Can a carb binge increase metabolism

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fatshredders
fatshredders Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
So i remember back in late september/october 2013 i was at the longest plateau, the scale literally stayed the same for almost four weeks, i tried zig zag dieting, increasing workout intensity and eventually i gave up and binged for a whole week. So i began the binge on saturday and that lasted 6 days til the friday evening after that. During that binge i was always hungry AS FARK and i ate and ate and ate, i remember i had alot of ice cream sandwiches. Then for the next 9 days, i ate way less than my binge calories but a bit more than the calories i was eating during my plateau and at the end of the nine days, i lost ALL that gained 7lbs and 2 more. So essentially i was lighter a week after the binge than i was a week before and i gained alot on the binge, looked bigger and clothes felt tigher. So what really happened to me during this time, and could i ever get away with doing it again?

note: during this two week period from pre-binge to 1 week post binge i was doing no form of exercise and i ate mostly unhealthy carbs during the binge

Replies

  • LaLaVee13
    LaLaVee13 Posts: 54 Member
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    I would like to see a response to this!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,663 Member
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    Since calorie deficit reduces metabolic rate, an influx of calories will do the opposite. Just having a carb binge may not, unless one has been low carbing for a significant amount of time.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • fushigi1988
    fushigi1988 Posts: 519 Member
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    Binging is not healthy
  • Zorinn
    Zorinn Posts: 40 Member
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    A binge? No.

    I do low carb, high protein, moderate fat now that I'm cutting weight. I did one cheat meal in 2 weeks, which helps boost the metabolism after it slows down from eating at a large calorie deficit (I usually have trouble even hitting 1000 calories most days). I woke up the next day almost 5 pounds heavier in water weight, and it took me 2 days to lose that. A cheat MEAL is good. Not a cheat DAY and NOT a binge.
  • fatshredders
    fatshredders Posts: 13
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    A binge? No.

    I do low carb, high protein, moderate fat now that I'm cutting weight. I did one cheat meal in 2 weeks, which helps boost the metabolism after it slows down from eating at a large calorie deficit (I usually have trouble even hitting 1000 calories most days). I woke up the next day almost 5 pounds heavier in water weight, and it took me 2 days to lose that. A cheat MEAL is good. Not a cheat DAY and NOT a binge.
    so i was just lucky that time and i probably wont be so lucky with the overall results if i tired to do it again?
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    Although you call this a binge, it sounds like it had the effect of a refeed (though a rather extended refeed). And, the results you saw are due to water retention manipulation.

    There is a theory out there that refeeds (also called calorie cycling) helps the body lose weight more consistently because the refeed days reset the stress hormones which are triggered by prolonged caloric deficits and overtraining (which will result in retaining more water). It's the theory behind whooshes as well, at least in part. Here are some articles on them both:

    www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html
    leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-deal-with-water-retention-part_28.html
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Binging is not healthy

    Sure it is.

    It's how humans evolved to eat.

    Feast or famine...
  • Yagisama
    Yagisama Posts: 595 Member
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    Binging is not healthy

    Sure it is.

    It's how humans evolved to eat.

    Feast or famine...

    Yup, human history has consisted of periods of food availability followed by famine. And there are many theories on how this affected human evolution.
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
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    For the record here...

    You need to get a good grasp on what you actually need to be eating on a daily basis, calorie wise.

    The reason I say this... I struggle with undereating, all the dang time, because my body stature and weight requires an intake of 3300-3500 a day. That is BEFORE exercise. I cut 1000 off of that for my minimum goal... but I only determined this after I spent weeks plateaued while eating maybe 1600 and seeing zero progress despite eating back exercise calories and eating good foods, sleeping well, drinking water... I began acutely monitoring, and learned that the calculators online are vastly off for my personal calorie needs.
    When I adjusted to the higher number, and ate exercise calories back, I would have days where I would have to eat up to 5000 calories just to compensate. It meant eating every hour, regardless of serious hunger feelings. I felt gross eating that much, thought it was terrible... but after 2-3 days, I became seriously hungry, to the point where I would be woken from sleep in serious hunger pain and have to have a sandwich by the bed before I fell asleep. After about a week, I began to average a 6lbs loss per week, which continued until I was couched with surgery need.

    Based on what I know about you, it is entirely possible that you were experiencing a similar thing. You may be greatly undereating for what you are doing in your life right now, based on your weight. Increasing your caloric intake will unlock hunger and increase metabolism. I do not condone doing this through ice cream... Whether you are going to cycle diet or generally increase, it should be done in valuable calories as much as possible. Granted, if it fits, go for it, but if you need find you need to add another 1000 calories to what you've been eating every day, that is not a green light to eat half a box of ice cream sandwiches every day...

    Just because someone said you saw the effects of a refeed in this situation, doesn't mean you had an actual refeed. In my eyes, you overate. It's not a binge, it's not a refeed, it's not intermittent fasting, none of those things that justify it through terms. You simply gave up for a week and ate emotionally, from the sounds of it. You ate for taste, you ate a lot of calories, and probably boosted to a level that is more beneficial to you than the restrictions you'd been using before that. Get your proper numbers and you'll see better success, I guarantee it... But don't label the fact that you ate a ton of ice cream sandwiches and junk food during a week as a refeed, because that's simply a misunderstanding of that kind of diet cycle.

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