Losing binge weight

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babycorns
babycorns Posts: 20
in Health and Weight Loss
I don't know what went wrong in my diet but last week I got stuck in a horrible binge cycle and it lasted for nine days. I've gained nearly 7 pounds in these past few days and I'm really hating myself for it. I'm pretty sure those 7 pounds are real fat, because my binges were quite huge.

I've gotten rid of all my binge food and I'm hoping I can lose this 7 pounds soon. Is it really going to take me more than a month to undo the damage done in less than two weeks? :-(

Ugh... I don't know why I did this to myself. I'm worried I might binge my way back to my high weight. I don't understand what's happening to me. My weight loss/maintenance was going just fine.

I'm currently 116-117 pounds at 5"4 - female, early 20s. I was previously 110 pounds, I'm really hoping to go back there. Is there anything I should do or avoid doing? Any foods I should avoid to prevent any more binges from happening?

Replies

  • aleister777
    aleister777 Posts: 5
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    Stop beating yourself up. A lot of that is water weight. It takes 3500 kcals to make a pound so unless you ate an extra 24500 kcals in that time that's not actual fat. If you reduce your carbs and get back on track you'll find a good deal of that weight will fall back off. You did 9 days of damage - you have years to fix it. This isn't a race, it's marathon. You will have other binges - they don't matter. What does matter is your ability to shrug it off, get back on plan and keep moving forward.
  • babycorns
    babycorns Posts: 20
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    Stop beating yourself up. A lot of that is water weight. It takes 3500 kcals to make a pound so unless you ate an extra 24500 kcals in that time that's not actual fat. If you reduce your carbs and get back on track you'll find a good deal of that weight will fall back off. You did 9 days of damage - you have years to fix it. This isn't a race, it's marathon. You will have other binges - they don't matter. What does matter is your ability to shrug it off, get back on plan and keep moving forward.

    But my binges were 3500 calories and above for most of the days - a bit embarrassing to admit, but it was really out of control and I feel awfully greedy about it now. I think I've been restricting my intake a bit too much lately, and that's probably what triggered my binges.

    I'm just a bit shy that someone might notice my 7 pound gain. 7 pounds in two weeks must be quite obvious, right? Oh gosh, I should stop worrying about what others think.

    Are fruit carbs okay or should I avoid them too? My binges definitely consisted of carby foods like bread and crackers, so I'm going to avoid them, for sure.
  • radiant_future
    radiant_future Posts: 33 Member
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    My heart goes out to you - I could have written those comments 20 years ago! Life was tough. Now I am a lot heavier & more comfortable with myself- not happy with my weight but not tortured by urges to binge.
    I dont know what your BMI is, or whether you are trying to manage on too restrictive a diet ... but what I would say is the thing that got me out of bingeing was
    1. 3 regular meals a day
    2. Don't separate binge food and healthy food - eat all in moderation
    3. Eat enough each day (don't starve)
    4. Focus on health and fitness rather than weight loss
    5. Embrace other things in your life - distract from food with hobbies, friends etc
    6. Let go of the shame and guilt - read self help books, share on things like this, go to a self help group and share (over the years overeaters anonymous and al anon saved me!)

    There is a way out of this, you are not alone x
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Ugh... I don't know why I did this to myself. I'm worried I might binge my way back to my high weight. I don't understand what's happening to me. My weight loss/maintenance was going just fine.

    I'm currently 116-117 pounds at 5"4 - female, early 20s. I was previously 110 pounds, I'm really hoping to go back there. Is there anything I should do or avoid doing? Any foods I should avoid to prevent any more binges from happening?

    were you maintaining at 110 or losing? how many calories a day were you eating before your binges?
  • aleister777
    aleister777 Posts: 5
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    It would need to be 3500 kcals ABOVE your TDEE to create a pound. So really we're talking 5-6k calories per day - not 3500 for you to gain that much weight.
  • babycorns
    babycorns Posts: 20
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    Ugh... I don't know why I did this to myself. I'm worried I might binge my way back to my high weight. I don't understand what's happening to me. My weight loss/maintenance was going just fine.

    I'm currently 116-117 pounds at 5"4 - female, early 20s. I was previously 110 pounds, I'm really hoping to go back there. Is there anything I should do or avoid doing? Any foods I should avoid to prevent any more binges from happening?

    were you maintaining at 110 or losing? how many calories a day were you eating before your binges?

    I was maintaining. I stopped counting calories after I lost the weight I wanted but I usually eat anywhere around 1200-2000 calories. Usually on the lesser side on weekdays, and more on Friday-Sunday, and I'm not the most active person either.
  • babycorns
    babycorns Posts: 20
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    It would need to be 3500 kcals ABOVE your TDEE to create a pound. So really we're talking 5-6k calories per day - not 3500 for you to gain that much weight.

