****...I have an eating disorder....what do I do?

[Ranniks]

Reading this article: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark39.htm

Quote: On the flip side of the coin, though, cheating may turn into a negative psychological thing for some people.
Those people who decide to have a cheat day and eat so much in one period that they physically become ill or find themselves fantasizing about their cheat day for many days ahead of time may want to look at the possibility that they are becoming obsessed with food.

It's almost like an all or none thing with these people, either they are 100% perfect all the time, or else detour and just go crazy and all out binge.

So basically I have a cheatday every now and then (once a week, to once every 2 weeks, to once a month).......When the day nears, I get excited and all. Like today I spend about 20 dollars on unhealthy groceries, and I could only consume like half of it.......I had this moment today: I ate chocolate and a half of a salami, I put the salami down after feeling full, but after 10 minutes I picked it up and ate it until I felt sick.......

My cheatdays are days in which I basically binge the living **** out. It stays between 3500-5000 calories though.

So what do I do about it? If I have cheatmeals, I'll be like 'f it, might as well binge the whole day'. But I'm actually really, really strict about my diet. On diet days I eat to detail on what's on my diet......



Advice?

[BigBarck]

I know, It's hard.
Forget about bodybuilding for a while. Go to the gym, don't overwork yourself.

Binging occurs with too much caloric deficit, deprivation (mentally and physically), and over-exhaustion.

You're cheat days are things your mind has allowed your body to eat. Yet, your body is under so much stress that, it just wants more and more, and fantasies about it at every available second it can.

my first cut like 2 years ago, I lost all my weight, got to like 6% bodyfat, then just binged back to like 20%. I know from first hand, that it IS a real problem, but it's not the end of your bodybuilding lifestyle or normality. The answer lies in your diet, routine, and life.

Take a step back.
Evaluate your diet.
-> can you eat things that you still enjoy?
I know it was a big change when I stopped eating what my mom made for dinner back in high school. or I had 'special' orders.

Evaluate your routine.
-> does lifting/cardio make you happy?sad?
-> when you get to go to the gym or leave from the gym, do you feel empowered, delighted, or overburdened?

Evaluate your life.
-> are there hard things going on right now?
-> do you put off people/special events because of bodybuilding/diet/exercise?

rest assured, it'll fix itself.
binging just leads to a breaking point.
for me, It almost made me leave extreme fitness/exercise just to regain normality in my diet and relationships.
but through that, I found my answer

Good luck!
Pm me if you want

[MikeyMinaj]

At first, it was all or nothing for me.

And then I failed.

At second, it was all or nothing.

And then I failed again.

The third time, it was me being realistic and doing my best. Doing what I know I could do.


I cringe when people say they have "cheat days"... 6 days of hard work and dedication out the window.

Cheat meals are wayyy more realistic and appropriate.

[ATC1983]

Yep it's hard. Yesterday I "cheated" and consumed around 3700-4000 cals over the day. Totally went overboard. Had a 700 cal cheat desert on Sat night too.

So I know I'm going to binge - however, it's about controlling it. For my I'm going to walk maybe a total of 6 hours this weekend, with the aim of burning up 3k cals, and cmploy maybe 2000 of that as a cheat on Sunday night. But I have to stay disciplined throughout the week to allow me to hit that, and that means staying under 2K calories per day.

If I didn't work, ironically, I would find this easy. Although I have an office job, it is just so easy to throw concern to the wind with co workers or at home and eat what you feel like.

[MrDude1]

If I didn't work, ironically, I would find this easy. Although I have an office job, it is just so easy to throw concern to the wind with co workers or at home and eat what you feel like.

I have an office job, that seems to make it easier.
I dont have extra food here... and its easy to say no to the food around the office.... so if i say im only going to eat X during the day... its easy to stick to...

[ShigeruErwin]

my coach always told me not to cheat... sad to say, i have no cheat meal for 12 weeks. whew, i dunno if i can go through it...
in the office, i have no choice but to stick on tea and coffee..

[bulgarianfreak5]

I cringe when people say they have "cheat days"... 6 days of hard work and dedication out the window.

Cheat meals are wayyy more realistic and appropriate.

no better way to put it!