massive binge, why?!

I've lost 20lbs and have been maintaing my weight for a few weeks now, I allow treats into my diet to keep me on track and I'm fairly strict with myself, very rarely meeting my maintanence calories.
Anway, last night I ate. And I mean I ate and I ate and I ate and I never thought i'd stop eating.
I had a healthyish day, fruit for breakfast, jam scone for lunch, seafood for dinner and a couple of pieces of fudge. And that was fine, then my dad made a curry he said I'd love and I said no 100 times and then said fine just give me a little bowl as it was a healthy veggie one. A little bowl turned to that with naan, finishing my brother's plate followed by a cream cake. I was content, happy and stuffed. Instead I went on to eat haribo, half a tub of pringles, biscuits with nutella, half a tub of nutella, everything I don't really eat, not because I don't allow myself but because I'm not really bothered about it.

I woke up this morning and its now 2pm and I haven't felt even the slighest bit hungry. My stomach hurts, infact it feels bruised and I feel awful run down and tired. I'm very disappointed in how weak I was and I don't understand why it happened. The only good thing to come out of it though is that I cannot bare to look at junk food let alone consume it and I am quite looking forward to my fruit and veggies this week.

Replies

  • Admiral_Derp
    Admiral_Derp Posts: 866 Member
    Just eat normally now, and don't worry about it. One day/meal/food isn't going to undo anything. You're going to be okay.
  • arthurrichard
    arthurrichard Posts: 51 Member
    But you will eat more reasonably today, right?
  • bwnorton
    bwnorton Posts: 100 Member
    First off, I applaud you for seeking support rather than deleting your account and quitting. You're close to your goal, and you probably hit that mental wall. Food gave you comfort, and now you feel guilty. What you should do is explore what you were feeling at the time and determine why you felt that food gave you comfort? Just because you had one bad day doesn't end your healthy lifestyle. Keep at it!
  • But you will eat more reasonably today, right?

    I've had a bowl of strawberries and green tea and having a bowl of veggies for dinner, hoping it'll counteract it all!
  • coachpepper
    coachpepper Posts: 8 Member
    Please let it go, today is a new day! You DO NOT ruin your weight loss by eating too much 1 day. Forget about it, move on.
  • sofielein
    sofielein Posts: 539 Member
    I'm fairly strict with myself, very rarely meeting my maintanence calories.

    this is why
  • You know.. a cheat meal once in a while is a good thing, it boosts your metabolism right up causing better fat loss...You might want to make a meal plan.... In the world of fitness shedding weight and making yourself appear ripped is called cutting, and as fitness people we do it all the time because we actually have to eat a lot to gain and then loose the fat while keeping the muscle when we want to get ripped.. in the process of that we manage all foods and drinks under the calorie goals..but its mandatory that once in a while (every sunday for me) we have a cheat meal or a window where we eat anything we want..

    So ashleeiza i think one day over eating is a good thing..... Chillax now... you might be feeling full cos your body adjusted to low intake and when you stuffed it just went crazy :)


    Heres a link for you to do some research : http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/losing-body-fat-and-cutting-without-losing-muscle.html

    Good Luck!
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    I'm fairly strict with myself, very rarely meeting my maintanence calories.

    This might be why....
  • jonchew
    jonchew Posts: 239 Member
    But you will eat more reasonably today, right?

    I've had a bowl of strawberries and green tea and having a bowl of veggies for dinner, hoping it'll counteract it all!

    You're still flogging-yourself, PLEASE - just let it go & eat your normal calories!!!
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    Oh dear sweet girl. You binged because you're starving yourself. Look at your diary for the last two weeks - you look like you're eating 900 to 1200 calories per day. That's not maintenance!

    You binged for survival. Increase your daily calories to your TDEE to maintain. If you don't want to binge again, eat more. Please don't feel bad, the survival instinct is uncontrollable. If you want to stay in control of yourself, eat more food.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    It could just be a sign that you're not eating enough day to day. I had a similar thing happen to me where I ate a large meal for the first time in ages and felt this lovely sense of contentment and relief!

    Don't worry about how much you ate, because you've probably more than made up for it by not eating up to your goal on other days. But it might be best to aim to eat a bit more generally.
  • fightininggirl
    fightininggirl Posts: 792 Member
    it takes 3,500 calories to gain a pound and eating one meal there is no way you could gain from that. today is a new day. here is what you can do that may help. I've done this to me

    buy a 3 ring binder and paper

    divide in 3 sections

    section one thankful section ( write 5-10) things you are thankful for when tempted to eat extra food

    section two mind dumping journal ( this is where you write down your feelings and everything you think may trigger your eating

    section 3 write 10 poisitve things you like about yourself

    do it when you are tempted to binge it will get your focus on to something else.
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
    But you will eat more reasonably today, right?

