How to Cheat Without Wrecking Your Diet

Diet-Friendly Foods

The secret to shedding pounds isn't saying no to guilty pleasures, it's learning how to say yes without causing diet damage.

"Cheating should be planned and deliberate," says Ann Kulze, MD, author of Dr. Ann's 10-Step Diet: A Simple Plan for Permanent Weight Loss and Lifelong Vitality (Top Ten Wellness and Fitness, 2004). "Avoiding favorite foods can lead to bingeing, followed by regret and abandonment of all your efforts." Allowing yourself the occasional splurge helps you truly enjoy the treat -- and that makes it easier to take a pass on little extras the rest of the time.

Fortunately, you can indulge and still keep calories in check by substituting an equally gratifying and decadent yet more diet-friendly alternative for the food you're craving. (Would you believe cheesecake is an option?) Try these 10 trade-offs and we promise you won't feel the least bit deprived.