I just ate an entire box of cereal

I don’t know what the hell I just did. Sat down to have a bowl of cereal with some milk/protein powder. Poured out a cup of cereal, and everything. After finishing the first cup I just downed the entire box. Pretty sure I just had a 2000 calorie meal. I feel sick to my stomach and stupid. Tips/advice welcome thanks.
Also I’m a 6’0 175lb college athlete. So I know this’ll pass but how do I stop getting in bad habits of binging during meals like this?
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Replies

  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    Were you very hungry? Perhaps you are restricting too much at certain times per day? Not fueled before your workouts? You need to tell us more about your training, goals and life style.

    Are you trying to gain weight or not?
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Are you trying to gain weight? Does this happen often? Are you restricting any types of foods, like cereal? Were you stressed or bored?
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
    Figuring out why will help you avoid the habit in the future. I once ate nearly an entire box of cereal in a day, just cause I loved that particular cereal so much and I hadn't had it in a year or so.

    I stay away from all cereal cause they taste great but also are very very unfilling to me. I'd rather eat something tasty that fills me up rather than eat something tasty but left wanting much much more.
  • goatg
    goatg Posts: 1,399 Member
    You may have been operating at a suboptimal deficit, or maybe you had an intense workout.
    Higher HR zones generally burn more glycogen than fat, and thus require more carb replenishment.
  • goatg
    goatg Posts: 1,399 Member


    Yeah, if I want more, putting the box back in the cupboard won't stop me from pulling it back out.

    Sounds like a shock collar might help ;)
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    goatg wrote: »

    Yeah, if I want more, putting the box back in the cupboard won't stop me from pulling it back out.

    Sounds like a shock collar might help ;)

    :)
  • wallyr1
    wallyr1 Posts: 20 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    Are you trying to gain weight? Does this happen often? Are you restricting any types of foods, like cereal? Were you stressed or bored?
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Were you very hungry? Perhaps you are restricting too much at certain times per day? Not fueled before your workouts? You need to tell us more about your training, goals and life style.

    Are you trying to gain weight or not?


    Lifestyle:
    6’0
    175lb
    College rower.
    Workout 6 days a week on water . Lifting about 5-7days.

    I AM trying to bulk. I really wanna put on mass, My frames large and I have a lot to fill up.I had my calories at 3,000. But that really doesn’t seem to be enough, because even at 3,000 I still end up hungry some nights. I think I need bring them up.

    I did get in the habit of being pretty restrictive with my diet. So I’m trying to slowly reincorporate cereals, cookies, etc into my diet. I just find those foods super easy to binge on. I wasn’t stressed or bored I was actually pretty hungry. I weighed out the first scoop but it really didn’t fill me up so I jusy kept eating and fell into a trance and ended up jus eating the whole box. Sure I feel pretty bloated but not so uncomfortable like I’m gonna throw up. Usually I’ll just skip breakfast/lunch the next day after a binge like this and I’m back on track

    Should I increase my cals past 3000? If so, by how much? 3200? My goals to gain 3lb or so every month for a while. I’m pretty fit, but I really don’t have that much muscle, so I’m figuring I’m still in my first year of actual lifting with a meal plan and weight goal.

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Are you gaining eating that much, if you are at the rate you want? It may not be enough for your stats. If you are that hungry you may need to eat more.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    As a 5 foot 9 female, I gained on quite a bit more than that. I went from about 110 to 120 on around 4000 cals/ day while exercising everyday and working a restaurant job. So, eat more! You're binging because you're letting yourself get too hungry. You can start slow, but you do need to increase calories. Try adding an additional 100 cals to breakfast and lunch and dinner. Or, an additional 300 calorie snack somewhere. Adjust again after 2 weeks if no change.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    @waleedrashid90 Next time you pour out a cup of cereal, pack away the box before you sit down to eat.

    You know, for those of us who struggle, it's not quite as simple as that.

    Yeah, if I want more, putting the box back in the cupboard won't stop me from pulling it back out.

    It can provide a bit of a psychological barrier, though. In that it takes a few more steps to get it out of the cupboard, thus more deliberation, than if the box is sitting right next to you. It's not foolproof, obviously, but it can help.
  • BeccaLoves2lift
    BeccaLoves2lift Posts: 375 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    @waleedrashid90 Next time you pour out a cup of cereal, pack away the box before you sit down to eat.

    You know, for those of us who struggle, it's not quite as simple as that.

