Can I take advantage of my binge?? Help please!

[ScullyC419]

Hey ladies,

I posted a few weeks ago asking for advice on gaining muscle / leaning out. You ladies were incredibly helpful...and I made adjustments based on your suggestions (cutting down on cardio, eating more and increasing my fat intake, etc) and I saw HUGE improvements in just a short amount of time.

So after two weeks, I had set myself up for a "cheat day" since I was going to be attending a party at a friends house. When I got there, said friend (who is apparently on a diet) had prepared a veggieful array of party foods...literally the only source of protein was a mini (like 2" across) salty, dry chicken patty. I supplemented this with kale chips, spaghetti squash, and tomatoes. I love veggies, but I need a little more! By the end of the night, I was obviously starving (I had also lifted pretty heavy that morning, and my post workout shake was long gone)...and I basically stuffed my face with cake (the only non veggie thing there).

The next day I started feeling sick and, ultimately, had zero willpower...between the sweets night before, feeling like death and STILL be hungry from the previous day. I took a huge step backwards and went on....a 3 day binge. UGH.

Within these three days I ate:
- 1 entire jar natural PB
- 1 jar marshmallow fluff
- 1/2 loaf french bread
- crackers
- A LOT of cheese
- chocolate covered almonds
- a bag of chips
- a lot of homemade veggie / chicken soup

....and a smoothie for breakfast each morning

My questions is: is there any way to turn this into a good thing...i.e, if I try to lift extra heavy tonight, can I use at least some of that excess fuel to bulk? Or would it be better to just rest...or do cardio and sweat some of it out?

I'm unbelievably bloated and so uncomfortable, but if I can use this to my advantage I'd like to.

Thoughts?

[srb04e]

Hey ladies,

I posted a few weeks ago asking for advice on gaining muscle / leaning out. You ladies were incredibly helpful...and I made adjustments based on your suggestions (cutting down on cardio, eating more and increasing my fat intake, etc) and I saw HUGE improvements in just a short amount of time.

So after two weeks, I had set myself up for a "cheat day" since I was going to be attending a party at a friends house. When I got there, said friend (who is apparently on a diet) had prepared a veggieful array of party foods...literally the only source of protein was a mini (like 2" across) salty, dry chicken patty. I supplemented this with kale chips, spaghetti squash, and tomatoes. I love veggies, but I need a little more! By the end of the night, I was obviously starving (I had also lifted pretty heavy that morning, and my post workout shake was long gone)...and I basically stuffed my face with cake (the only non veggie thing there).

The next day I started feeling sick and, ultimately, had zero willpower...between the sweets night before, feeling like death and STILL be hungry from the previous day. I took a huge step backwards and went on....a 3 day binge. UGH.

Within these three days I ate:
- 1 entire jar natural PB
- 1 jar marshmallow fluff
- 1/2 loaf french bread
- crackers
- A LOT of cheese
- chocolate covered almonds
- a bag of chips
- a lot of homemade veggie / chicken soup

....and a smoothie for breakfast each morning

My questions is: is there any way to turn this into a good thing...i.e, if I try to lift extra heavy tonight, can I use at least some of that excess fuel to bulk? Or would it be better to just rest...or do cardio and sweat some of it out?

I'm unbelievably bloated and so uncomfortable, but if I can use this to my advantage I'd like to.

Thoughts?

Just get back on track with your normal program... I'm also a believer that the day after a cheat day is a great time to trains body part that you most want to improve

[schnauzers]

Whatever happened, happened. Just get back on track, learn from your binge and move on In the grand scheme of things, that one episode is a drop in the bucket. That doesn't mean to let it happen frequently, just don't stress over the single event.

[kimm4]

If you're supposed to be eating more calories and trying to build, how is this a huge step backwards? Some of my best/strongest training days happen when I eat more calories than normal.

[dreahere]

If you're supposed to be eating more calories and trying to build, how is this a huge step backwards? Some of my best/strongest training days happen when I eat more calories than normal.

^^^This. See sig line.