    I've had a bowl of strawberries and green tea and having a bowl of veggies for dinner, hoping it'll counteract it all!

    To be honest I think you are taking this a little too seriously.
    3500 calories is 1lb. And if you are losing at a rate of 1lb per week, the MOST damage you will have done is that you wont lose this week. But I find it hard to believe you consumed 3500 calories in that 1 binge.
    Also, I think maybe your problem is that you are denying yourself food that you want so when you "break the seal" you just go a little nutso (for lack of a better phrase) eating everything you normally forbid yourself to eat.
    Try relaxing your diet a little maybe? You can still eat fatty foods and stay within your calories and macros if you monitor it properly and are good with portion control.

    As I said you are taking it too seriously, just go back to your usual habits if that is what suits you and don't beat yourself up about it.
  • xmizlynnax
    xmizlynnax Posts: 29 Member
    A few things...

    1) Don't beat yourself up over it. Forgive yourself and just move on and get back on track. Binging can get into a dangerous self-perpetuation cycle if you let yourself get down over it. We're all human in a world full of addicting junk foods. Stuff happens. Examine your hunger/moods in the days leading up to it and adjust your future habits. It's a lesson learned, that's all.

    2) Make sure you are eating enough... Sometimes your body is craving something, food, calories because it has been lacking it. If that's the case, then feed it. Listen to your body, but feed your body nourishing fuel.

    3) It also might be a positive thing you ate a lot... it could have jump-started your metabolism again after eating at a deficit for a while. Try raising your caloric intake a little bit and you might still lose weight, be able to eat more, and be less hungry - and less likely to binge in the future. Can't hurt to try.

    I know how you're feeling and don't worry just take control again and forget about it! :) Good luck.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    For reals, just relax. Freaking out, hating on yourself or trying to "make up for it" is just going to suck you into a cycle of binging and starving yourself and self hatred.

    Be calm. It was one day. Even with everything you ate yesterday, at the absolute maximum you could have gained in real weight is a pound. A singe pound. Take a deep breath. Put it in perspective and move on.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
    let it go, todays a new day, have a workout and youll feel better i promise
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
    You aren't eating a enough. And try to get a bit more protein. Fit a tiny amount of foods you love into your diet more regularly and I think you'll find it much easier not to binge like that.

    It's a new day, you can't keep feeling horrible about yourself.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    Oh dear sweet girl. You binged because you're starving yourself. Look at your diary for the last two weeks - you look like you're eating 900 to 1200 calories per day. That's not maintenance!

    You binged for survival. Increase your daily calories to your TDEE to maintain. If you don't want to binge again, eat more. Please don't feel bad, the survival instinct is uncontrollable. If you want to stay in control of yourself, eat more food.

    This bears repeating. A body will fight you when you try to starve it - and eating so little, you are starving it. Your body is not the enemy, stop trying to hurt it. As Eman said, the survival instinct is uncontrollable. It's also one of your greatest allies in losing weight, because it will help you lose the weight healthily.

    Take some time to figure out your activity level and how much you need to comfortably fuel that. If you aren't getting enough calories, your body will make you get them (or make you crazy in trying to deny your body.) Undereating is not the preferable alternative to over-eating.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    Your maintenance calories are about 1700, and every day in your diary that I looked at, you weren't just a bit short of maintenance, you were 500 calories short of maintenance.

    That's not maintenance -- that's still a pound a week loss! And in my experience, your body defends certain weights really, really vigorously. At some point, survival instincts take over, and they are actual instincts. Nearly unstoppable.

    Don't "eat under maintenance," eat at maintenance.
  • akilahleemarie
    akilahleemarie Posts: 80 Member
    Because of so much exercise and eating little I used to net 600 calories a day. I would do good for 5-8 days...and then BOOM!!! I would eat things that were truely a waste..that sugary cereal, bread with a butt load of peanut butter, cheese, ice cream, basically everything I knew I was not allowed to have. As soon as I upped my calories a little and eased down on the exercise..my binges got better under control. Another thing...i know this sounds silly..but try it lol! On my wall I made this sheet with pretty marks...its a score board... team me...and team failure...if i am a good girl and eat how i am suppose to eat...i get to mark a point under me...if I binge or eat half of the day's calories in junk...team failure gets 1 point...I get to mark the point in the morning for the previous day. if you have a visual it really helps!
  • Dulcemami4ever
    Dulcemami4ever Posts: 344 Member
    I have a splurge meal once a week and it seems to actually help me lose weight. I wouldn't worry about a heavy day if I were you. Just eat your normal calories today. Do not go under just to compensate. You shouldn't gain weight just by overeating one day. Plus you look wonderful, no need to panic :)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Oh dear sweet girl. You binged because you're starving yourself. Look at your diary for the last two weeks - you look like you're eating 900 to 1200 calories per day. That's not maintenance!

