does working out 'send the message' to convert excess calories to muscle?

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Wahbluffet
Wahbluffet Posts: 93 Member
edited October 2015 in Fitness and Exercise
reason being, if i overate this week by a lot, can working out send a message to my body to convert the excess calories to more muscle than fat?

i should also specify that I am approaching this now in the way i assume one should react in a "healthy way" to overeating, as opposed to starving yourself, to work out and know that you're getting stronger instead of weaker.

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  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    No.
    Strength training with extra calories does build muscle, but it is a slow process (nothing will happen in a week) and it will also mean gaining some fat too.
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
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    if you binged and are worried you went over calories, you could throw a longer or extra workout in to burn more, there's no way to poof those calories into muscle. You just need to burn more to avoid them turning into a gain, however that won't happen with just one binge. I typically run extra miles if I know I have a food and beer filled weekend ahead.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Wahbluffet wrote: »
    aggelikik wrote: »
    No.
    Strength training with extra calories does build muscle, but it is a slow process (nothing will happen in a week) and it will also mean gaining some fat too.

    ah i see. so it is better to not work out at all after a binge?

    You will not gain a lot of weight from one single binge. You will also not convert these calories to muscle, no matter what you do. You could up your exercise the next days to burn some of these calories, or eat a bit less the next days to even things out, and it might make you feel better. But if it just happened once, then it will nto matter much in the big picture, one way or another. Now, if this is a regular thing, yes, you have a problem.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Have you considered ED counseling?
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    Have you considered ED counseling?

    Agreed. Based on OPs other threads, she was in inpatient ED treatment but reached a BMI where she was discharged.

    OP I can see from your posts (not just this thread) that your disordered thinking is still present. Please consider ongoing therapy and outpatient assistance.
  • sscarmack
    sscarmack Posts: 210 Member
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    If you go over your calories, burn more calories. Walk, run, lift, whatever it takes to get back to a deficit if thats your goal.

    At the end of the day its how bad you want it.

    But the simple answer is no, just bc you work out does not mean all those extra calories becomes muscle.

    You have to be aware of what you're putting into your body and what your body is putting out. Once you understand that nothing will stop you.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    The OP says that she has heart problems. Unless she has been cleared by her cardiologist for exercise and especially weight training she needs to be careful. My doctor suspended all activity pending test results.

    OP...see your doctors...you need guidance.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I believe people who have had anorexia recently do often binge later for a while. I think a therapist or at least a recovering anorexic support group will give you the best advice.

    But just remember that it's not the most important thing in the world. I had an ED that involved 'fasting' and big binges after, and my eating problems didn't go away until I realized that the control cycle was the problem, not the solution. It'll be fine if you let go of the worry about weight for a long while (that's not to say that that part feels easy!). I didn't get fat, btw, after giving up my cycles of trying to get skinny :) That was my fear at the time, as you well know.
  • kerbeya1
    kerbeya1 Posts: 53 Member
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    Use those extra calories for extra energy for a work out
  • kerbeya1
    kerbeya1 Posts: 53 Member
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    kerbeya1 wrote: »
    Use those extra calories for extra energy for a work out

    So go lift legs in other words
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited October 2015
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    DavPul wrote: »
    Have you considered ED counseling?

    I understand about the necessity to bring up ED and I also understand what it means to want to chew your arm off after working out.. But over exercising is just bad, bad, bad all together and know when to much is too much.

    You cannot ever out exercise bad eating habits...

    This is where the calories you intake need to balance. If you are not eating enough through a normal day to use as energy for the workout and do not eat right afterwards I can see binging this one time and recognizing it and move on and make wiser choices next time and plans your meals accordingly...

    But to giggle on this, you cannot tell your calories what to do and where to go. Your body does this for you.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    Wahbluffet wrote: »
    cafeaulait7 wrote: »
    I believe people who have had anorexia recently do often binge later for a while. I think a therapist or at least a recovering anorexic support group will give you the best advice.

    But just remember that it's not the most important thing in the world. I had an ED that involved 'fasting' and big binges after, and my eating problems didn't go away until I realized that the control cycle was the problem, not the solution. It'll be fine if you let go of the worry about weight for a long while (that's not to say that that part feels easy!). I didn't get fat, btw, after giving up my cycles of trying to get skinny :) That was my fear at the time, as you well know.

    i got fat though. went from very low weight to overweight :(

    I'm sorry :( My binges were part of my cycle of control, so that's what I meant. I had to give it all up together, if that makes sense. It might not for everybody. Sorry!

    But definitely lift pretty heavy. You do that to near-failure anyway, so it's harder to do it in a disordered way anyway, imho. That's only OK now that your doctor has cleared your ticker :grin: The lifting part strains your system while doing it, so heart problems might not work with it!

    I came back from 86-86 lbs from a disease I got in college, and my heart was a bit of concern. I had muscle wasting before diagnosis and treatment, so that's a big part of how I got so low (I had to force myself to eat, too, because it took away my appetite completely). I backpacked with a 50 lb pack around Europe on a long trip (I was about 100 lbs by then and on treatment). I don't know if anyone does backpacking for muscle gain in the fitness world, but h#ll, if you have a backpack and like walking, maybe that's a gentle way of going about it :)

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