Does eating less after a binge cause more damage?

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sophzhr
sophzhr Posts: 96 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've read somewhere that if you eat a lot fewer calories to 'make up' for a binge the previous day, it encourages the body to store the binge calories as fat, and that it's actually best to eat at maintenance the day after a binge.
Is this true? It doesn't seem to tie in to the whole idea of a weekly deficit which many on MFP seem to use...

Replies

  • Teresa_3266
    Teresa_3266 Posts: 298 Member
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    Not true for me. I slightly binged the other day and dropped my calories the next and my weight stabilized nicely. I like being on a weekly deficit for the very reason that we will overeat on certain days.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    It's not true. The day after a binge the body will react like it did the day before. Now I'm not one who thinks that you need to "make up for a binge". In fact, I think that only sets you up to binge again. But your body will not do what you are describing, no. I think if you had a calorie goal before the binge, I'd first evaluate if the goal was unrealistic and if that played into the binge. If so, I'd adjust the goal and try and hit it consistently. If you think the goal is okay, I'd leave it alone and try and hit it consistently, while trying to identify and modify what factors did play into the binge.
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
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    Not true.
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
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    Unfortunately, it's basically impossible to trick our bodies into holding onto fewer or more calories. Bodies love calories.

    The encouragement to eat at maintenance is (1) to avoid the mindset of "making up for" a binge, which could lead to bulimic behaviors like purging or overexercise (2) because hunger can be a contibuting factor for some people to binge--the danger is that you set yourself up for a starve-starve-starve-starve-ALLTHEFOODOMG-repeat cycle.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    No
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    sophzhr wrote: »
    I've read somewhere that if you eat a lot fewer calories to 'make up' for a binge the previous day, it encourages the body to store the binge calories as fat, and that it's actually best to eat at maintenance the day after a binge.
    Is this true? It doesn't seem to tie in to the whole idea of a weekly deficit which many on MFP seem to use...

    Source?

    I think the reasoning behind such a myth would be trying to prevent the practice of eating less to "compensate" for a binge, because it may lead to continue the overeating - starvation cycle - but most over-and-then-undereaters don't think that will apply to them, because they are in control, and the notion of body frantically storing fat must be more appealing, however unreasonable it may sound.

  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    I see no reason to think that is true. The day after a binge, you are still digesting much of the food that you binged on, so your body has a significant supply of energy coming from the digestive system. You will, however, be hungry the day after the day after and that could cause you to binge again.
  • rungirl1973
    rungirl1973 Posts: 2,559 Member
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    cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »
    Unfortunately, it's basically impossible to trick our bodies into holding onto fewer or more calories. Bodies love calories.

    The encouragement to eat at maintenance is (1) to avoid the mindset of "making up for" a binge, which could lead to bulimic behaviors like purging or overexercise (2) because hunger can be a contibuting factor for some people to binge--the danger is that you set yourself up for a starve-starve-starve-starve-ALLTHEFOODOMG-repeat cycle.

    ^^This. You can't "make up for" a binge. I have a history of eating disorders, and the idea of eating very little the day after a binge is very disordered. I didn't even realize I did this until my counselor and dietitian pointed it out to me.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I had a big blow out on Sunday. I'll shave off a few calories here and there over the next 7 days so I'm still in a deficit at the end of the week. I pay more attention to my weekly deficit rather than my daily one
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Where does this tripe come from?

    No -seriously - who pushes this crap onto the gullible dieters of the world?
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    rungirl1973 wrote: »
    cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »
    Unfortunately, it's basically impossible to trick our bodies into holding onto fewer or more calories. Bodies love calories.

    The encouragement to eat at maintenance is (1) to avoid the mindset of "making up for" a binge, which could lead to bulimic behaviors like purging or overexercise (2) because hunger can be a contibuting factor for some people to binge--the danger is that you set yourself up for a starve-starve-starve-starve-ALLTHEFOODOMG-repeat cycle.

    ^^This. You can't "make up for" a binge. I have a history of eating disorders, and the idea of eating very little the day after a binge is very disordered. I didn't even realize I did this until my counselor and dietitian pointed it out to me.

    Yeah ... ummm ... it's a pretty normal approach and does actually work for most normal folks without eating disorders.

  • sophzhr
    sophzhr Posts: 96 Member
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    Lots of really helpful answers here, thanks guys :) I'm pretty relieved, since when I do binge, I nearly always reduce my calories for the next day, primarily because I am not hungry at all. My binges are usually at night, so I can rarely contemplate much food for almost a good 24 hours...I end up eating around maybe 500-600 calories.

    I did try to find the source for my initial post, but I've searched around and just can't seem to find it - if I remember correctly, the article also implied that binging and then restricting was going to mess up your metabolism.

    I will have another hunt for that article though...
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
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    Unfortunately I have a lot of experience with binging.

    I started out losing weight by only counting calories when I was 300 lbs, and I was eating 1500 calories a day. Then I moved to only counting calories and eating 1200 calories a day. Then I plateaued and added exercise. Eventually I moved to eating around 1000 calories and working out for around 3 hours a day when I could manage it. I thought, well, if a little exercise is good, more must be better. And if 1200 calories was good, less must be better. On top of that, I was eating very little fat. I was good for about a year, and ended up losing down to around 110. Then, out of nowhere, uncontrollable binges would start. I would go crazy with anything that contained carbs and fat. And then after my binges, I would go crazy again with over restricting and over exercising to "make up" for those binges. I got desperate because I was gaining weight back, and I just couldn't get out of the cycle, so I decided to get help (with the strong urging of several friends).

    I ended up seeing a nutritionist that specialized in eating disorders. She taught me several things that were a BIG help. The first thing was that I was sleep deprived because I was getting up at 4 am to work out, but going to bed around midnight (I had just started dating my boyfriend). Being sleep deprived can make you crave carbs. The second was that my body was going crazy craving carbs and fat because I was expending energy like crazy, but never replenishing. I needed to start eating more, and working out less.

    It's still hard to find a balance, but as long as I listened to her AND listen to my body, I have very little issues now. The below is what I try to keep in mind, and what I suggest for anyone else having problems:

    1) Make sure you get enough sleep
    2) Make sure you are eating enough (especially enough fat)
    3) Don't over exercise, and make sure you eat enough for you level of activity
    4) DON'T try to "make up" for binges.

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