In the game of weight-loss, can cheaters win?

When Ashley Hartkorn was trying to lose weight a few years ago, she followed a plan that advocated the “cheat day” philosophy. Hartkorn would adhere to her diet six days a week, but on the seventh day, she would indulge in all the foods she had been craving the days before.

“What I learned is that I would take them to the extreme,” Hartkorn, of Des Moines, said. “Every single Sunday, my cheat day, I would eat a whole medium pizza, a whole box of breadsticks and two cans of soda. And that was just one of my meals on Sunday.”

Despite her once-a-week binges, Hartkorn did lose weight, but the changes didn’t stick.

“My habits weren’t healthy,” she said. “I've learned since then that if I don’t deprive myself during the week, I don’t feel the need to binge; I can feel good about the choices I’m making instead of feeling like the food is in control.”

Hartkorn isn’t the only dieter to embrace the “cheat day” philosophy — a newly published book by “Biggest Loser” trainer Dolvett Quince bases its premise entirely on the method.

The book, “The 3-1-2-1 Diet — Eat and Cheat Your Way to Weight Loss,” advocates that dieters eat “cleanly,” adhering to a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet, for three days, then follow those days with one “cheat,” or indulgence, day. After that, he or she follows with two more “clean” days before ending the week with one more “cheat” day.

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