M.

They are not for everyone, but when someone is trying to diet, discipline is their best friend.

Keeping a food log is a total pain in the butt, but so is dieting. If someone doesn’t have the discipline to keep a food log, how likely is it that they will have the discipline to stick to the diet.

Not that you need to diet.

Some people need to stay super strict on a diet for a month or two, wean themselves off and go back on.
A cheat day every week can throw a wrench into the works and mess up the fat loss.

For others, a cheat meal becomes a cheat day becomes a cheat week…

For others, a cheat day keeps them sane and allows them to keep their focus on the task and not blow the entire diet.

You may also want to consider adding your cheat meal in after your workout. At least the extra calories should be diverted to re-fueling muscles instead of going into storage.

I think the workout log is a great way to record progress and making progress=better self esteem which leads the drive to exercise harder.

I will admit I have a very hard time keeping a food journal, it would definitely help but I lack the needed discipline.