Anybody else notice a common thread to some of these diet and exercise books?
BFL says to avoid processed wheat.
So does Eat Right for your Type. (if you are a type O.)
Deepak Chopra says to stay away from processed foods.
Bill Williams (BFL) says to exercise first thing in the morning.
Deepak Chopra says that the first sluggish/slow period of the day starts at 6 am. If you can get up before then, you will have more energy through the day and will be able to move your body better on rising. He also says to do sun salutations first thing in the morning.
I think these guys are sitting around eating Cheez-Its and drinking beer talking about all the fat chicks who are going to be getting up at 5 am to sweat like mad and eat rabbit food for the rest of the day!!!
Just kidding, guys, you rock, I think you are onto the truth, and thanks for sharing it with us!
I think that is Bill Phillips not Williams that you are referring to.
for the rest of the post. Yes they are onto to something! Have you ever seen a picture of Bill Phillips? You wouldn't say that about him if you had! He has an INCREDIBLE body.
Well...pretty much...most nutrition programs will tell ya that the less processed the food you eat, the better for weight/fat loss, since it takes your system longer to digest and 'process' stuff like, say, oats vs. bread, that sort of thing.
And of course fiber is great for your innards and also keeps you filled up - there is FAR more fiber in fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains than in, say, a V-8 juice or white rice. (I had to mention V-8 since a lot of the folks at work who are doing WW and LOATHE veggies drink a lot of that stuff - I actually like it too but it is WAY high in sodium...haven't had it in eons).
Gotta say this about the "sluggish" part of the day - Chopra's might be at 6 am- mine is exactly 13 hours later - at 7 PM. I've been hitting the gym early since 1995 (after I discovered that lo and behold, there is no waiting for machines before 5:30 am at my gym!!) and I also get the most work done in the morning...or perhaps Seinfeld reruns have a calming effect on me!
My sluggish part of the day is around 2 or 3 or 4 o'clock .... Lately I just need a snooze... Sometimes, when I'm working I even come home at lunch and have a "cat" nap...
Speaking of WW I threw out my "lifetime" WW membership the other day... I found it in my purse and thought : "Well, I ain't NEVER EVER going back there!!" Felt goooooood
Ok Bill if I win this challenge you get to kick my butt for getting your LAST NAME WRONG!!!! How embarrassing!!!! Sorry! But Williams and Phillips are linguistically similar....
And yes, he does have an amazing bod.
(but then so will we soon!)
Mrs. Jim, Chopra's book might be really interesting for you. There are three distinct patterns of people, time, etc. and there's two sluggish periods per day - 6 am - 10 am and 6pm - 10pm. (this also is why you shouldn't eat later dinners because your bod doesn't have the optimal digestive support at that time. It's also why if you stay up past ten you'll get another burst of energy and another appetite burst as well.) There's another change at 2 pm - changes from Pitta (high energy) to Vata (calmer) which also explains that "snacktime" that so many people explain as "low sugar" time. Anyway, Deepak has a book worth reading. My favorite tip from him? Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full. In short, listen to what your body is telling you.
Or you can do a search on the word "dinacharya" for more info on a daily routine.
And sorry again to Bill.
I recommend all three books, they are all quite healthy. ER4YT has helped me get rid of an evil 16 pound per month water retention cycle and is good for overall energy levels.
And Lanaii - I am with you 100% - weight watchers is for sissies!!!!! I want my money back!
My trainer says it's wrong. Other plans say it's wrong, and some people who have been successful at this change say it's not going to help you.
I think that's rather close-minded.
Free day is built into the program and as such, one can be quite successful taking a free day every week if one is doing BFL by the book . True, other plans may not include a free day but the point is, they aren't structured the same way BFL is.
99% of people can not go from a non-exercising, eating whatever lifestyle to 7 days a week of perfect eating and daily exercise. But they *can* go to 6 days plus a free day to relax and let loose.
Palm/fist can be pretty lowcal; free day also helps bump your metabolism with a higher cal day. Staying at the same level of calories all the time is not condusive to fat loss; your body acclimates fast.
My point is....the free day is not "wrong" as long as you are following the rest of the program.
I went from eating clean 7 days a week and probably very low calorie, to BFL with a free day. The longer I did BFL, the wilder the free days became. I gained weight on bfl and also regained all my cravings for junk food. I think it really depends where you are coming from. Getting rid of the free day mentality has been what's gotten me back to where I want to be.
I think some of us are really addicted to some foods- and allowing them once a week is like telling an alcoholic that it's ok to go on a bender every Friday night and it'll be fine on Saturday.
But that's what makes this forum so interesting, the discussions we have, so don't be shy to stir things up a bit once in a while...
As for "free day" it may not be for everyone, I like to have a couple of treats on that day, but I usually keep the rest of the day clean, because now for some reason I don't like all that other crap stuff anyways. Just for an example, today I had one slice of my fave flaxseed bread, I usually love it, but because I haven't had it in a few days, I found it too sweet! Imagine that finding bread sweet? Your taste buds just change so much over time that you don't feel a need to have a free full day every week...
Mel -- I can totally relate that some foods send you off the deep end, my mom still can't understand why I can't just have ONE cookie... "Just tell yourself you're gonna have ONE ...." she says....NO I CANNOT DO THAT MOM!! NOT with a COOKIE.....
