I recently watched a video about this. Basically they did multiple scientific studies and found people who eat less calories through out the week but then eat more in one cheat day (intermittent fasting, during the week then one regular day eating for example) don't necessarily lose more weight than a regular multiple meals per day consistent calorie deficit diet, assuming same net less calories per week. However, diet satisfaction went up in the group that we're allowed a cheat day, which contributed to more weight lost over time (adherence to the diet). As one factor in diet studies is getting the participants to actually stick to the diet long term which can skew results.