A little confused about EODD

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Permalink Reply by JBF Coach Sarah on October 24, 2011 at 3:55pm

With regards to your point 1

Feed meals are to be had 30 minutes after your apple. However ... SNAPP is also to be YOUR lifestyle, so adaptation is allowed, within reason.

Therefore, I have a question for you: do you have a day off mid-week, or with a gap between classes? If you do, you can have one feed day that day, having the apple a little later than your usual lunch break (or half then and half before the feed meal) and a second feed meal on the weekend.

Or: depending on how early you have your dinner, you might be able to have the mid-week feed at that time.

 

One solution would also be to have your feed meal at breakfast instead - have an apple as soon as you get up, and make eggs, bacon and toast to have 30 minutes later, then have your nuts mid-morning and the shake at lunch (you can still add an apple to that one, as well as any veggies you want, plus the healthy oils, seeds etc).

 

Avoid having feed meals late in the day. I'd say 4 pm is the absolute latest I'd even consider it so the breakfast idea could be your best bet.

 

Question 2 is pretty much answered I think :) whichever day works best for you can be the feed day, plus one on weekends.

 

Re 3 ... I know what you mean. Those three days at Chrostmas, preceeded by office parties and other "bad" things, are a challenge. What we've done here, is to give ourselves a challenge each year-end: to be leaner (or at least no fatter) on January 3rd than we were December 20th. So far it's worked pretty well for those of us who have set that goal.

 

You should not skip a feed day. You won't necessarily go into starvation mode, but your body won't get the trigger to keep you burning excess fat. Obciously, there is a question of how many days you should go, maximum, between feed days. Jon's experimented with this also, as have I (and probably most of the success-story people on here).  I've never liked to go over 5 burn days, crazy cravings seem to come sneaking in if I do. Some may have that limit at 4 days, others maybe at 6 ... you'll have to see what your body (and mind!) says.

 

A trick for the 3 days of Christmas ...  strict SNAPP for all meals other than the one you cannot get out of; then strict portion control at that meal, adding as much salad and vegetables as you can. Try also to have your apple half an hour before so that you're less hungry going in. Limit your wine/alcohol consumption, as it tends to make you fotget your good resolves. Drink plenty of water, and go for a digestive walk (10-15 minutes is enough) after the meal.

 

As for 4, Go for it. What you want is to add healthy calories plus something a bit crazy. If you want a yogurt why not make some home made muessli of nuts and grains to mix into it mid-morning? You can have a banana in your shake to add calories there as well.

 

EODD is not set in stone.

 

It's a fairly strict guideline that you are allowed to adapt to suit your lifestyle. I only suggest you follow it as closely as you can for three months until you get the hang of it and understand how to best adapt it for you. Listen to your body, Keep track of your personal stats (weight, measurements, body fat %, clothing size etc) and keep taking pictures! Before pics, but also ... once amonth at least, to see the progression.

 

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Permalink Reply by Elisha Oliver on October 24, 2011 at 8:48pm

Thank you for the reply Sarah!

 

Unfortunately, I don't have gaps between classes. I have recess, lunch, then hometime. I work 3 days a week (due to having chronic fatigue syndrome) so I was thinking maybe having my feed days on Mondays and Fridays (I work Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays), although I don't know what to do about the weekend. Are they to be burn days or one burn and one feed? (that would then be two feed days in a row. Are we allowed that?)

 

What do you do if you are at a friends place at dinnertime and they order a pizza or fish and chips or something? Do I not eat or am I allowed one or two slices? I don't want to be *that* person who creates hassle because I won't have the occaisonal pizza. (I will eat it like once every two months or something like that anyway, so not often).

 

Sorry about all the questions, but I have never gone on a diet before or anything like this and I want to get it right. I have tried loosing weight by exercise alone, but due to CFS I can't do enough exercise to do anything at all. I am very frustrated and sick of being fat! I am going to give EODD my best shot though!

 

Elisha.

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Permalink Reply by JBF Coach Sarah on October 25, 2011 at 4:22am

Let me repeat what Jon says here: you cannot BE fat, you can only be carrying too much excess fat, ok?

 

That said, feeling fed up and frustrated about that excess load you're carrying around is totally understandable, and you've come to the right place to get help getting rid of it.

 

EODD, though the word "diet" is in the title, is not a diet, but a lifestyle.

