Binge eating once a week

KAS041479 wrote: »

Please consider reading the book Master Your Metabolism. It was VERY hard for me to let myself eat more, but by eating less and working out so hard for weeks, I was slowing my metabolism and then binging on Friday nights when I couldn't keep it up. So when I ate too little and worked out too hard, my body plateaued b/c my metabolism responded by slowing down, and I got frustrated and cranky and low energy--and when I over-ate, my body clung to every possible nutrient and stored it as fat, thinking I was starving. Too many months of that, I could have really damaged my thyroid.

Here's my advice, but keep in mind I am still new to this journey and you should gut-check everything I say and probably talk to a professional, okay? Here goes:

Try to eat every 4 hours, keep your metabolism at a steady burn. Aim for each meal to consist of 30% fat, 30% protein and 40% carbs so they can work together to make you feel sated. Eat the most calories at the start of your day. Try to avoid simple carbs like white breads and pastas at night, and make yourself get 8 hours of sleep a night (so you can make the human growth hormone in deep sleep--if you don't, your body will want to renew and repair itself by secreting ghrelin [the hunger hormone] the next day and the likelihood of binging as a result of that hormone is high).

Switch up your calorie intake every day, and switch up your workouts so your metabolism doesn't get into a routine and slow down to compensate. You know you need a deficit of 3,500 calories over the course of a week to lose one pound. I don't know your weight, height, metabolic type, or BMI, but let's say to do that, you need to net 1200 calories a day. So Monday, eat 1400 calories and do 200 calories worth of exercise. Tuesday, eat 1550 calories and do 350 calories worth of exercise. Wednesday, eat 1200 calories and let your muscles rest (I also had a problem with not working out every day, felt like I was slacking, but if you don't rest, your body doesn't experience the valleys that make the peaks of working out help you shed pounds. Rest is critical. You will actually undo hard work without real rest.) Thursday, eat 1600 calories and work off 400 with intense exercise using cardio and weights. Friday, eat 1400 calories and work off 200. Saturday, eat 1700 calories and work off 500 (for me, this is a great day to walk around shopping, do chores, clean, go for a run). Sunday, eat 1200 calories and rest. You've now netted 1200 calories each day, but you've eaten more some days and less others, and you've worked out harder some days and not at all others.

I use a Polar Heart Rate monitor when I workout b/c it calculates the calories I burn based on my heart beats and my age, weight, length of time, etc. I've found it to be way more accurate than my FitBit, which I love, but use more as a pedometer and overall health guide. If you're serious about working out, I recommend a heart rate monitor--it's a watch that comes with a plastic and cloth band you snap around under your breasts, and that tracks your heart rate. Once I was able to calculate my optimal fat-burning zone (155bpm for me), I was able to easily work off 400+ calories in an hour, if I wanted.

Your workouts also shouldn't be the same routine. Make your muscles confused. Like, try Yoga one day, Tae Bo the next, Plyometrics the next, rest, then Running, then the next day do Weights, then the next day Dance, then rest. Use different muscle groups (which not only surprises the body but helps avoid injury) and eat different amounts of foods--keep your metabolism guessing, but never afraid you won't have enough nutrients to thrive. I am not a fan of gyms, really, so I get 5 or 6 DVDs for free from my library every three weeks and that's how I can do different activities and switch it up.

I can't recommend the book Master Your Metabolism enough. There are parts of it that go a little nuts about organic food, avoiding plastics, and that kind of earthy-crunchy thing (I'm vegan so I don't mind, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea and that's okay). But the chapter on the biochemical results of our hormones--why your body gets hungry, how it feels sated, when it feels safe to lose weight, and what you can do to sabotage that (like letting your intake get so restricted that you are compelled to binge)--that chapter on hormones is key. I got my copy out of the library, too.

Now, I'm gonna say one more thing, and please do not be offended. If this is your first time binging ever, it's probably b/c of your diet and exercise leaving your body feeling unfulfilled. However, if you have a history of it (if you've done it once a week or more for more than three months), if you're compelled not by hunger but by boredom, anger, depression, stress, and you binge to the point where it hurts and you feel like you don't have any self-control, you could have an eating disorder. BED is not the same as bulimia or anorexia. There's no shame in having an eating disorder and if you need to get some therapy, you do what's best for you and we'll be here to help and support you through it! http://bedaonline.com/understanding-bed/#.VPxaYvnF-24

That's all I'm gonna say about that. I just want to close with lots of encouragement--don't lose heart. It takes a long time to figure out what works best for our individual bodies and lives. The things I mentioned above have worked for me, but may not for you. Give it a whirl, and let us know how it goes. All the best to you!!

TavistockToad wrote: »

debbieedson wrote: »

Do well all week eating 1400 calories day workout 3 -4 times week worked for ages now binging

I sometimes eat some back I do 60 minutes of kettlebells can burn anything from 800 -1000 I eat only some back 100 -200 not all time