    There are certain foods I just can't keep in my house because I will keep eating them even if they are put away. Cookies are the worst for me.
  • rfbrhm
    rfbrhm Posts: 7 Member
    Hi I hope this helps you. It helped me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebacxeTgGcE O2B is a good channel too
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    @waleedrashid90 Next time you pour out a cup of cereal, pack away the box before you sit down to eat.

    You know, for those of us who struggle, it's not quite as simple as that.

    There are certain foods I just can't keep in my house because I will keep eating them even if they are put away. Cookies are the worst for me.

    I can't really have any food in the house. Cookies lol. Can't remember the last time I had cookies around. Or crackers, chips, fruit, cheese...anything highly palatable actually.
  • BeccaLoves2lift
    BeccaLoves2lift Posts: 375 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    @waleedrashid90 Next time you pour out a cup of cereal, pack away the box before you sit down to eat.

    You know, for those of us who struggle, it's not quite as simple as that.

    There are certain foods I just can't keep in my house because I will keep eating them even if they are put away. Cookies are the worst for me.

    I can't really have any food in the house. Cookies lol. Can't remember the last time I had cookies around. Or crackers, chips, fruit, cheese...anything highly palatable actually.

    It's a real struggle sometimes. I have three kids so there are plenty of foods in my house that tempt me. Some days are harder than others.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited March 2018
    Cereal is one of those things its easy to eat too much of as its not overly filling. You must have been very hungry to keep eating so much of the same thing.
    I can't give you advice on this because for me if I put the box back in the cupboard its out of sight and out of mind.
    Maybe don't buy cereals you really like? :smile: eggs are much more filling and you'll not be able to eat 2000 calories of them in one sitting.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    No reason to feel stupid, I'm a athlete and have done that or something simular 500+ times in my lifetime.

    As goofy as this sounds, sometimes you're dehydrated and your body doesn't stop craving things until you hydrate. In this case part of it could be the milk/P.P.

    Regardless. I really wouldn't sweat it. I've sat down and ate a 4000 calorie pastry a couple months ago. If your active and training, your body will get the itch to fuel itself what seems unreasonable at times. Just log and move on.

    My suggestion is to add some other food with your cereal. Perhaps some sausage, eggs, or hashbrowns with cheese.

    Your body weight is fairly low depending on what sport so it's not going to be detrimental in most cases. I'm probably more than twice your age and 6'3" 236lbs and would seem skinny if I was still playing TE in football. Keep things in perspective and don't beat yourself up.
  • pdxhak
    pdxhak Posts: 383 Member
    Best way to stop (at home) is to not have unhealthy food in the house. Having said that, one bad meal will not bust your diet.
  • 99JT
    99JT Posts: 59 Member
    edited March 2018
    Your trying to bulk up and worrying about eating a whole box of cereal??? As long as you hit your minimum fat and protein it doesn't matter what you eat even if you went way over your calories it shouldn't be a big deal I did this a lot when I was a runner I'd come home have a snack and end up finshing all of whatever I was eating and never gained a pound. Also if you're hungry on a bulk chances are your not eating enough.
  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
    Don't stress. I had a hard time adjusting to food in college. I grew up on a DASH diet, and the greasy food my house served made me sick. I pretty much lived on cereal, milk, Power Bars and Maalox (because I was lactose intolerant). I played competitive soccer and spent several hours at the gym. Maybe I would've performed better if I ate a better diet, but I did fine.
  • Will_Run_for_Food
    Will_Run_for_Food Posts: 561 Member
    I loooove cereal. I could eat a whole box in one sitting, too. What helps for me is pouring the bowl and then walking away and eating it somewhere else. If I eat the bowl with the box right next to me, I'm definitely bound to pour more.
  • glennburke
    glennburke Posts: 1 Member
    I just did this on purpose, for breakfast I had a whole box of frosted shreddies for my carb re-feed day. 400g carbs, because prior to that I'm under 200g carbs every day. In hindsight it was a bit too much because it made me so full and tired, probably should have spread it throughout the day, but I wanted it. There's nothing weird about eating a whole box of cereal if you usually restrict carbs, that's just balance, it restores your leptin hormone
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  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    Old thread but I was super curious to know which cereal would be interesting enough to eat an entire box of.

    Alas, I remain none the wiser 😔
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,136 Member
    MaltedTea wrote: »
    Old thread but I was super curious to know which cereal would be interesting enough to eat an entire box of.

    Alas, I remain none the wiser 😔

    I reckon I could eat a whole box of granola. Or Frosties. Or coco pops. I don’t find it filling at all and quite tasty. Just wish I was bulking but I’m not.