Free Days

[Guest guest]

Stasia wrote...

>I don't believe that you misunderstood anything that ocean ophelia

>was saying but the truth of the matter is that food IS only fuel and

>all emotional/sensual attachments should be removed from it.

I disagree that that statement has universal application. My grandfather is

dying (lifelong smoker, he's slowly choking to death from lung

failure/emphysema) and he loved making chili. Whenever I eat chili I

remember him in his prime. My grandmother taught me how to make bread: we

still do it together and the smell of fresh baked bread always makes me

think of her. I love when my fiancé feeds me a piece of chocolate (TMI?) As

long as I don't gorge on chili, bread, or chocolate then those are not bad

things.

On the other hand, when I'm upset I tend to be able to sit down and eat an

entire bag of miniature Reese Cups. This is a Very Bad Thing. One of my

favorite advice columnists (Carolyn Hax), calls that type of behavior

'caloric self-mutilation' and I agree. One of the reasons I am doing BFL is

to relearn to think of food in terms of how they make me feel physically,

not just whether or not I'm in the habit of eating them. I don't think that

requires me to totally give up culinary sensual enjoyment, or good memories.

>My husband is like this and he cannot control his eating, it controls

>him. He is quite overweight and has a host of other problems

>associated with being overweight. I got up this morning and found

>hundreds of pistacio shells all over the floor so he binged on those

>late last night. He is emotionally attached to food.

And he needs to deal with those issues. He needs to find the root of why

he's unhappy, and deal with what makes him unhappy. The overeating is a

symptom. Perhaps, in his case, the 'cure' would require thinking of food

only as fuel. I just don't think it's true in all cases.

>What you really want to do when you eat is assuage your hunger.

>Period. A small meal of authorized food can do this as well as an

>ice cream binge or a twelve inch pizza or whatever your food of

>choice is. Either way you won't be hungry when you're done. And your

>hunger center isn't aware of anything except the fact that it is

>satisfied. Food cravings are psychological/emotional issues, not

>physical ones. Sugar does cause blood sugar ups and downs that wreak

>havoc with your hunger control but that can be arrested by better

>choices of food in a very short period of time.

I agree that moderation is very important. However I don't know that all

food cravings are emotional, some just tell you what your body needs. I can

guarantee you that I have no emotional attachments to broccoli, but

sometimes if I haven't had any good greens for a while, I start salivating

at the sight of it :0)

>My husband criticizes me for " eating by the clock. " Fine, but he's

>the one who is grossly overweight, not me. Each morsel of food I eat

>is well thought out as to its BFL/muscle building/fat burning

>purpose. I consume one slice of ww bread a day, never eat pasta, and

>the only grains I eat are oatmeal and Kashi cereal. As a result, I

>have maintained quite a bit of muscle mass and a low bodyfat

>percentage for a couple of years. Being ultra strict and ever

>vigilant is what got me there and is what keeps me there.

If that's what works for you, great. If you can be happy and healthy eating

like that, neither I nor your husband can legitimately criticize you for it.

But what I am disagreeing with is that you seem to be saying that 'Being

ultra strict and ever vigilant' is the *only* legitimate way. For some

people, the emotional stress of being always on the food-defensive is

detrimental.

America is full of obese people who eat unhealthily. And a lot of times we

are eating mediocre food. One of my personal goals for BFL is to eat like

many Europeans do, where one or two bites of something perfectly made is

considered 1,000 times better than a plate full of greasy, bland junk.

>I'm going to stand by my original notion that all out free days are

>detrimental to one's overall progress and that one or two

>unauthorized foods per week would help with the slow progress that

>is often noted on this board.

I don't think that anyone is saying gorging yourself or drastically

overeating on free days is a good thing. nor is anyone denying that it could

impede your progress. As I said in my original post, it's all about

balance.

As always, if I've misunderstood or misinterpreted your post in any way then

I apologize. If what I have written responds truly to your intended

meanings, then we're just going to have agree to disagree, and do what makes

us each happy and healthy.

Summer

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[Guest guest]

I haven't posted before so I will introduce myself a little. I'm getting fit

and healthy again after a few years of just being too depressed and too tired

of myself to keep it up. In my late twenties, early/middle thirties I was not

always eating right, but went to the YMCA everyday on my lunch hour for a

bench aerobics class 3 days a week, and a free weight (dumbbell) class 2 days a

week. My husband and I moved " back home " and for some reason I just lost it.

