Hey Kyles,
I thought you were just on a diet. I did not know it was a real diet FOR life.
You are quite correct. Do not sweat the odd indiscretion. Your objective is to STEADILY lose 1.5 pounds of BODY MASS per week. This is a LONG job, and you can work out how long it will take you by calculating your bio mass index and seeing how many pounds you are overweight, or technically and correctly, obese.
For most people, it is going to be a LONG haul.
And you are quite correct about having one biscuit, and not the whole pack ( I used to do that , because when I started it was so good that I could not stop. I did not realise that at that time that it was part of a disease).
If you increase your physichal activity levels, you can eat more. Particularly if you have glucose type problems. But, at the end of the day , it can be just a trick to allow you to consume more. BECAUSE you exercise you can consume additional food, and your stomach can feel satisfied. But it does nothing towards getting you used to reduced portions, or shrinking the size of your stomach (which gives of the "hungry" indicators to the brain).
I know that, because I have a friend who will take violent exercise JUST IN ORDER to be able to have fish and chips.
I am not saying that physical exercise is BAD, as a bad part of a weight loss program. But it IS bad if you use it as an "accceptable" excuse NOT to get your eating habits under control.
Exercise and healthy eating go hand in hand, in balance. You must not use one as a substitute for the other.
Regards,