Re: Free Day Question

[Guest guest]

Everyone does it differently and you have to find what works best

for you. Some people take 2 free meals each week, not necessarily

on the same day. I find that taking a whole free day works best for

me, but i set down some rules- I make sure I eat protein with my

carbs, I still eat small portions, no stuffing myself, and I only

eat things I REALLLY want. I have never been a big potato chip fan

and one free day I was at a bbq and ate almost a whole bag of them,

yuk!! Now, I focus on the things I really love, like cookies,

pizza, Vietnamese food. I may eat 6 cookies throughout the day, but

one at a time. I hate that stuffed feeling and I get full faster,

so I just go with what feels right.

Lynda

[Guest guest]

You definitely have to find what works for you. I have issues with

binge eating. If I start eating certain foods (the sugary, fatty

ones), I have a difficult time controlling my portions, so taking an

entire free day does not work for me.

I do one or two meals a week now, usually on the same day. I

make sure to eat well the rest of the day, and my free meals are

not huge. Yesterday, for example, I took my free day. I had a

bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, then two regular meals

(cottage cheese with fruit and a tuna pouch with an apple), then

two pieces of cheese pizza. I was so full after the pizza and felt

so bloated, I didn't have my last two meals.

I know some ladies believe they can eat whatever they want, as

much as they want on their free day, and their body somehow

" purges " the extra calories. That doesn't work for me. I notice

when I overeat on free day. I feel terrible the next day, and it

takes me a couple days to return to normal. For example, if you

create a deficit of 1000 calories each day for six days, that's a

near 2 pound weight loss, but you can easily consumme 6000 or

more calories on an out-of-controlled free day, thereby erasing

your entire calorie deficit for the week. I know because I've done

it many times. Hope this helps.

Dani

[Guest guest]

sandraazza wrote:

> How do you ladies deal with your free day? I manage to eat cleanly

> all week with out a great deal of difficulty, but on sunday my eating

> gets way out of hand. I feel that I almost lose all the progress

> that Ive made during the week. Im aiming to control my next free day

> and restrict the amount I eat. Do you eat completely freely on this

> day, or do you restrict it to one or two free meals throughout the

> day?

I don't believe it's possible for a free day to get out of hand I eat

what I want, when I want, for a whole day and I'm seeing great progress

Don't beat yourself up about it.. just listen to your body

Serenity

--

..sigfree

[Guest guest]

Oh, Lynda, that Vietnamese food really is a delicacy. And depending

on what you get it's not that BFL unfriendly. I love the steamed

spring rolls and some of that seafood soup I can't pronounce that

comes in a bowl about the size of a small swimming pool.

I don't do free day anymore but have been known to frequent a food

buffet at least once a week. Indian is my favorite. Can eat clean

enough there too but I can overeat a little on protein products,salad

with no dressing and veggies out the wazoo. However there are some

carbs of unknown origin that I have to be careful with. One buffet

even has no sugar added pudding so I have a serving of that with a

dollop of whipped cream. It soothes the soul and really makes me feel

like I have cheated. And none of these causes any major carb bloat

afterward.

stasia

who's given up alcohol completely as well as pizza, my used to be

biggest downfalls.

[Guest guest]

I do 1 free day a week and count the calories I eat to help keep me

from getting TOO out of hand. But I do for the most part eat whatever

I want, when I want. I think the highest # of calories I ever ate was

about 4500 and I was so stuffed and sick to my stomach from all the

carbs that I haven't done that since. I have noticed though as I have

gotten closer to my ideal weight that I can't eat as much as I used

to on the free days and still get the weight loss at the rate I want.

You have to decide for yourself how to handle that. As long as I am

losing I don't mind because I am not killing myself with this program

the way I have with others and I am still getting better results than

with those others

Additionally, after reading post upon post about how excessive

alcohol consumption on one day can screw up your whole week as far at

weight loss goes - I decided to limit my self to 2 glasses of red

only on my free day to see if that helps keep the weight loss going.

The last 5-10 pounds are really problem children no matter what plan

you follow.

Just remember to eat what you want on your free day ENJOY IT and do

not allow guilt to taint it. Otherwise - you defeat the entire

purpose of the free day.

*Glad and mad at the same time none of my clothes fit*

Betty

> How do you ladies deal with your free day? I manage to eat cleanly

> all week with out a great deal of difficulty, but on sunday my

eating

> gets way out of hand. I feel that I almost lose all the progress

> that Ive made during the week. Im aiming to control my next free

day

> and restrict the amount I eat. Do you eat completely freely on

this

> day, or do you restrict it to one or two free meals throughout the

> day?