I have a day of rest each week, where I don't worry specifically about exercise or food. I find that I still do something active most of the time. My body's getting used to it, and sitting at the computer all day isn't as fun as it used to be.
As for food, I still try to use my new Superpowers of PortionEstimation and listen to my body about when it's full. And if I want Cheezits or popcorn (or cookies) I'll put them in a bowl rather than eat out of the package. But I don't really measure, and I don't necessarily pick good food choices. If I want Cheezits and cheese for lunch, I'll eat it.
On a normal day, I aim for 2000-2500 calories (less than that will starve my huge body right now). What I've found when I estimate the calories from that day is that I'm usually only 500 calories or so over my aim.
As long as I listen to my body and stop when I'm not hungry, I'm okay. It's when I'm not thinking about what I'm eating and the package is open in front of me that I can down a whole LOT of food without realizing or really tasting it.
Ok since I stirred the beans on this on the other thread, I will throw my 2 cents in.
I was on WW during the whole optional calories phase, and they drove me nuts!! The whole points sytem got rid of all of that.
As for the free day, I do understand the logic, but I also think each person reacts differently - we just saw a few examples of that here. I knew a lady on WW who took weekends off, but was very strict during the week, and still lost her weight. I know that never worked for me. I think what it says in BFL does make sense as to the reasoning for it, but it seems like when people stall, it may stem back to the free day.
I know I have tossed around doing free day vs. a treat here and there and I can see how that can get out of hand, and it would for me, being that I am a big "taste of this, taste of that" person. Yesterday, I realized how much I was about to taste, but I stopped myself - orange pecans, kettle cooked chips, Ben and Jerry's. Normally, I would have done it,with the mentality "oh it is just a little it wont hurt". Well, it does add up and I am sure that is one of the things that has kept me from losing weight.
I doubt I will go ballistic on my free day - I probably just wont eat 6 meals, and indulge in a few favs or something. I am thinking I will track it though on Fitday just to see how many calories I put in. Maybe the shock will keep me at bay
Just goes to show you that there is not ONE plan that works for EVERYONE - KWIM?
For me personally, the Free Day was a very appealing aspect of BFL when I first read about it - like Laura said, for the Average Joe or Jill (which is whom Bill Phillips aimed the book at - the average person - see the video "Body of Work") most folks would find it just about impossible to eat such a strict diet 7 days a week. Having that 1 day 'breather' in the program makes it workable for the general public IMO.
Of course, that doesn't work for EVERYONE - Mel is a perfect example...and if Bill P. ever decides to rewrite BFL, he could start with what he wrote about Free Day - I dunno if it's a good idea to give the average reader carte blanche to eat several Big Macs at one sitting, or a whole pizza, box of donuts, etc. *I do admit that I have had Free Days like that in the past...my first Challenge, every Sunday was a food-fest - HUGE breakfasts at Stacks and later, Mexican food (the big combo platter) and Baskin-Robbins for dinner...and I've read on various forums about folks spending their entire Free Day in pursuit of food - literally driving from drive-thru to drive-thru - just eating 'because they can'.
What I do now...generally I know what I want to eat on Sunday. Jim and I treat Sunday as our "date day" usually. Or sometimes we just want burritos at the local taqueria - cheap stuff. Sometimes I want takeaway sushi from Draeger's. Generally frozen yogurt is on the list if it's a hot day...but I also plan other stuff BESIDES eating on Sunday - such as going to the stables and giving the lesson horses a nice bath and grooming...taking a road trip with hubby...that sort of thing.
Ilene - I like my bread SOUR! There ain't nothin' like REAL San Francisco sourdough bread IMO!
Karen - Ahh good ol' SF sourdough bread!! I lived in the Bay Area for 4 years back in the late 80s when my DH was stationed at TI/Alameda.
Bill Phillips is coming out with 2 new books, though I am not sure when...... Eating for Life, and Eating for Life Cookbook. His website actually has sample recipes you can download and print, which I did. They look good.....I just need time to cook them Maybe he will address the free day issue as well as other ones. We shall see
Now I have my ancient tracker and it says that a week's worth of optional calories is 700. So the BFL free day is indeed freer than the WW optional calories. If I were to use the WW guide to optional calories on my BFL free day, my total caloric intake for that day would be 2200 calories.
I'm not silly enough to make a recommendation - this is just the math.
With all due respect you just can't count calories like that and then make a judgement about a program. The are hundreds of other factors that tie into the program that are different to WW.
ANY program needs to be look at from a holistic approach in my book. AND it needs to be taken in your current context as well.
I am afraid that it's just not that simple to break it down and compare like that.
common nutrition themes
for the rest of the post. Yes they are onto to something! Have you ever seen a picture of Bill Phillips? You wouldn't say that about him if you had! He has an INCREDIBLE body.
she says....NO I CANNOT DO THAT MOM!! NOT with a COOKIE.....
Sometimes I want takeaway sushi from Draeger's. Generally frozen yogurt is on the list if it's a hot day...but I also plan other stuff BESIDES eating on Sunday - such as going to the stables and giving the lesson horses a nice bath and grooming...taking a road trip with hubby...that sort of thing. 
Maybe he will address the free day issue as well as other ones. We shall see 
Ohhhhhh....... Cheez-Its....... my all time favorite freakout food....