    My binges were quite large though. Scarily large. I remember the calories I consumed on all those days too (rounded off though).
    2500, 4800, 5000, 4000, 4000, 4500, 2200 (still binged but managed to stop myself halfway), 2800 and 3500. And I had two other binge days a few days before these ones, both days totaling up to 7820 calories. So that's eleven binge days altogether.

    Hah.. I'm so ashamed of myself. :huh:
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    It would need to be 3500 kcals ABOVE your TDEE to create a pound. So really we're talking 5-6k calories per day - not 3500 for you to gain that much weight.

    My binges were quite large though. Scarily large. I remember the calories I consumed on all those days too (rounded off though).
    2500, 4800, 5000, 4000, 4000, 4500, 2200 (still binged but managed to stop myself halfway), 2800 and 3500. And I had two other binge days a few days before these ones, both days totaling up to 7820 calories. So that's eleven binge days altogether.

    Hah.. I'm so ashamed of myself. :huh:
    Most people binge at times.
    Feeling ashamed will create more negative feelings towards yourself so try to be even nicer and kinder and gentler with yourself after a binge!
    You are most likely restricting your calories way too much! At your height and weight you should be eating very close to maintenance! Those last few vanity pounds will come off very slowly!
    I, too, am losing the last few and regular exercise gives me more to eat AND helps me feel much happier (endorphins)!
    I eat lots of protein, healthy fats, veggies, fruits, nuts, etc.
    More important, I eat some yummy treat everyday! This week it's Talenti chocolate covered caramel sea salt ice cream pops!
    So delish and satisfying!
    So:
    1. Never beat yourself up for bingeing!
    2. Eat a lot of healthy foods!
    3. Move your body!
    4. Treat yourself to your favorite treat EVERY DAY!

    If you honestly do all this and it's still not working, it may help to talk to an expert in eating disorders to help you overcome this.

    It will happen one way or another!
    You can do it!
  • aleister777
    aleister777 Posts: 5
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    Meh, you binge for two weeks, you cut for two weeks. Time will show you it really doesn't matter - especially at your age. Just make sure your long term strategy evens out.
  • babycorns
    babycorns Posts: 20
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    Just two weeks to undo that much of weight gain? There's even a possibility that I could have underestimated the calories in some of the days. I'm shaking so much right now, is it possible that I could have gained 7 to 8 actual pounds in under two weeks?

    It took me 3 months to lose that much of weight. Did I really gain back THREE MONTHS of hard work in just eleven days? Oh my God, I am about to be sick right now. I can't believe this happened. Oh my God.
  • Booda101
    Booda101 Posts: 161 Member
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    Take a deep breath! Ok, now when you let that breath go, you let go of beating yourself up over this. It happened. But now you know you just need to get back on track. Today. The very next meal.

    You've lost the weight before, you'll do it again. You got this!!
  • babycorns
    babycorns Posts: 20
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    Take a deep breath! Ok, now when you let that breath go, you let go of beating yourself up over this. It happened. But now you know you just need to get back on track. Today. The very next meal.

    You've lost the weight before, you'll do it again. You got this!!

    Thank you. But I can't believe this happened. It took me such a long time to lose the weight. Such a long time and I was so happy maintaining my weight. I can't believe it took less than two weeks to undo so much of hard work. I can't go through this weight loss journey again. It was hell. I can't believe I have to go through it again. I've never been so upset in my life.
  • thegilly6
    thegilly6 Posts: 137 Member
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    I do this every vacation.

    Monday is coming. Put on your game face and prepare to set your metabolism on fire. On Monday it's back to the program of foods that fit the caloric intake and by all means move! You are a MACHINE!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Take a deep breath! Ok, now when you let that breath go, you let go of beating yourself up over this. It happened. But now you know you just need to get back on track. Today. The very next meal.

    You've lost the weight before, you'll do it again. You got this!!

    Thank you. But I can't believe this happened. It took me such a long time to lose the weight. Such a long time and I was so happy maintaining my weight. I can't believe it took less than two weeks to undo so much of hard work. I can't go through this weight loss journey again. It was hell. I can't believe I have to go through it again. I've never been so upset in my life.

    if losing weight was 'hell' its because you're doing it all wrong...
  • babycorns
    babycorns Posts: 20
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    Take a deep breath! Ok, now when you let that breath go, you let go of beating yourself up over this. It happened. But now you know you just need to get back on track. Today. The very next meal.

    You've lost the weight before, you'll do it again. You got this!!

    Thank you. But I can't believe this happened. It took me such a long time to lose the weight. Such a long time and I was so happy maintaining my weight. I can't believe it took less than two weeks to undo so much of hard work. I can't go through this weight loss journey again. It was hell. I can't believe I have to go through it again. I've never been so upset in my life.
    [/quote

    if losing weight was 'hell' its because you're doing it all wrong...

