I binged again, around 4000 calories. I don’t know what to do.
youknowigotitonlock
Posts: 11 Member
5 foot 10, 155 pound male and in my early 20s, I’m very active, and normally eat around 2500 to 3000 calories. Yesterday I ate 3200 calories and today I’m probably upwards of 4 thousand calories. I don’t know why I get hungry like I haven’t had food for weeks. Any tips of how to eat less and kick these hunger pangs. I hate feeling fat and bloated. Is it normal for someone my age to eat like this? Has anyone else had similar experiences?
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Without much info to go on, here are some thoughts:
What are your goals? Trying to lose weight, gain weight, increase muscle mass? You're in the middle of healthy range for BMI so I would not want to make assumptions. Your TDEE could be anywhere from 2000-3000 calories depending on your activity/exercise level.
Assuming the 2500-3000 cals per day is what you need, then eating at 3200 one day and 4000 the next is not that extreme. If you're eating that level every day and still hungry, perhaps try shifting your macros. Eating more of one and less of another: could help you feel more full/satiated on less food.
And an obvious question: are you drinking plenty of water?7 -
youknowigotitonlock wrote: »5 foot 10, 155 pound male and in my early 20s, I’m very active, and normally eat around 2500 to 3000 calories. Yesterday I ate 3200 calories and today I’m probably upwards of 4 thousand calories. I don’t know why I get hungry like I haven’t had food for weeks. Any tips of how to eat less and kick these hunger pangs. I hate feeling fat and bloated. Is it normal for someone my age to eat like this? Has anyone else had similar experiences?
1000 or even 1500 over your normal calorie amount is hardly a binge in my view. I recently ate 5700 calories quite intentionally.
But back to your hunger situation are you eating enough protein and fiber? Those usually help a person control their hunger better? Are you trying to lose no more than 1 pound per week? If you are trying to lose 2 pounds per week you are probably creating a binge - restrict cycle.14 -
As a person who is way older, a couple and a bit inches less tall and weighs a tiny bit less than you and when very active loses weight at the calories you claim to be eating (2.5k to 3k)... what are your goals?
Your hunger could well be a reaction to a large deficit.
If appropriate, you could try to mitigate your hunger with more suitable food choices. Assuming your goals are reasonable. And that such mitigation makes sense.
My instinct is that they aren't and that it doesn't and that your issue is centered around creating a large deficit.
But I've been known to be wrong!
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that sounds like overeating not a 'binge'. those are two completely different things. i see the word binge thrown around here quite often. binge eating or BED is a serious eating disorder that requires professional intervention. are you asking for help with an eating disorder?
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Sometime I just feel as if I cannot eat enough, it’s hard to explain. Fit in a lot of oats and lean meats and vegetables. But I do have some foods that are not so healthy like protein bars or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, granola and cereal. I feel like those foods trigger me into wanting to eat more. I guess. And in terms of what my “goals” are I’m not really sure at this point. I’ve lost a lot of weight, I used to weigh 200 pounds and everyone I look great my family doesn’t want me to loose any more weight. But my goal was around 145-148 ish.2
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youknowigotitonlock wrote: »Sometime I just feel as if I cannot eat enough, it’s hard to explain. Fit in a lot of oats and lean meats and vegetables. But I do have some foods that are not so healthy like protein bars or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, granola and cereal. I feel like those foods trigger me into wanting to eat more. I guess. And in terms of what my “goals” are I’m not really sure at this point. I’ve lost a lot of weight, I used to weigh 200 pounds and everyone I look great my family doesn’t want me to loose any more weight. But my goal was around 145-148 ish.
Everything you've listed there is "healthy" as long as it's eaten in moderation, and as part of a balanced diet. It doesn't sound like you are as out of control as you think you are, and it sounds like you are pretty close to being too restrictive, by labeling foods as "good" or "bad" - you are a healthy weight now, what is the point of losing a couple lbs more? Sounds like you don't even know why you want to, so is some arbitrary number on the scale worth agonising over? Go easy on yourself, you've done really well and are still doing really well.
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5'10" 155? Bro. That's more than a healthy weight... do you lift? Maybe it's time to shift goals from losing to bettering body comp over time.. jmho17
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@psychod787 yeah I guess I could start lifting, I’ve always been a huge cardio guy especially in the wake of the whole covid outbreak. I may need to look into some at home workouts to start building muscle.5
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You've lost a good chunk of weight.
