Cheat days - thoughts?

[nebtlly]

So what are everyone's takes on cheat days?  I've heard varying opinions on them.  Some say save them until you're either obligated by the situation to be polite or just don't want to skip a particularly awesome "bad" food (here I'm thinking of family holiday dinners, and especially my aunt's famous pumpkin cheesecake).  Some people have advised me to take one day a week to just eat whatever strikes my fancy with an emphasis on the non-paleo, a la Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Body)  They say this lets you continually remember how the old diet tastes so you don't feel completely deprived (chocolate croissants = awesome) while simultaneously rediscovering the havoc it plays on your body (sugar buzz, sugar crash, um...gastrointestinal distress...).  And then there's the group that says just don't, ever.

I'm not sure where I fall yet.  On the one hand, the longer I go eating clean, the more the cravings for buttery pastry concoctions subsides; the inverse is also true: when I do finally have something "bad," I'm never going to want to stop at one.  On the other...having a small amount of fresh local cream in my coffee makes me really, really happy.  And so does pumpkin cheesecake, once a year.

Thoughts?

[xclusiv8]

My brother just finished high school and we had a big party/feast for him. I can tell you i did not say no to the food. I ate my socks off. On special occasions like that i really dont care about the diet. Its about the people and enjoying whatever food is on the table with them. So special occasions is okay for me.