    I have asthma and heart problema making it very difficult for me to rely on working out to lose weight. I could only manage 30-40 minutes of cardio a day, and even that made me feel extremely awful after. I only lost weight (slowly) when i was eating 1100-1200 calories a day. I had to skip out on so many family dinners because the food they eat tend to be higher in calories. After i lost the weight, i could eat up to 1800 and maintain. But now i'll have to go back to forcing myself to workout more and eating less, and i have never felt more upset.
  • HDCANDYZ
    HDCANDYZ Posts: 25 Member
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    Take a deep breath! Ok, now when you let that breath go, you let go of beating yourself up over this. It happened. But now you know you just need to get back on track. Today. The very next meal.

    You've lost the weight before, you'll do it again. You got this!!

    Thank you. But I can't believe this happened. It took me such a long time to lose the weight. Such a long time and I was so happy maintaining my weight. I can't believe it took less than two weeks to undo so much of hard work. I can't go through this weight loss journey again. It was hell. I can't believe I have to go through it again. I've never been so upset in my life.
    [/quote

    if losing weight was 'hell' its because you're doing it all wrong...

    I have asthma and heart problema making it very difficult for me to rely on working out to lose weight. I could only manage 30-40 minutes of cardio a day, and even that made me feel extremely awful after. I only lost weight (slowly) when i was eating 1100-1200 calories a day. I had to skip out on so many family dinners because the food they eat tend to be higher in calories. After i lost the weight, i could eat up to 1800 and maintain. But now i'll have to go back to forcing myself to workout more and eating less, and i have never felt more upset.

    Hey, it'll be okay. Hang in there. If it makes you feel any better, I just binged tonight as well on Fiber One cereal, an entire box, like 1200 over my TDEE. I've done this like 3 times this week. All you can do is move on. That's it! You are a normal person, nothing wrong with you, so don't beat yourself up. What has happened has happened, accept that you enjoyed what you ate and you feel guilty about it, but every day is a new day. I end up eating less the next day or just drink a lot of water if I'm not hungry. After all, let's be honest, Fiber One has a TON of fiber :tongue: and that causes some good bowel movements :laugh: . Just move the next day and keep at it. I sometimes, like tonight, just factor in what I binged on for my next day, which is set at a caloric deficit.

    You'll be okay. I freaked out when I started binging a lot lately, and I think it's because I eat too little so I crave food more. Forgive yourself like many others have mentioned and move on, just accept it and move on. :wink:
  • stephgas
    stephgas Posts: 159 Member
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    first, take a deep, calming breath - we cannot change the past; we can only work to affect our futures. your binges are done and in the past - you just have to work from here and make healthy choices for you.

    if you're in your early 20s, 5' 4", most info i can find says 117-140ish is a healthy weight range for you. have you spoken to your doctor about being 110lbs? it's important to ensure you're taking in enough calories for your body to continue being healthy; if you're only taking in 1100 calories and burning some during workouts, you may not really be taking in enough calories. i'd think that where you are now is probably the low end of what most professionals would consider 'healthy' for you. so please, speak to your doctor about it - she/he is more familiar with your health history, body type, etc. and will be able to give you a weight target that is healthy FOR YOU.
  • babycorns
    babycorns Posts: 20
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    Thank you so much, guys. I don't know why I couldn't control my emotions earlier. I guess I was really disappointed in myself for losing control for so many days like that. At least I know now to not binge like that again. I'm thinking of losing to 114-115 instead of 110. Maybe I'm not meant to be at that weight. Thank you again, for your kind words of encouragement. I feel a bit better now. What's done's done. I must make sure this never happens again.
  • mikesgram1
    mikesgram1 Posts: 13
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    Those are all common sense, but great ideas. Thanks!
  • HDCANDYZ
    HDCANDYZ Posts: 25 Member
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    Thank you so much, guys. I don't know why I couldn't control my emotions earlier. I guess I was really disappointed in myself for losing control for so many days like that. At least I know now to not binge like that again. I'm thinking of losing to 114-115 instead of 110. Maybe I'm not meant to be at that weight. Thank you again, for your kind words of encouragement. I feel a bit better now. What's done's done. I must make sure this never happens again.

    I've found that if you get to a weight that your body doesn't agree with, you will binge, almost inevitably. Likewise, this was an event that happened and now it's over. I would focus on trying to figure out your triggers for binge eating and learn from it. Write on paper and post it where you can see it, that "it's not worth the admission of losing my mind over food, I control what I eat, food doesn't control me!" I would also advise that it's not ever certain you wont binge again. I've told myself that several times, yet I do anyway. It is what it is, you CAN control food. Put this in perspective, if you log what you're bingeing on, keep in mind how many calories is adding up and how fast, and how much it isn't going to be fun to work that all off.

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