[Guest guest]

You will find many people have a different opinion on this issue. I

thought I'd share my experience with Free Day.

During C1...I lost a lot of fat (25lbs). Granted I had a lot to lose

and I think how much fat you need to lose can determine how much Free

Day affects your progress. I followed BFL strictly by the book

during my C1 and C2 and had great results. This meant that I did NOT

cheat EVER during the week, but enjoyed my free day to the fullest! I

mean, I would wake up on Saturday and start eating whatever I had

been craving during the week. You name it...Twix candy bars, bagels,

bacon, pancakes. Dh did C1 with me and we just went crazy on our Free

Days...but again, we strictly stuck to the nutrition the rest of the

week.

After a few weeks we discovered that strange things happened to us

the DAY AFTER FREE DAY...we often felt like cr@p! The better we ate

during the week, the more our bodies seemed to revolt to the foods we

used to enjoy. We are not doing any more challenges...we don't have

our dream bodies yet, but we're getting close. I guess we're

in " maintenance " mode (though I don't like to think of it that way--

we are all still trying to improve..RIGHT?) and we're a bit more free

with our diet. This means that we don't go all out on Saturdays

anymore, but enjoy a few " free " meals during the week (usually on

weekends). We don't lose fat this way, but we aren't gaining either!

Sorry to be so long winded, but my suggestion is to enjoy your Free

Days during your 1st challenge. In fact, I strongly suggest you don't

modify anything in the book--believe it will work the way it is and

follow the program just as Bill suggests...including

enjoying Free Days as you wish. It will help you get through the

tough weeks knowing you can have whatever you want without limitation

on that one day per week. You'll probably find the some of those

cravings disappear by the time Free Day arrives.

Jodi

[Guest guest]

You could not have said this better. Often I find myself silently

apologizing to my muscles for anything I feed them that isn't going

to help them recover and grow. The transition from all out free days

to carefully monitored free foods/meals I think is a result of a

heightened awareness of how your body responds to these situations.

Stasia

[Guest guest]

When I was regularly taking free days, it was usually on Saturdays

because that's the night we always go out with friends and it just

was easier from a social perspective. However, there have been

weeks when I took a Sunday instead and there were no problems. Even

Hussman suggests that it would be permissible to take 2 free meals

over the course of a week rather than just taking a whole day. That

being said, obviously, you don't want to take a free day on

consecutive days--just space them out so it's about every 7th day

and you should be ok. And as I always say, use your head and don't

go completely crazy and set back your week's worth of hard work and

progress!! Satisfy your cravings and feel good--but try to keep the

total calories from sabotaging the caloric deficit you achieved over

the prior 5 or 6 days!

Good luck,

Sherri

> My free days are planned for Sundays however in the upcoming weeks

I

> have a couple weekends where I would like to have my freeday on

Sat

> instead. Has anyone switched their freeday around without any

> problems occasionally? I figured as long as I can be sure not to

make

> the whole weekend into a free weekend that I should be ok doing

this

> occasionally or am I setting myself up for a fall?

[Guest guest]

I sometimes take a different day every week. It's fine as long as you don't

start having back-to-back free days, or every-other-day free days. :-)

The only potential pitfall to switching days is that it can be hard to eat clean

when your regularly scheduled free day rolls around. Like if you always take it

on Saturday, but one week you take it on Tuesday, that following Saturday is

going to be rough because you'll spend the day pouting and looking for treats.

That's probably not even an issue if you only move it one day though.

Free Day Question

My free days are planned for Sundays however in the upcoming weeks I

have a couple weekends where I would like to have my freeday on Sat

instead. Has anyone switched their freeday around without any

problems occasionally? I figured as long as I can be sure not to make

the whole weekend into a free weekend that I should be ok doing this

occasionally or am I setting myself up for a fall?

[Guest guest]

I think that most people really go overboard and gross themselves out the first

few free days. It tends to taper off. I mean, I still eat WHATEVER I want but I

don't hurt myself like I used to. I've learned to keep the portions sane and

figure out what I'm really craving. That's more enjoyable than totally

destroying myself every week.

OMG, anybody remember that episode of Friends where puts on Phoebe's

maternity pants and eats an entire turkey? And gets the " meat sweats " ? I just

thought of that. LOL It's not unlike free day. :-)