Birthday Cheat Day

So Sunday will be my boyfriend's birthday, and I recovered from anorexia, I still exercise hard but I now eat right and have lots of muscle for the first time and feel amazing. I'm considered a Fitness Pro since I do hard core workouts everyday (burning 4000+ calories) and I decided that Sunday I'll do a massive cheat day. I seen other bodybuilders and hard core fitness people have like an indulgence day. Has anyone ever had a cheat day like once a month where they ate whatever and how much they want? Without counting calories because I planned to finish off the rest of my King Cake, make a White Chocolate Pound Cake for his birthday, and we planned to go to a Chinese buffet. I haven't ate Chinese in such a long time and forgot how delicious it is. I know this a silly thing to do but I was curious to know have other people on here done something like this and are fit, love to exercise (especially hard) and maybe ate between 3000-10000 calories in a day and got back on track the day after?
«1

Replies

  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    I don't do cheat days. I indulge when I REALLY want something and move on. The 3000-10000 calories will probably make you sick after so long of eating normally and in a healthy manner. You will also probably feel like poo after eating all that oil and sugar that your body hasn't had in a while either.

    However, that being said, as long as you get back on the wagon the next day (and watch out for being sick to your stomach), have fun! It's only one day. :smiley:
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    How are you burning 4000+ calories a day? Holy hell.

    If you're truly burning that much, you can probably eat the entire cake.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    edited January 2016
    Nothing silly about it at all.
    Birthdays only come once a year. Go ahead and splurge. It's not like having one day off means you're going off the deep end forever.
    Special occasions are special. Treat them as such.

    ETA and kudos to you for recovering from your ED. Allowing yourself to indulge for a special occasion is a great sign that your recovery is going well.
  • Schila64
    Schila64 Posts: 240 Member
    edited January 2016
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    How are you burning 4000+ calories a day? Holy hell.

    If you're truly burning that much, you can probably eat the entire cake.

    I thought the same thing...How can you burn 4000 calories / day?? :| The only time that I remember that I burn thousands of calories is when I did the MS 150 riding my bike from Houston to Austin

  • I have an incliner treadmill and I'm basically hill climbing for 2.5+ hours a day and I believe I can handle another monthly food indulgence day like Christmas and thanksgiving. Since those r in different months, y not just have an indulgence day every month? Gotta live for once, cant restrict the rest of my life. I was curious if other people have done this and recovered quickly with continue exercise and healthy eating. I watch a lot of competitive athletes, eaters and bodybuilders on YouTube and they have challanges eating 5000-30000+ calories pretty much every month and they are fit and thin and I wanted to know has anyone on here done so?
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    I'm just kind of gobsmacked at these calorie ranges you're tossing out - I mean, there's a HUGE difference between 3,000 and 10,000 calories, and 5,000 to 30,000 (!!) calories. Why such drastic ranges??
  • I never really eat over 4000, hardly 3000 but i know the competitors eat all those calories and they still stay fit, and it's typically once a month they have those massive cheat days.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    sorry to break it to you, but walking on a treadmill at an incline (even for 2.5 hours) does NOT burn 4000+ calories and does not make you a "fitness pro" (whatever that is?) your numbers are ridiculous and drastic, as others have suggested.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,422 MFP Moderator
    First, it's one day, it's ok to splurge.


    Second, there is no reason to be on a stair climber for 2.5 hours a day. It's not going to benefit you from being on that long. Plus, most gains are made during rest and you should have a balance between cardio and resistance training.

    And unless you are dropping several lbs a week, the stair climber is over exaggerating your burns. Because if you include your metabolic rate, thermal effect of food, non exercise adaptive thermogenesis and the thermal effect of exercise and subtract calories in, you would have to be losing well over 3 lbs a week.
  • kristengregson43
    kristengregson43 Posts: 10 Member
    I feel like your replacing one disease with another. Overexcersing and binge eating is just as unhealthy anorexia. I wouldn't do it for your sake I would save yourself those 10000 calories and instead put your energy to work on your overexcercising. I'm glad you've overcome anorexia that's a huge step forward, keep going forward.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    I never really eat over 4000, hardly 3000 but i know the competitors eat all those calories and they still stay fit, and it's typically once a month they have those massive cheat days.

    Competitors eat 30,000 calories in a day? Competing for what, to become the world's fattest person?

    I don't understand.



  • I just know I work my butt off on my incliner for hours and constantly losing or staying the same and I'm petite too. Been exercising for 4 years on the same treadmill everyday and since I recovered from anorexia, I completely changed my diet and routine.
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
    Yeah I was gonna say 4,000 calories burned seems ridiculous! Ive seen people running 7 mile half marathons which is about 12-13 miles typically and only burning 1500-1800 calories...
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,422 MFP Moderator
    I feel like your replacing one disease with another. Overexcersing and binge eating is just as unhealthy anorexia. I wouldn't do it for your sake I would save yourself those 10000 calories and instead put your energy to work on your overexcercising. I'm glad you've overcome anorexia that's a huge step forward, keep going forward.

    This is a good point too.. Going from one extreme to another extreme can just be as bad. Maybe something to discuss with your recovery team.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    I would be very concerned about the extremes in your thinking and exercising.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    I feel like your replacing one disease with another. Overexcersing and binge eating is just as unhealthy anorexia. I wouldn't do it for your sake I would save yourself those 10000 calories and instead put your energy to work on your overexcercising. I'm glad you've overcome anorexia that's a huge step forward, keep going forward.

    This is a good point too.. Going from one extreme to another extreme can just be as bad. Maybe something to discuss with your recovery team.

    So much this.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Nothing silly about it at all.
    Birthdays only come once a year. Go ahead and splurge. It's not like having one day off means you're going off the deep end forever.
    Special occasions are special. Treat them as such.

    ETA and kudos to you for recovering from your ED. Allowing yourself to indulge for a special occasion is a great sign that your recovery is going well.

    cosign
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I feel like your replacing one disease with another. Overexcersing and binge eating is just as unhealthy anorexia. I wouldn't do it for your sake I would save yourself those 10000 calories and instead put your energy to work on your overexcercising. I'm glad you've overcome anorexia that's a huge step forward, keep going forward.

    cosign this too ..

    OP - you need to find the middle ground ....
  • I always struggled with my weight for years, first it was binge eating which lead me to gain lots of weight, then I got to a normal weight but still wasn't happy, 3 years later, I became anorexic, but now I'm at a weight I'm happy with and no longer starve myself but when I exercise, I eat 1500-2000 calories a day, sometimes more and I'm doing this thing where I can have a cheat meal once a week and a cheat day once a month.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Op, you have a posting history that screams anorexia. Please seek help.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    I feel like your replacing one disease with another. Overexcersing and binge eating is just as unhealthy anorexia. I wouldn't do it for your sake I would save yourself those 10000 calories and instead put your energy to work on your overexcercising. I'm glad you've overcome anorexia that's a huge step forward, keep going forward.

    This is a good point too.. Going from one extreme to another extreme can just be as bad. Maybe something to discuss with your recovery team.

    So much this.

    Yes, I agree. 2.5 hours of exercise on it's own is excessive unless you're an athlete or training for a very specific event (like a marathon for example). Your calorie burns may be exaggerated, but even if you're really burning half of that, it's still alot. You should really speak with your recovery team.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I always struggled with my weight for years, first it was binge eating which lead me to gain lots of weight, then I got to a normal weight but still wasn't happy, 3 years later, I became anorexic, but now I'm at a weight I'm happy with and no longer starve myself but when I exercise, I eat 1500-2000 calories a day, sometimes more and I'm doing this thing where I can have a cheat meal once a week and a cheat day once a month.

    You eat 1500-2000 calories a day and yet burn 4,000+?

    Mathematically and scientifically that doesn't add up. You'd be losing weight at that rate. However, just looking at those numbers alone... you don't see anything wrong?
  • kk_inprogress
    kk_inprogress Posts: 3,077 Member
    I always struggled with my weight for years, first it was binge eating which lead me to gain lots of weight, then I got to a normal weight but still wasn't happy, 3 years later, I became anorexic, but now I'm at a weight I'm happy with and no longer starve myself but when I exercise, I eat 1500-2000 calories a day, sometimes more and I'm doing this thing where I can have a cheat meal once a week and a cheat day once a month.

    So mathematically you're betting a negative number? That just doesn't add up and the mentality is incredibly dangerous.
  • Rachel0778
    Rachel0778 Posts: 1,701 Member
    Just a heads up, I didn't burn 4000 calories running a marathon so you may want to recalculate your burns.

    To your original post-there is nothing wrong with enjoying Chinese food and a slice of cake (or two) with your boyfriend. Listen to your body, eat slowly, and stop when full instead of stuffed.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    Excessive exercise is a sub group of anorexia... Please check in with a healthcare provider to make sure you're not dipping back into dangerous waters.
    That aside I'm a regular middle aged lady who has long recovered from teenage anorexia athletica. I give myself free range eating days on Christmas, thanksgiving, immediate family birthdays, etc and I always track AFTER I've eaten and it's weird but right around 4000 calories is when I always seem to feel like 'whew, stick a fork in me... I'm DONE!' So I find it hard to believe you'll eat 10k calories unless you are a binge/purge eater.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    I'm going to agree with all the others that you are not, in fact, recovered and should speak to a professional.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I'm going to agree with all the others that you are not, in fact, recovered and should speak to a professional.

    Yep. That much exercise with your history is not good.
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
    More red flags here than Monza on race day. OP, you do not sound recovered to me at all. Please talk to your treatment team.
  • chastity0921
    chastity0921 Posts: 209 Member
    Please talk to someone or contact the NEDA helpline. In the past year you've asked a question about binge eating, about eating 400 cal/day to lose weight, and now we are to extreme exercise and binge eating again. Even if you have talked to someone or went into treatment, this seems like a slippery slope.