[AppleOnYa76]

Once you moved on from BFL to other things or your own thing, have you kept the 1 FREE DAY in each week?

Just wondering. I did BFL a couple of times in the past (post pregnancies) and did the free day, but this time I am working out mostly with kettlebells (and cardio too). I am afraid to add a free day since I am not doing BFL, but my own thing.

[Depalma]

You don't need to do the specific BFL workouts to follow the basic nutrition guidelines of BFL. If you've used free days in the past and it worked well for you, then you can and perhaps should use them.

In my mind, it is an individual thing and it all eventually boils down to total calories in and calories out over the long term. There is some evidence that free days help restore Leptin levels and help keep your metabolism high throughout a diet. I have also known people for whom cheat days helped keep them from feeling deprived and helped with their overall compliance.

Then again, there are people like me with whom cheat days are like a loaded gun. I cannot be trusted with them. Cheat day shouldn't mean binge day, but for me it does and it usually takes time to get back on track. For people like me, bypassing cheat days and whatever physiological benefits they may have is the smarter move.

[nelie]

I know a lot of people who followed BFL that used a free meal but not a free day. I'm not sure anyone here used an entire free day of eating whatever they wanted. I usually have one 'free' meal a week and I'm still very conscious of what I eat but I let it be a little more caloric than normal meals.

[Mel]

I started with BFL and used a free day at first, As depalma experienced, it was a loaded gun for me also. It re-triggered a long buried binge eating disorder that I still battle again 6 years after BFL. I would recommend a planned free meal or just a higher calorie day of clean food and one treat of choice if you can do it that way.

Mel

[AppleOnYa76]

Yeah... That makes sense. When it comes to certain foods, I feel like I might know what it feels like to be an alcoholic. I can see myself taking a free day or free meal way too far and using it to justify things that have no justification when it comes to the scale.

I will stick to what I am doing... I have higher calorie meals now and then, maybe once or twice a month, when I decide to go out with my husband... Like steak or a glass of wine.

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback.

[Depalma]

Christian Thibadeau actually covers this topic quite well in this week's article: "5 Reasons for Failed Body Transformations."

#3 Misapplying Dietary Digressions is relevant to this discussion

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ransformations

Warning: Link leads to article on T-Nation. Some readers may find the pictures ( both the figure competitors in bikinis and the burger and fries) offensive.

[Tomato]

Hey Apple,

You have such gorgeous hair!!! (sorry I could refrain myself from complimenting you).
When I read your post, I assumed that by 'free day' you meant a day without exercise but reading others' replies, I see that they interpret free day as eat-what-you-want.

I started doing BFL some time in late fall, I am probably at 12 weeks now although I don't know when I started. You see, I started to follow his suggestion of Weights/Cardio/Weights/Cardio/Weights/Cardio days followed by a free day (=no exercise but still eating on plan).
However, I have to say that from the very beginning I adjusted his concept to my needs as I am in the final stage of my weight loss and I was already lifting weight prior to starting the BFL program (I also do Zumba classes for my cardio instead of his recommended HIIT cardio).

Although I do not allow myself free days as in eat-what-you-want, I do sometimes go to have a dinner (out) with a friend when I really don't care too much whether it is healthy or not. However, those are only occasional events and I try to go back to my normal eating asap. I would agree though that if I had an eat-what-you-can day (I mean all day) I would probably eat a whole week's worth of bad food and it would be extremely hard to return to my lean diet.
So my motto is to have an occasional treat (or sin, if you will) here and there and don't worry too much about it. Life is short.