Just from my own experience. I have had pretty good success following the plan closely. Once a week not everyweek I have a cup of ice cream. Ice cream and strawberries cookies and cream etc. I always use breyers pure fresh ingrediants. I follow sp pretty closely with a few exceptions. I use nutra sweet and sometimes bottled salad dressings. I am picky on which ones though. I have lost 30lbs in 9 weeks. I try to exercise every day. Dr. Schwarzbein said the cravings would go away and they have for me. I used to eat a ton of pizza. Last Sunday my official cheat day I had a half a slice of square and one cheese stick. I don't recommend this but carbs have no hold on me anymore. I was extremely careful for the first four weeks. I drink a ton of water everyday and only drink pop (diet) on Sundays. Another area I deviate is coffee. It is a sweet treat for me. Nat posted a story about a woman doing bfl who lost a ton of weight and is now competitively lifting weights. Her name is rosemary. She ate six times a day and whatever she wanted one day a week. I think that is a good plan. I try to never let myself get hungry. Peanut butter and celery. Raw almonds and a half an apple. These work really good for me if I am starting to get hungry and am in between meals. I hope this helps.
Jerry