Clinical depression has been a health issue for me for most of my life, but

I'm kicking it's butt again. I've been trying for the past 2 or three years to

get myself healthy and fit again. My age, metabolism, and hormones have all

changed so what I used to do just didn't do the job anymore. This past January

I started Thurmond's 6 Week Body Makeover and it really worked. I

lost 25 pounds, and 11 inches overall. This plan is basically very similar to

Body for Life, but the eating plan is more strict (no free days) and more

specific to a body type than Body for Life. 6 Week Body Makeover encourages a

slower approach to resistance training. You work your way into a full 45 minute

resistance routine, by starting with 2 - 20 minute workouts in the first few

weeks. That was good for me since I hadn't done anything in a while! I first

heard about the Body for Life on a 6WBMO message board! A few people were

combining the information that they got from both books, to customize their

fitness

plans even further. I decided to buy myself the book as a 40th birthday

present to myself last month. I found this email message list on the BFL

website

and have really enjoyed the healthy attitude and inspiration, not to mention

great food and exercise tips!

Here go the questions:

I want to start trying a free day in my routine. My weight/inches loss has

stalled in the past 2 or 3 months because I'm just losing steam. I think

giving myself that reward will give the mental boost I need to go the extra

pounds

and inches.

I've seen a few of you mention that you feel your free day has slowed you

down a bit. Has anyone tried doing a free day every other week instead of every

week and can tell me what the effects were? I keep a food journal, are you

all journaling your free days?

I've got more questions, but I have to go get dressed for work! I'll be

back.....

Micki Berthelot

Denham Springs, Louisiana

" Heal the past,

live the present,

dream the future. "

- Engelbreit

[Guest guest]

Welcome Micki!

It's true that some of us have pointed to our free days as one possible culprit

for slow process, but it's also true that others find adding a free day helps to

speed things up. For me the free day definitely gives that mental boost that

helps me the rest of the week. My husband thinks I'm nuts because I wander

around the other six days making my free day plans. But it works for me!

I have started journaling recently (http://bfl.7technw.com) and I do track free

days, but not because I want to analyze them. I'm more like a proud fisherman

taking a photo of his great big catch. I write it all down, smile big and say

" I ATE THAT! "

Since you are new to BFL I suggest following the program without tweaks through

one challenge (12 weeks). Then, measure your progress and consider what you

might do differently, if anything. If you start tweaking from day one you won't

know what worked and what didn't. I wouldn't skip every other free day - but

keep in mind that on a free day, if you want to eat six BFL meals that's

completely your choice. The point of a free day isn't to pig out, it's to have

the freedom to make more choices.

Don't forget before photos & measurements! You will want them so you can check

your progress.

Happy BFLing!

Libby

Here go the questions:

I want to start trying a free day in my routine. My weight/inches loss has

stalled in the past 2 or 3 months because I'm just losing steam. I think

giving myself that reward will give the mental boost I need to go the extra

pounds

and inches.

I've seen a few of you mention that you feel your free day has slowed you

down a bit. Has anyone tried doing a free day every other week instead of

every

week and can tell me what the effects were? I keep a food journal, are you

all journaling your free days?

I've got more questions, but I have to go get dressed for work! I'll be

back.....

Micki Berthelot

Denham Springs, Louisiana

" Heal the past,

live the present,

dream the future. "

- Engelbreit

[Guest guest]

VERY INTERESTING! I REFUSE to weigh myself after a free day but I

know they are important to our weight loss. I just love free day.

That is what keeps me going all week! I figured that's all that

happened but wanted to make sure. THANKS!

> > Is it possible to completely over do it on free days and sabotage

> the

> > progress you made for the week? Just wondering because after

last

> > week (my SOB week in which all of you made me feel better), I

> weighed

> > myself the morning of my free day and noticed that I lost 2 lbs.

> > Very excited! Yesterday I ate: 6 donuts, cheeseburger, french

> > fries, pop, and chips. Hey, it was my free day : )! But now I'm

> > feeling a tad guilty. Just as some personal background, I

started

> > the challenge on 5/17/04 at 140 lbs. Yesterday morning I weighed

> > 133. Clothes still don't fit well though. ANYWAY, could I have

> > destroyed my efforts in one obnoxious free day?

[Guest guest]

OMG...I am laughing my arse off reading 's free day list, and

her post brought up a question...how many weeks into the challenge do

you start having a faster metabolism? wrote of her free day

eating that " The only side effect is that I get hot afterward,

blazing hot. I can literally feel the metabolic furnace kicking on. "

I had a similar sensation yesterday when I was immersed in my free

day recreational eating time...My face was flushed and I got all hot

like described...now I have never thought of myself as having a

good metabolism, and I assume since was once a size 12 that she

didn't always have that great metabolism, but I am beginning week 6

and could I have already enhanced my metabolism? I have built some

muscle, but I didn't think my metabolism could have gotten better

that fast...another wierd thing that happened was later that night my

husband and I got some cheeses and wine and some Tosti Asti and I

drank the whole bottle! I thought I would have been completely drunk,

especially since I hardly ever drink, but it hardly affected me,

usually I get a lot more stupid than I did last night. Could I have

metabolized it faster than I used to?

Just wanted to hear others' thoughts on this issue!

Thanks everyone! Have a lovely week!