[Ralikar]

Maybe your diet/food selection is a bit too restrictive or your cals too low. A planned cheat meal is not the same as a massive my-body-is-dying binge.

[ScullyC419]

If you're supposed to be eating more calories and trying to build, how is this a huge step backwards? Some of my best/strongest training days happen when I eat more calories than normal.

^I guess it's not a huge issue...which is why I wasn't freaking out about gaining. I'm more concerned with optimizing my training to best use all that food I ate. I am trying to gain right now, but there's a difference between slightly upping my calories and binge eating..upping my intake by ~500cal/ day does not mess with my head. Binge eating does.

I should also add that those three days I didn't train at all because I was so sick.
The day I posted this I ended up doing some lifting but calling it quits a little early, since I was clearly not well.

BUT the day after that I beat my PR on pretty much everything.

Thanks for everyone's input and calming me down.

I guess I'm still a little scared of food...these boards are quickly helping me get over that and its making a huge difference.

[Cara0915]

^I guess it's not a huge issue...which is why I wasn't freaking out about gaining. I'm more concerned with optimizing my training to best use all that food I ate. I am trying to gain right now, but there's a difference between slightly upping my calories and binge eating..upping my intake by ~500cal/ day does not mess with my head. Binge eating does.

I should also add that those three days I didn't train at all because I was so sick.
The day I posted this I ended up doing some lifting but calling it quits a little early, since I was clearly not well.

BUT the day after that I beat my PR on pretty much everything.

Thanks for everyone's input and calming me down.

I guess I'm still a little scared of food...these boards are quickly helping me get over that and its making a huge difference.

I don't know your stats but eating 500 over maintenance pretty much guarantees that most of what you gain is going to be fat. Stick to a more moderate surplus, 10-15%

[shirun]

IMO doing extra cardio because of a binge is not worth the trouble. It's stressful. And boring. And you waste a lot of time. I just try to lift heavier and have more protein. The bloat goes away and if it doesn't happen too often you won't gain fat. A surplus of 200-300 calories is usually fine for bulking. I bulked on 500+ on my first bulk but it was dirty. I gained a lot of fat. A lot of strength too, but if fat bothers you stick to a smaller surplus.

[thepowerwithin]

I guess I'm still a little scared of food...these boards are quickly helping me get over that and its making a huge difference.

Work on this. Seriously, the less restrictive you are, the less you will find yourself gazing at the bottom of a PB jar.

Also, I thought I read in another thread that you do a chit ton of cardio. If so, cutting back will help you be more in control of your appetite.

[ScullyC419]

I don't know your stats but eating 500 over maintenance pretty much guarantees that most of what you gain is going to be fat. Stick to a more moderate surplus, 10-15%

Either I'm calculating my maintenance wrong or overestimating my intake, but so far I've increased strength and not gained any weight...not quite sure whats off, but I'm pretty sure its option B. Getting a scale ASAP and then i'll adjust to 15% over.

Work on this. Seriously, the less restrictive you are, the less you will find yourself gazing at the bottom of a PB jar.

Also, I thought I read in another thread that you do a chit ton of cardio. If so, cutting back will help you be more in control of your appetite.

Yes I do a ton of cardio, but I've cut it down to the minimum I can do per week (about 3-4 hours / week...always on off days or after training). I'm a dancer, so its relatively unavoidable. I wonder if I am underestimating maintenance because of this??

[Cara0915]

Either I'm calculating my maintenance wrong or overestimating my intake, but so far I've increased strength and not gained any weight...not quite sure whats off, but I'm pretty sure its option B. Getting a scale ASAP and then i'll adjust to 15% over.



Yes I do a ton of cardio, but I've cut it down to the minimum I can do per week (about 3-4 hours / week...always on off days or after training). I'm a dancer, so its relatively unavoidable. I wonder if I am underestimating maintenance because of this??

Yes for sure get a scale. Aim to gain around a pound per month, it is possible to do without weighing all your food, just eat more until you see steady gains but it's a good idea to at least track everything for a while so you get a feel for what exactly you are eating.
And yes, doing all that extra activity can make your maintenance higher than most peoples.