    You binged for survival. Increase your daily calories to your TDEE to maintain. If you don't want to binge again, eat more. Please don't feel bad, the survival instinct is uncontrollable. If you want to stay in control of yourself, eat more food.

    this.

    human physiology evolved before humans had enough frontal lobe to doing anything so illogical as deliberately starve themselves. As far as your body's concerned, it's still the middle palaeolithic era and the lack of food is because either you suck at hunting/gathering, or there is no food available. The instinct to eat as much as you can when food becomes more available is what enabled your ancestors to survive when food was scarce. You have inherited that instinct (we all have), and if you undereat for prolonged periods, you'll be fighting against that instinct.

    Eat more calories, if you want to maintain, you should be eating a lot more. Don't be freaked out by any sudden gains when you increase your calories; after undereating for a significant amount of time, when you eat a normal amount of food again, you gain water weight (this is healthy). A lot of people see this water weight gain and freak out, thinking that they're gaining fat, and that their metabolism is messed up and that they have to carry on eating very little. You have to give your body time to settle down after increasing your calories, and understand that sudden gains are water weight, not fat. You have to eat 3500 calories *more than* your TDEE to gain a pound of fat. My TDEE is about 1850 cals/day.... I'd have to eat 5305 calories in one day to gain a pound of fat in one day. Your TDEE can't be that different to mine, so really try to understand how much you'd have to overeat by to gain a pound of fat, and if you didn't eat that much, then weight gains must be water weight.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Oh dear sweet girl. You binged because you're starving yourself. Look at your diary for the last two weeks - you look like you're eating 900 to 1200 calories per day. That's not maintenance!

    You binged for survival. Increase your daily calories to your TDEE to maintain. If you don't want to binge again, eat more. Please don't feel bad, the survival instinct is uncontrollable. If you want to stay in control of yourself, eat more food.

    First, listen to this guy.

    Also, don't get into a cycle of binging and then punishing yourself by starving. It's not a good way to deal. Eat reasonably, don't swing back in the opposite direction.
  • tawanda25
    tawanda25 Posts: 32 Member
    Why? Because your dad made you something for you out of love and it felt good. Subconsciously, you knew you wanted to say no at the beginning, so you just let yourself go on all the other snacks.

    If you have not been eating this way, your stomach will hurt later. It was way too much at one time.

    The good thing is you will learn to give yourself a balance. Remember do not starve yourself daily...not healthy. Do not over indulge daily...not healthy.

    We all "feel" disappointed when we get off track.
    Yesterday I was good and then had 3 bites of my kids red velvet cake ice cream, and a tiny piece of KFC original chicken with skin. Did I eat a bowl of popcorn? yes; I normally do not snack on popcorn. I am trying to limit sugars and breads. Did I feel bad? yes. Will I move forward? yes Did the scale move up this morning? sadly yes Did I avoid the pizza the family ate last night? yes Did I drink all my water? yes Did I eat their breadsticks? no Am I the only one overweight in "my" beautiful family? At this time, yes. I need to lose 25 more pounds and continue to take care of myself. The point being we all have ups and downs on our journey. Good luck on your journey to move forward in a healthy way.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
    Oh dear sweet girl. You binged because you're starving yourself. Look at your diary for the last two weeks - you look like you're eating 900 to 1200 calories per day. That's not maintenance!

    You binged for survival. Increase your daily calories to your TDEE to maintain. If you don't want to binge again, eat more. Please don't feel bad, the survival instinct is uncontrollable. If you want to stay in control of yourself, eat more food.

    Another one for this. Also work on your relationship with food and stop beating yourself up.
  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
    Sounds like you just need to bump up your calories.......: )

    That way you won't beat yourself up if you want things.....every day is a new day, don't worry about it

    Smile and be proud of your massive loss so far, well done girl
  • Agreed!!
    You know.. a cheat meal once in a while is a good thing, it boosts your metabolism right up causing better fat loss...You might want to make a meal plan.... In the world of fitness shedding weight and making yourself appear ripped is called cutting, and as fitness people we do it all the time because we actually have to eat a lot to gain and then loose the fat while keeping the muscle when we want to get ripped.. in the process of that we manage all foods and drinks under the calorie goals..but its mandatory that once in a while (every sunday for me) we have a cheat meal or a window where we eat anything we want..

    So ashleeiza i think one day over eating is a good thing..... Chillax now... you might be feeling full cos your body adjusted to low intake and when you stuffed it just went crazy :)


    Heres a link for you to do some research : http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/losing-body-fat-and-cutting-without-losing-muscle.html

    Good Luck!
  • KBSwinger
    KBSwinger Posts: 160 Member
    I'm fairly strict with myself, very rarely meeting my maintanence calories.

    this is why

    I would agree with this also. The more strict I was with myself the more I binged. I havent binged in a bout six months now. Low calories does this more then anything else!