 

To get to your questions and concerns though - I would maybe have feed days on Friday and Sunday, or Saturday and Monday, rather than having two in a row. Weekends are just days, man-made time restraints. Your body, muscles and fat cells have no clue what a weekend is, and don't care. :)

 

You know, you have the perfect excuse to be "that" person at a gathering of friends. Your chronic fatigue syndrome! I'm serious, use it to explain why you're not having deep fried or starchy foods. If you were just to say "I'm on a diet, so no thanks" then yes, you'd get the "oh, for once it won't hurt" comments - which is true, for once does not hurt, but there are weeks when you hear that 5 days in a row! That's not "for once" anymore.

 

I'm no doctor, but I have a sneaky suspicion your chronic fatigue syndrome will diminish and even go away once your excess fat is melted away and you're following a healthy lifestyle including SNAPP.  And after all, what's more important?

 

Your health, well being and self esteem (with the fat obliterated)?

or

Your friends and the same overweight and fatigue you have now?

 

It's a sad fact that many of us who change our lifestyle and become healthy(ier) and lean(er) often have to make a decision of whether to still be friends with certain individuals. The fact that we change, that we do something about the disease/overweight other than sit around over a crumpet and complain, threatens those who prefer the crumpet.

 

You'll be showing them that you can do it, in spite of the fatigue, in spite of being a woman, in spite of working 3 days a week, in spite of them trying to undermine your efforts! That means that all their complaining about how "hard" and "impossible" and "nothing works, I've tried it all" ... just becomes meaningless. You'll have shown them that inner strength and perseverance can overcome that state of tired overfatness (new syndrome, lol).

 

I know. My husband at the time I shed 65 lbs (in 6 months, I got really "anal" lol, being "THAT" person!!) felt extremely threatened as he could not "lose weight" nor stop smoking - considering himself a strong person. And here I was, "feeble" me, resisting all the temptations he brought home, getting up early to walk before breakfast, weight training 3, 4 or 5 days a week depending on my program ... we split up. My decision. Too much negativity, too much stress, when I broke down on my way to work (I was driving!) I decided that enough was enough, one more dead-weight to get rid of.

 

So yes, you will have to make some sacrifices along the way. Some friends, the true ones, will support you and understand. What I have done at times, is bring a salad to gatherings where I knew there would be "crap food". Once, one of the other participants even asked if I had enough for two because my grilled chicken breast salad looked more appetizing than their pizza! Serious!

 

Don't be afraid to stand out. I know it's hard when you're overweight and just want to blend in, but trust me ... you get over that fast when the fat melts off ;-) when you're full of energy again, fit into nice clothes (once the fat's gone, try going to a totally different shop than you go to now and just try on things you'd never have thought of trying on; your body will be different so will the fit of everything.

 

Final comment for now: have a look at my before pictures. Well, the ones on here anyway. I have older ones, when I was 205 lbs (46% fat!!) that I can't post because they're not digital, but you can still see the difference between the intermediate-befores and the afters.

 

Oh, and ASK, please! That's why we're here! Not just on the food side, as you can see :) there's a lot of psychological "stuff" going on when you change your lifestyle, and we've been there so we can help, and want to help.

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Permalink Reply by JBF Mentor Tom Mortensen on October 25, 2011 at 2:33pm

I haven't got much to add to Sarah's wonderful words of wisdom and encouragement, do take them in!

 

On the feed days issue I just finished reading a report by Joel Marion and Craig Ballantyne, both notable experts in fatloss and workout programs, which stated that after 7 burn days your leptin levels will be so low that fatloss will come to a halt. Leptin is one of the chemicals regulating metabolism and fat burning, and it's presence in your body is heavily dependent on calorie intake, which when lowered too much for too long will cause leption levels to drop = no fatloss.

 

Conclusion: Don't exceed 7 burn days before having a feed day.

 

Stay focused and determined, we know you can do it, it's just a matter of figuring it all out!

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Permalink Reply by Ess Three on October 25, 2011 at 3:28pm

Personally after 3 burn days my appetite disappears completely and I could easily keep on burn days for ever.
But when my appetite disappears like that, it usually means that my metabolism has wound down too. . .

So I don't do more than 3 burn days in a row. . . I'll do a feed even if it isn't quite as big as it should be,

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Permalink Reply by Elisha Oliver on October 27, 2011 at 5:33pm

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I think I have got everything sorted in my head now and I'm going to start tomorrow! I am excited about loosing the flab!

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