion those out over the next month then think again. Having cheat foods in your house means you can eat those foods every single day and on weekends more than once a day. If you love ice cream, chips, beer, pizza, hot wings, or cake then forget about self control. There is no such thing. If you love it and it's there you will eat it. If you're a stress eater and it's there you will eat 3 of it. If you're tired and hungry and had a day of poor food planning you will reach for that vs. raw veggies. Instead of buying more of something to save money try:

Smart Cheating Strategy for Every Day Cheat Foods: Go out and buy one serving of the cheat food. It takes more time, effort, and money to do that so you are more aware of why you are cheating and on what. If you are hell bent on keeping the stuff around then try storing it in a separate fridge or pantry in the garage. This way you have to go out of your way to get it. The more involved you make the process of getting the cheat the more you think about why you are cheating in the first place and whether it's really worth it.

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The Vice-Busting Diet: A 12-Week Plan to Break Your Worst Food Habits and Change Your Life Forever