Will one binge ruin my diet??

mariesofi4108

Hi everyone! Went to a party yesterday, had been eating really clean the past two weeks and even got down to 127! But then I ate a TON of food, around 3000 calories (pita chips, cake, brownies). I ran 6 miles yesterday too so maybe the damage is lessened. I know I'll gain water weight and such, but will I undo all my work from last week and gain back the weight I had tried to loose? Any advice for today? I already eat a brownie this morning... ooops! I need advice for going forward because I tend to get caught up in remorse and self anger when I binge

Ashtoretet

It's math. Take what you need to eat in a normal day and subtract it from the 3000. The number you have left is the number of fewer calories you need to eat to get back on track. It doesn't matter what you eat, all that matters is how many calories it is.

DoubleTheLove

Nope, not if you don't let it. Get back on track like it never happened. Put it out of your mind and continue on. Took me a little to actually get to that point instead of just saying or hearing it. Look at the grand scheme of things... will this bit of food matter in 2 weeks time if you've continued eating well for those 2 weeks? Nope! Just a bump in the road. As long as you're having more "good" days than "bad" you're okay!

mariesofi4108

I'm 18, 5'6 and aim for 1,600 a day to mantain... should I work the excess calories off today with a run?

mumblemagic

Nah, give yourself a break. Part of a healthy lifestyle is having a feast every now and then. Don't let it be a regular thing, but don't punish yourself either

sbrandt37

I wouldn't get too worked up about it. One bad day can't ruin your success.

3500 calories = 1 pound.

1600 calories to maintain + 600 for your run = 2200 calories, which means you were about 800 calories over maintenance. 800 calories represents less than 1/4 pound.

At worst, you undid 2-3 days of calorie deficits. Learn from it and move on.

lmunik

Itsnlife. Dont be hard on your self. Just get back on your regimine.

cwolfman13

No...a singular day is pretty irrelevant to the big picture. It's when it becomes a rule rather than an exception that is the issue.

My wife and I had a date on Saturday...went to the rock climbing gym for a couple of hours and then out to a new Italian restaurant...we did the whole appetizer, entree, desert thing plus cocktails and wine...it was awesome and we had a wonderful time...and it's irrelevant to the whole of my diet and fitness plan.

Zombella

No.Don't be hard on yourself, the next day is a new day.

apullum

I would not try to make it up with extra exercise. You risk injury if you get into a pattern of doing large amounts of exercise without proper training or rest periods. You don't mention how long your usual run is, but for many folks, six miles is a pretty substantial run. Unless you're used to running similar distances on consecutive days, your body needs rest.

Just get back on track and put it behind you.

rabblescum

Think of it like a budget. Right now you are trying to get out of debt by spending under your daily budget. So one day going over budget will add to your debt. However it doesn't take away from the over all budget plans you made for your self or that plans ability to bring you long term success. Days you spend will happen, you just have to try to limit them and keep working on the debt they build. One day doesn't make or break your long term success, just a speed bump.

Reaverie

Only if you let it.

U2Bad1

Sometimes a good splurge gives me the energy to create deficits in the days ahead. Just don't let it be the start of a habit or trend.

GemstoneofHeart

Nah I had a binge day today because of the holiday. The water weight is already here and my belly is huge and distended, but if we just drink a lot of water and load up on fruit and veggies over the next few days, it should be all gone by next week!

suzesvelte

It is not the binge that does the damage, it is the cycle of self-denigration (remorse and anger ) which can undo you. Don't beat yourself up about it, just get back on the programme.

mariesofi4108

Thanks everyone! I got back on track and my weight did stabilize in a week, I'm learning how to get over cheat days when I binge and I feel a lot better now

savithny

I'm kind of stuck on the idea that at 5'7" an 127 pounds you think you "maintain" on 1600 calories.

Checking several different sites, if you're sedentary you still would maintain on over 1800 calories, and if you're regularly running 6 mile distances you probably maintain on something closer to 2000.

megomerrett

nope. you'll be fine. hope you had fun at the do.

WinoGelato

savithny wrote: »

I'm kind of stuck on the idea that at 5'7" an 127 pounds you think you "maintain" on 1600 calories.

Checking several different sites, if you're sedentary you still would maintain on over 1800 calories, and if you're regularly running 6 mile distances you probably maintain on something closer to 2000.

I was wondering this too... is 1600 your goal that MFP provides you? And is that for maintaining, or for losing? You mentioned undoing your loss for the week but at 5'7 and 127 lbs you shouldn't be aiming to lose.

For reference, I'm 5'2 and 120 and my TDEE is 2200, and I'm not running 6 miles a day....

It helps to remember the math OP. It takes 3500 cals above your maintenance to gain 1 lb. Even with the big day you had (and I wouldn't necessarily call that a binge), you are likely around 1000 cals or less over your maintenance level. That's not even a half pound of gain. If you are set to a deficit at 1600 cals, then that means you've been eating below maintenance for the rest of the week which means you will likely not even see an impact at all, other than some temporary water weight.

Still curious about your overall goals and calorie targets. At 1600 cals, are you eating back exercise cals?

hollyberry6182

You won't get fat from one binge, the same as you won't get skinny from eating one salad.

TheCupcakeCounter

Nah you're fine. I actually think a binge every once in a while is a good thing. The trick is to not beat yourself up for it or do it too often.

MrsMacW7

Without the occasional binge you will never stay the course - life goes on and you cant not live it. Not like you are going to do it every day!!

mariesofi4108

Oops sorry guys, I'm 5'6 actually! And I've been eating 1500 calories a day and running 6 miles 5 days a week and Literally have not dropped a SINGLE pound in a month.. in fact I'm up to 130 lbs. I'm so frustrated I'm just maintaining!

JeromeBarry1

mariesofi4108 wrote: »

Oops sorry guys, I'm 5'6 actually! And I've been eating 1500 calories a day and running 6 miles 5 days a week and Literally have not dropped a SINGLE pound in a month.. in fact I'm up to 130 lbs. I'm so frustrated I'm just maintaining!

I read on livestrong about little women doing all that cardio and not losing weight. It said you ought to do some strength training to build some muscle. Other than that, it's always going to be an issue of your own accuracy at logging food. First, there's the 20% band of inaccuracy built into nutrition labels, then there's the inaccuracy of human estimation. It's danged hard to achieve maintenance calories even with perfect logging.

I had one of those non-loss months in November last year. It was full of uncontrolled binge days and lacking in exercise. It's kinda hard to denounce CICO when I wasn't even doing my share of the job.

fiddletime

mariesofi4108 wrote: »

Oops sorry guys, I'm 5'6 actually! And I've been eating 1500 calories a day and running 6 miles 5 days a week and Literally have not dropped a SINGLE pound in a month.. in fact I'm up to 130 lbs. I'm so frustrated I'm just maintaining!

I'm 5'2", 62 years old, stationary bike 10 miles 4 days a week (33 min), and maintain at 1350. I'd suspect you're eating more calories than you realize. I switched to a gram scale once when I plateaued when I was trying to lose. I also counted little things like a little Sriracha or a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. I tightened everything up for awhile, got really strict, and only ate back 1/3 of my exercise calories. Once I did all of that things got more predictable for me and I started to lose again. I bet you look great at 5'6" and 130. It might be a good high point to your maintenance range.

Kimblesnbits13

Binging used to mess with my head and I always had the thought "well i just gained like 3 lbs" yeah i did gain 3 lbs the next morning but what I never understood until recently, is that it's ALL water weight that will disappear in a week at most. My mindset and the binge/restricting, in the past would keep me binging for consecutive days sometimes a full week!