It’s up to you. Some people can’t cheat at all because it sends them into a spiral of eating. Other can cheat a few times a week. Personally I cheat most times when I have social commitments. Luckily, I’m not all that social.
My cheat is the dinner and snacks my DM buys on game night every other Sunday. It’s once every 14 days and it’s a massive bacon cheeseburger from the local pub along with a can of ice cold Mountain Dew soda.
And, while it’s probably a set back, I’ve lost 14lbs since our last session and I’m okay with that progress. I just OMAD the day before and after.
sometimes I just need a mental break from fasting. Also, it’s not cheating, you might just have a smaller window. As long as it’s not all the time no biggie in my book. There were a couple of days last week where I only fasted 11,12 hours bc I just wanted to eat more then the next few days I’ve done 18-20 hour fasts not to make up for it, just happened that way.
If I know I’ll going to want to eat outside my eating window, I adjust my window. I’m doing 18:6- during the week it’s basically 6:30-12:30 am, but on weekends I adjust it to noon-6. PS: I don’t weigh myself. It messes with my mind. Need to lose 50, but more interested in being healthy and fit.
It’s really up to you and what will work for you. I’m not strict with my fasting windows, and I’ve lost 20 lbs without exercise. Just doing CICO/IT. I aim for 16:8 but sometimes it’s more or less depending on my hunger cues (or a social get together). If I’m too strict with that I’ll go into the all or nothing mentality. Everyone is different. If you feel it would set you back to cheat and you’d start spiraling then don’t do it. I personally need the flexibility to feel like it’s a maintainable life style change.