Every gram of carbohydrate you eat will attract 4 grams of water to it - this is why we call it 'water bloat'. This is also why you lose a lot of 'weight' during the first few weeks of any LC plan as you deplete your body of it's stored carbs (glycogen) and the water it holds.

As for the 'cheating' - there are a few theories on that. Simply increasing calories can help precipitate a loss. This keeps the body off balance, stops it from thinking "diet". It also helps to raise Leptin levels. Leptin is a hormone that is a rather recent discovery - it's also called the 'starvation hormone'. As you lose fat leptin levels fall. Lowered leptin levels signal the body that it's starving and perhaps it should eat a little more. It makes you hungrier. This is of course a very simplified explanation, there are many more variables involved. You can read more about Leptin and the role it plays by clicking on the link: Leptin: The Next Big Thing

Nat