-Ruth

[Guest guest]

My free days have been pretty interesting, too. I've cut back, so I

don't feel sick. (And I buy my Ben & Jerry's in the one serving

size, so I don't eat the whole pint anymore.) But, I know what you

mean about the furnace. I get so hot sometimes. I want to start

taking off clothes and sit in front of a fan.

> It is conceivable that you could wreck a 2 pound loss for the week

with one good free day, but it would take some real effort. There's

3,500 calories in a pound, plus you're going to burn 1,500 calories

or more just functioning throughout the day. So to whack a 2 pound

fat loss in one day you would need to eat something like 8,500

calories, a feat that even I have not accomplished with my notorious

free days. :-) That's, that's... seven pints of Ben & Jerry's!

>

> You definitely couldn't destroy a 7 pound fat loss and put

yourself back at square one in a single free day. You would have to

eat 24,500 calories (yes, twenty-four THOUSAND calories!). Not

possible with a few donuts, burgers and fries. To undo all your hard

work you would have to drink the contents of a deep-fat fryer or

something.

>

> Now, it is possible to gain 4-5 pounds of water in one day if you

overload on carbs and sodium. It's just water though, and it will

leave almost as quickly as it showed up. If you want to avoid the

bloating trauma, don't get on the scale again until next week.

>

> I ate 4,000+ calories every free day in my first challenge and

went from a size 12 to a size 6 (and later a size 4). I don't

necessarily recommend that approach for everyone but it was perfect

for me. Here's something I've posted before about my free days.

>

> ~~~

>

> There is raging debate about free day. The answer probably depends

on your goals, personality, and metabolism. I'm wishy-washy on my

goals, have a goofball personality, and a fast metabolism. So, I eat

absolutely anything I want and as much as I want on free day. Now,

if someone were a detail oriented, goal setting, control freak with

a lot of weight to lose and a slow metabolism, they might not be

able to do any such thing. They might be better off planning a

couple of free meals or eating only what they really want and only

in moderation.

>

> Some people (and I like this idea) go back and forth between

taking a full free day one week, and maybe one or two free meals the

next - like dinner and a movie on Friday night and a pancake

breakfast on Sunday. How " free " you are would depend on your results

and your state of mind that week.

>

> Nobody should feel guilty about needing a full, crazy free day in

order to stay on the program. That's what it takes for a lot of

people, and free days do tend to moderate themselves over time.

After weeks of planning, cooking, packing, and stuffing meals into

yourself like clockwork, sometimes it's a relief NOT to eat.

Sometimes I barely get in 1,000 calories. Mostly it's madness

though. :-)

>

> Here was the last free day I wrote down:

>

> a bowl of Wheaties with All-Bran and raisins

> 1 piece whole wheat toast with peanut butter

> handful of Nacho cheese Doritos

> an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers

> 1 Hostess Ho-Ho

> Quarter Pounder with cheese

> medium french fries

> Oreo McFlurry

> 2 Wild Berry Pop Tarts

> the head of a chocolate Easter bunny

> handful of peanut M & Ms

> 1 Red Baron pizza pocket

> 2 Cadbury Eggs

> 1 oz sharp cheddar

> a bowl of pistachio ice cream

>

>

> My full free days tend to be in the 4,500 to 5,000 calorie range.

Here's another one with calorie totals. This was Halloween and I

couldn't stay out of the candy:

>

>

> 4 chocolate chip cookies 238

>

> 2 Twizzlers 60

>

> 1 scoop of Designer Protein 90

>

> 3 cups Kraft macaroni & cheese 930

>

> 4 Kit Kat minis 240

>

> 4 cups oil popped popcorn 164

>

> 1 pint Ben & Jerry's 1200

>

> 4 Twizzlers 120

>

> 10 Ritz crackers 216

>

> 4 Butterfinger minis 400

>

> 4 corn tortillas 198

>

> 3.5 oz 90% lean ground beef 250

>

> 2 oz sharp cheddar 228

>

> 2 Tbsp light sour cream 30

>

> 3 Kit Kat minis 240

>

> 1 mini Milk Dud 40

>

>

>

> Total 4,644 calories

>

>

>

> People have been asking me lately if that makes me sick. :-) No,

it normally doesn't even make me uncomfortably full. The only side

effect is that I get hot afterward, blazing hot. I can literally

feel the metabolic furnace kicking on.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Free Days

>

>

> Is it possible to completely over do it on free days and

sabotage the

> progress you made for the week? Just wondering because after

last

> week (my SOB week in which all of you made me feel better), I

weighed

> myself the morning of my free day and noticed that I lost 2

lbs.

> Very excited! Yesterday I ate: 6 donuts, cheeseburger, french

> fries, pop, and chips. Hey, it was my free day : )! But now

I'm

> feeling a tad guilty. Just as some personal background, I

started

> the challenge on 5/17/04 at 140 lbs. Yesterday morning I

weighed

> 133. Clothes still don't fit well though. ANYWAY, could I have

> destroyed my efforts in one obnoxious free day?

>

>

>