First I think the idea of cheat and the word cheat are not helpful. To not only lose weight but to maintain the loss, we need to have a WOE, a WOL, not a diet. How can you cheat on a WOL? You make choices and you live with the results of those choices.

I have not "cheated" in that I have not deliberately eaten a high carb food because I craved it. However, I have eaten a few high or higher carb foods because of circumstances. When I am eating at someone's home, I do not pick out all the high carb items from a salad so I have eaten orange segments and chinese noodles in a salad (the amount was very small). I also at a small service of a casserole that I knew had bread as an ingredient. My highest carb choice was to eat a serving of squash casserole at Boston Market. I had 1/2 at the restaurant and the other 1/2 the next day. I ordered it before I realized it had bread and some sweetener in it and decided after I had it on my plate that I wasn't going to throw it away. The good news is that it did not start any cravings for other high carb foods.

I eat quite a few nuts and I frequently do not count my carbs daily. I also eat a lot of cheese, vegetables, and low carb sweets. I made the choices to keep myself satisfied and I am content with my results.

I have lost 15 pounds in two months and it has been painless. Everyone is different and each of us must learn how we can live with this WOE in comfort. I have found substitutes for the foods which were my downfall pre-Atkins and I enjoy them. I do not eat many foods (including ice cream) completely as I am not certain I could stop if I started eating them again (addiction problem).

Don't bother comparing youself to others. Learn what works for you. Commit yourself to a WOE that you can be comfortable with. Stop thinking in terms of "cheating" and if you do choose a high carb food, really enjoy it and then get back to eating according to your WOE. Life is too short to obsess about food and weight.