One of the worst habits I ever learned was eating perfectly all week and then one day of the week splurging on everything and not holding back. Initially I loved it and it worked. I managed to lose 10 pounds but this evil little trick stopped working and over time the cheat meals day became my most hated day of the week.

I hated feeling like I only had one day a week that I could treat myself but what I hated more than that was the big fatloss plateau that this little “diet trick” landed me on for nearly 8 months.

You see what this diet failed to teach me (and the millions of people who struggle with it) was to splurge but still stay in control. Any time you cheat you still have to control amounts otherwise you’re just un-doing an entire week’s worth of healthy eating and exercise. That's not easy to do when your diet is teaching you how to be totally out of control for one entire day.

According to Bethenny Frankel author of Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting "your diet is a bank account. Just as you balance your spending and savings, you must balance your food choices by not eating too much of any one thing, balancing sweets with veggies, and always balancing a splurge with a save."

This is the master rule that Frankel teaches all her friends and celebrity clients so they can be naturally thing and here's how you can start using it right now to get skinny without going on another lame diet that will only frustrate you and cause you to gain the weight back.

1. Balance your food amounts not by counting calories but with common sense. If you had a big breakfast, then eat a little less for lunch and dinner.

2. Balance the types of foods you eat any time of day. Had all your servings of starchy carbs for breakfast or lunch? Make it all about getting your protein and veggies in the rest of the day.

3. Balance your choices by trusting your instinct. If you want to splurge then learn to trust yourself enough to know if that splurge will satisfy you and that you have the control to balance it with super healthy eating later in the day.

"I love fatty steak. I get so much pleasure out of this food that it’s not worth it to me to choose the skinless chicken breast. If eat the chicken I’ll eat the whole thing and still be bored and longing for something more; by contract I can have a few amazing bites of the steak and be completely satisfied" explains Frankel.

In her book she outlines the 10 most important rules to follow if you want to be naturally thin without going on another frustrating diet. Her rules are like rehab for diet junkies who need a 10 step program to end the dieting madness. Plus you get the famous skinny girl margarita recipe she talks about all the time on Real Housewives of New York City.

Get skinny and get over your fear of food without dieting with Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting.