How long will it take to get back where I was

yoltwag

After about two years of dieting, I got down to my lowest body fat percentage and was super happy with my body. Sat at around 58kg and 17% body fat.

I then went on a month of total binging. Every day. I was doing high intensity exercise for two hours a day, but my binges were out of control.

I've been back on track for three days. I'm too scared to weigh myself, although I assume I'm around 70kg. All the fat has gone straight to my stomach and I can't wear any of my clothes. It took me a month to do the damage, can I assume a month of hard work will undo it? If not how long would you say?

Fitness wise I was still improving, I've been lifting heavier and my cardio is around the same. Just struggle a bit more with pull ups and body weight exercises due to the extra weight.

Stressing out as I want my body back for summer (3 months).

Thanks

dragon_girl26

If you're thinking you're around 70kg(154lbs) , and you started at 58kg (127lbs), then trying to lose 12kg (about 26.4 lbs) would be unrealistic to lose in a month''s time. It might possibly be achievable in 3 months time, but given your current weight, it's a very aggressive goal. Not sure how tall you are, but for me at 5'6", 154lbs is in the healthy weight range so 1.5ish lbs a week loss would be way too aggressive. Your best bet would be to set your loss rate to 1 lb/wk on MFP and see how far you get.
The other thing I'll mention is that, for me personally, intensive exercise as a means to lose weight is usually counterproductive. My appetite spikes out of control and I wind up practically eating the house. Sounds like the same issue might be happening for you as well.
Also, 26 lbs is quite a bit to gain in a month''s time though. It takes 3500 calories above your TDEE to gain 1 lb of fat, so that would be some pretty hardcore binges to gain that much in such a short amount of time (about 19000 - 22700 calories extra a week, roughly). I think you're overestimating just a bit, but the only way to know for certain is to step on the scale and find out.

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kathrynjean_

I'm curious to know how you determined you were at 17% body fat? For many women, that's not an attainable weight to maintain year round. I'm guessing that could have something to do with the bingeing and feeling out of control ...

sara_b0702

yoltwag wrote: »

I just cant fathom how one month of over eating but still training has completely put me back at where I started.

That's why they say weight loss/maintenance is 80% diet, 20% exercise, unfortunately!

The weight will probably come off a bit easier since you've been training the whole time; once you drop your intake but keep the same or nearly same exercise level, you should start to see some results.

I'm having a bit of the opposite problem as you - my diet has been OK-ish but now that I'm back trying to gain some muscle again after 3-4 months, I'm just flabbergasted at how weak I am! I used to be able to do 10 pushups no problem and now I have to do "girly" pushups on my knees! Our bodies are awesome but also frustrating

Spliner1969

I doubt you gained that much in a month unless your binges were with complete crap food, and even then.. it's going to be tough to gain that much in 4 weeks. You probably gained muscle during the calorie surplus, and are retaining tons of water from the extra hard workouts and sodium. Increase your water intake, reign in your eating habits and go back to healthy food (IE: Set your macros and stay within them) and give it a couple of weeks, then weigh in. Watch the sodium because if you're binging on crap food it's probably full of sodium. It's easy to eat 6k sodium a day eating prepared food and/or junk food which can easily net you a 5lb or more gain. If you keep up the sodium levels the water will stay put. My guess... you probably gained no more than 10 lbs in that 30 day period, the rest is probably water weight/bloating from the sodium with the binges.

rsclause

What I put on fast I lose fast but that is usually over a long weekend or vacation. With a month of bingeing you will have more work to do. I say don't be afraid of the scale, its just data, use it as a tool. Get back in deficit and keep working out and you'll be fine.

dragon_girl26

yoltwag wrote: »

Thanks. I don't judge by the scale though. I've played the whole numbers/calories/weigh loss game for two years, and I'm at the point where I need to focus on looking after and listening to my body with the amount of training I do. I've put on muscle for sure, and I already have a high muscle mass for body type. Ive been gaining weight but loosing fat.

I'm just under 5"2 (156cm). Exercise is my passion so that's why I do so much of it. I've been given macros by my trainer and I'm on a 20% deficit at the moment.

Surely what comes on quick comes off quick right?

I just cant fathom how one month of over eating but still training has completely put me back at where I started.

Just dont know if I can do it again

Sure, and it's true that the scale is not always the best indicator. If you don't want to weigh, that's entirely up to you, and you could concentrate on just losing until you feel happy with what you see again in the mirror. The thing is, without that info, you don't really know if you're right back where you started, though ..you're sort of assuming a lot of things at this point. You may only need to lose about 10 lbs or so, as mentioned above. However, I would lose this idea of "quick" and worry instead about sustainable, especially if you're training hard and prone to binges.
Would also agree with an above poster that if you're eating in a surplus and lifting heavy, some of the gain is likely muscle.
If you love lots of exercise, by all means stick with it if you can. Not saying to give it up...I myself love dancing, cycling, etc...just have to learn the best strategies for keeping the appetite under control by eating things you know have a better chance of keeping you satiated on a daily basis(and would advise against the cheat meal suggestion above).

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sara_b0702

Just chalk last month up to "it is what is" and move on from there - no need to dwell on it, as being angry or upset about won't change anything currently.

I know how frustrating a disorder like BED can be - I struggle/still struggle with anorexia and bulimia, both with binging tendencies, for a long time. I've only recently started to try and come to terms with my binging, so you're definitely not alone. Only thing you can do is keep getting back on the horse after you fall off - you're bound to stick at some point

lorrpb

I encourage you to seek treatment for the disorder so you don't have to go thru this again.

fredericktambunan

You'll get there. Stay focused on what you gotta do to get there. Be there in no time.

SingingSingleTracker

lorrpb wrote: »

I encourage you to seek treatment for the disorder so you don't have to go thru this again.

^^This!

wilsoncl6

I agree with the above poster, there is almost no way you gained that much weight in a month unless you were completely gorging yourself from sun up to sun down. You'd almost literally have to eat almost an additional 3500 calories each and every day to gain that much. It's also unlikely you were down to 17% body fat as a female. Most female fitness models are somewhere between 15-17% body fat and that takes an extreme amount of work to get there. You likely gained some muscle (1-2 lbs of lean muscle mass), especially if you were a new lifter. What you basically did was what's called a dirty bulk, now it sounds like you want to get back into a cut phase. Cutting can take as much time as it does to bulk, but unfortunately it's nowhere near as easy. You likely won't get back down to the weight you were before but you can get back to the BF% you were. You'll just look different. Try not to cut too fast or you'll likely lose the muscle you managed to put on. I'd give it about 3 months at a caloric deficit no more than 500 calories below your maintenance eating.

mom23mangos

wilsoncl6 wrote: »

It's also unlikely you were down to 17% body fat as a female. Most female fitness models are somewhere between 15-17% body fat and that takes an extreme amount of work to get there.

Try not to cut too fast or you'll likely lose the muscle you managed to put on. I'd give it about 3 months at a caloric deficit no more than 500 calories below your maintenance eating.

I know plenty of women on here who are in that range, so I don't find that unreasonable. Especially if she was getting scans to confirm. But at 5'2" and 127lbs, she would have to have very heavy bones and a massive amount of muscle to be there. But it's possible.

OP, I agree with your consideration of this as a dirty bulk and other's suggestion that it will likely take about 3 months to get back to where you were. Unfortunately it's much easier to put it on than to take it off. You can do it however!

_Waffle_

yoltwag wrote: »

It took me a month to do the damage, can I assume a month of hard work will undo it? If not how long would you say?

Don't set a hard-fast time limit for yourself. It's not as if there will be zero results and then suddenly... BAM! Instantly fit. You're going to gradually get back there. Within that month you'll be in a place where you feel like it needs work but you're not upset at yourself either.