Plausible I guess. However, the charade of an extreme regime seems to me to be much easier to fall off and stop caring once the "cheating" begins. Also, I would

Plausible I guess. However, the charade of an extreme regime seems to me to be much easier to fall off and stop caring once the "cheating" begins. Also, I would speculate that an eat-less (calorie-counting if you will) regime prepares one better for the long-term once the goal is reached. Maybe to just internalize the basic idea that it's not what kind of food you eat or how many times per week you're at the gym that matters in the long-run.