Anecdotally, it is quite likely to expect a fairly extended period of unsettled hunger cues, among other reasons because of hormonal reactions that may have taken place during weight loss.
Your tools to continuing to maintain are the good habits you've established during weight loss and you willingness to continue to be mindful and ready to make adjustments and take action when necessary.
Again anecdotally, it is quite likely that if you manage to maintain your weight loss for 2 or 3 years you will settle down into an easier maintenance routine.
Continuing with the random personal observation comments, getting even more lean will only intensify any reactionary push to overeat.
I would suggest that you may really want to explore the concept of minimum weight change over an extended period of time. Some people call that maintenance!
If you still want to transform your body engaging in strength training may be more productive than continuing straight weight loss.
Please remember that maintenance is a range and food doesn't have moral values.
Good nutrition is always good and, indeed, some foods tend to be more satiating than others without making those others evil!
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youknowigotitonlock wrote: »@psychod787 yeah I guess I could start lifting, I’ve always been a huge cardio guy especially in the wake of the whole covid outbreak. I may need to look into some at home workouts to start building muscle.
Nerd fitness has a bunch of great stuff. Even if you focus on just implementing some of their body weight work that they have available, you will notice your cardio will benefit. (Numbers distance goals etc). Worth a shot.
If you want to lose the extra lbs bc you’re trying to lean out then maybe you need to focus on recomp to get you closer to your goals.
On your overeating: could it be connected w the type of cardio you are doing or a particular work out style (hiit) or distance or time that you’re hitting. When I run 5 miles, I’m usually bottomless the day after. There are ways I can mess w that to make it better. And def keto has helped me in that area. But possibly there is an association.1 -
Oh! And I forgot: the last ten are supposed to be the hardest. They can take quite a bit longer. Youve done good so far. Don’t beat yourself up over one night.2
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5-10 and early 20s... thats when my husband had a growth spurt. Just because you're over 18 doesn't mean your body is done becoming adult yet. Your body is still developing muscles. Even if you're at height (and you might not be), doesn't mean you're at your natural muscle point yet. 148 -155 lb may not continue to be an ideal weight for you as you get older.5
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youknowigotitonlock wrote: »But I do have some foods that are not so healthy like protein bars or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, granola and cereal. I feel like those foods trigger me into wanting to eat more. I guess.
When I was younger I ran a lot and I ate about the same calories as you but I never felt full, I was losing weight too aggresively depriving myself and I was hungry very often. I was having huge cravings that led to binge eating.
Nowadays I adjusted my nutritional plan so I fell full all the time to avoid cravings/binge eat, even if I am losing weight slowly so far it has worked for me.
Maybe try reeplacing those trigger foods with other snacks that fill you better and you can more easily consume in moderation and look for some tips on appetite managament https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/really-hungry#11 -
OP you may be getting yourself into an unhelpful feedback loop. U lost a lot of weight. Don’t tell into the trap that many of us here have done and have a massive rebound which leads to regain and then years of yoyo dieting. You want to avoid that at all costs.
Why not try and maintain your current weight for several months. Or a year even.
I would advise you to lift because you are ata good age to put on some muscle if this is what you want to do.8 -
Thank you all for the support, this means a lot.3
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Changing your MFP set-up to Maintenance, combined with doing some weights, sounds like a good idea.
But one thing that no-one asked is whether you've been eating your exercise calories? If your activity level in the MFP set-up is correctly based on your normal day-to-day and then you're doing a lot of cardio on top of that, are you tracking that exercise and eating those calories? If not, you should be.0 -
I do not normally eat back exercise calories I always just ate to what MFP says my maintenance caloric intake is. Reasons for this is because I feel like it’s hard to accurately track expenditure.0
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youknowigotitonlock wrote: »I do not normally eat back exercise calories I always just ate to what MFP says my maintenance caloric intake is. Reasons for this is because I feel like it’s hard to accurately track expenditure.
It can be tricky to ensure you're accurately estimating your calorie burn, but what you're doing instead is choosing the one number you know is wrong -- deciding that you burned zero calories.
Not eating enough can make it really hard to control what we eat. We can drive ourselves through hunger for a while, but most of us will eventually break. It may be easier to decide to somehow account for the calories you're burning through exercise.6 -
youknowigotitonlock wrote: »I do not normally eat back exercise calories I always just ate to what MFP says my maintenance caloric intake is. Reasons for this is because I feel like it’s hard to accurately track expenditure.
To determine your weekly rate of change you should take your weight from 6 weeks ago and today and then divide by 6 to see if you are going up, down, or remaining about the same. If you are still going down over 1 pound per week you are not eating enough.
