Am I convinced? No. But I'm giving it a try. Remember that fruit is full of fructose, not sucrose or glucose. So it doesn't really meet the purpose of refeed. I think that he is right at least to some extent, I know the thyroid gets foobared by low carbing and dieting, but does a single day of high carb really reset it for a week?

The free meal is there for psychological purposes, something to relieve the relative monotony and strictness of the diet. So do what you wish with them. Frankly, your stomach size will probably reduce so much you can't do that much damage with them. Free = free from rules... yes, of course, eat fat or whatever during your free meal. For me, I save mine for social occassions, usually I have at least one a week.



I'm allowing more of whatever I want at the time!

Start with Category 3 and see how you do. If you stall out, then try to turn a free meal into a refeed and see if it helps.

As far as what is allowed and what isn't, regards beer and fat, the idea is to make the biggest calorie deficit possible and the only reason those things are limited is because they tend to make that goal harder. However, if you can do it, then I am envious!