Binge day calories

arinamargarina

Hey guys.
I'm 20, 5.6 and I started losing weight at 59kg (130lbs). Now I weigh 53kg (116lbs). I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I exercise daily (I ride my bike to and from work and I burn around 250-300 calories from this alone).
I don't usually eat much, I mean I have days when I don't even come close to meeting my calorie goal and even burn it all off. I'm not trying to starve myself, it's just that some days I'm just not that hungry.
On the other hand, some days I eat sweets like crazy and, although I try to keep within my clorie range, I binge to up to 2000 calories.

Is that too much? Are three days in a row of eating 1500-2000 calories, composed of mostly sugar something to be scared of?

My appetite fluctuates all the time.

Thanks a lot!:)

pixelatedsun

Calories in, calories out. As long as you're eating at a deficit, from a purely "pounds on the scale" standpoint, you'll lose weight.

NUTRITIONALLY, on the other hand, it's not quite the best idea. But from a CICO standpoint, as long as you're eating at a deficit, you're good to go.

skylark94

2,000 calories is not a binge. 2,000 is maintenance for someone your size and activity level. I'm 5'4", 135, and 38 years old. I workout 6 days a week and walk my dog 3 miles every day. My maintenance number is 2,300.

You sound like your thoughts on food are a bit disordered. You need to get 1,200, even on the days you don't exercise. That's the generally recommended MINIMUM just to keep you healthy. A high day every so often is absolutely not going to hurt you. I consumed almost 4,000 calories last Saturday. Much of it was in the form of alcohol. Yes, my weight was up the next couple of days, but it was because I was puffy and bloated. Two days later I was back to my "normal" weight.

arinamargarina

During binge days, those last 800 calories are over the calorie limit.

KMasz

I think you should be eating more food. MUCH MORE FOOD! stay consistent too. assuming you are a female, your BMR is around 1370 (a number you should not eat below) and your TDEE to maintain weight is 2121. At your height & weight, my opinion is that you don't need to lose anymore, but that's not my decision to make for you.

These links can help you more than I:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

arinamargarina

That's reassuring. I'm still trying to accomodate with how my body reacts to different calorie intakes and since my eating is so chaotic, I find it hard to observe a pattern and decide how much is too much.

higgins8283801

At the end of the week (Saturday) I add up all calories in, calories burned, and my estimated BMR for the week. If it's negative enough to allow for a cheat day ( I play around with the numbers ) I do it. If it isn't..I don't.

RAWR1202

If you're only 53kg at 5'6", I would say you really don't need to lose any weight. In fact, losing anymore would make you underweight of you aren't already.

Like a previous poster said, 2000 is probably roughly what you need to maintain your weight if you're not completely sedentary. If you're active, like you seem to be since you ride a bike to work, you'll probably need more. Even if you didn't do anything apart from sit around all day, you would still need around 1700-1800 calories (most likely).

I would say your appetite fluctuates a lot because you don't eat enough. If you don't eat enough, your body will pretty much constantly hungry so you won't realise it until you actually eat something. Then, once you eat, you'll be inclined to binge to counter the fact that you're constantly starving.

angelabethb

I wouldn't be worried about the binge calories, but I would be worried about the sugar intake and how yo-yo your diet is. Try to cut out the sweets and replace it with fruit. It takes a while for your body to get used to not having sugar, but you can totally kick the habit!

juggernaut1974

If you're only 53kg at 5'6", I would say you really don't need to lose any weight. In fact, losing anymore would make you underweight of you aren't already.

Like a previous poster said, 2000 is probably roughly what you need to maintain your weight if you're not completely sedentary. If you're active, like you seem to be since you ride a bike to work, you'll probably need more. Even if you didn't do anything apart from sit around all day, you would still need around 1700-1800 calories (most likely).

I would say your appetite fluctuates a lot because you don't eat enough. If you don't eat enough, your body will pretty much constantly hungry so you won't realise it until you actually eat something. Then, once you eat, you'll be inclined to binge to counter the fact that you're constantly starving.

^^This

arinamargarina

I wouldn't be worried about the binge calories, but I would be worried about the sugar intake and how yo-yo your diet is. Try to cut out the sweets and replace it with fruit. It takes a while for your body to get used to not having sugar, but you can totally kick the habit!

I reduced my sugar intake from sweets A LOT, now I just have it 2 times a week at most and I mostly eat fruit anyway. This is what I usually crave during summer.

Thanks a lot!:)