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youknowigotitonlock wrote: »I do not normally eat back exercise calories I always just ate to what MFP says my maintenance caloric intake is. Reasons for this is because I feel like it’s hard to accurately track expenditure.
This could also be why you're feeling really hungry - you're not eating enough to fuel your exercise.7 -
I just feel like 3000 calories is a ton of food, and every time I do manage to eat that much I hold a ton of water weight the next day which makes it hard to get an accurate weight measurement. Does the body adjust to the caloric intake eventually?0
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You are honestly over thinking it. Don't make it a habbit. You hardly gained half a pound of fat at 4k. For your age, height and weight you have a good BMI. A day like this isn't going to kill you. You could have done worse tbh. Most fitness people have cheat days that well exceed over that amount for cheat days.1
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Maybe your body wants water- try drinking some (or a significant amount, even) and then waiting 15-20 minutes to see if it goes away.1
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youknowigotitonlock wrote: »I just feel like 3000 calories is a ton of food, and every time I do manage to eat that much I hold a ton of water weight the next day which makes it hard to get an accurate weight measurement. Does the body adjust to the caloric intake eventually?
Yes, it adjusts, kind of. Think about it: To lose weight, you have X calories, which tends to be Y pounds of food a day, on average, turning into food waste in your digestive system somewhere, but not yet having made its customary eventual exit.
Now, you switch to maintenance calories, so you're now eating X + 20% calories (or whatever percent), which means Y pounds plus some of food a day, on average, on its way through the body. That food has weight. (How much depends on composition of your diet.)
So, when you go to maintenance calories, you eat more calories, which is food. Food has weight; and most people also eat more of roughly the same macro mix, so get a bit more sodium and a bit more carbs. Both of those also require a little more water weight as part of how they're metabolized.
So, you go to maintenance calories. More food, more waste-in-transit, more carbs/sodium so more water . . . and the scale jumps. Generally, you've adjusted food volume to a new normal. The related in-transit food and sodium/carbs are at a new level, so at least some of that scale jump is not going to just disappear. But it's not fat regain, it's just your healthy body doing what healthy bodies do, so why worry about it?
If it bothers you, lose to the bottom of your target maintenance range before starting maintenance, or alternatively taper your calorie increase into maintenance which will keep you losing super slowly in a way that offsets those spaced-out smaller water/waste gains on the scale.
Body weight management is about the long term trend, anyway, not about what your weight does on just one day. If you make a big-ish calorie increase from deficit to maintenance and see a scale jump, but hit your maintenance calories pretty exactly, you'll stabilize in that new-normal vicinity, not just keep gaining and gaining.
Weight maintenance is a level weight trend over weeks to months, not what coincidentally shows up on the scale on one day, y'know?
Best wishes.
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If you are interested in seeing what a young man at my gym did. Hit me up. I have permission to give you his Instagram name if you pm me. He was a chubby kid and changed that when he turned 17..1
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stargirlhorse wrote: »Maybe your body wants water- try drinking some (or a significant amount, even) and then waiting 15-20 minutes to see if it goes away.
you got some dislikes but it is a fact that we often misinterpret thirst for hunger. we misread the cue.0 -
I'm a 5ft10 158lbs female in my early 20s, that is a very healthy weight range to be in. I know men and women are different but still. Are you wanting to lose more weight? Have you thought of a body recomposition instead of just weight loss? Also eating back exercise calories is important, I know mfp isn't always accurate with calorie burn so when I track my workouts I adjust what it calculates to be less. If I don't eat enough fiber or protein I will just keep eating. I could eat 4000 cal a day in carbs and not be satisfied if I don't have enough protein.3
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I wanted to get down to 145. Reasons for this being I feel like I would perform better in my endurance sports. Is it important to eat 3000 calories even on rest days? Or should rest days be lighter in caloric intake. I eat a lot of protein even more then one gram per pound most days and I definitely hit my fibre goals for sure.0
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Also with the whole water intake situation, I drink tons of water, normally after my meals. Sometimes 1 1/2 Gallons or more.0
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youknowigotitonlock wrote: »I do not normally eat back exercise calories I always just ate to what MFP says my maintenance caloric intake is. Reasons for this is because I feel like it’s hard to accurately track expenditure.
I do this too sometimes. Well, when the gyms were open. I don't have much left to lose, so I just eat right around maintence and whatever I burn becomes my deficit.0
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