Binge Questions-Help me from Relapsing

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum and this is my first post, so I am not sure if I am in the right place but here goes:

I used to be anorexic, but have been recovering and regained all of my weight about a year and a half ago. I eat a very well balanced plan and never feel deprived. Call it boredom, but yesterday I was lounging around and ended up going on a MAJOR binge. I am not talking about eating an extra slice of pizza or anything, but rather just eating everything in site for several hours until I was painfully full. I used to do this a lot in recovery, but stopped. The last time I did this I made a conscious decision to on Christmas (making it not so much a "binge" since i made a choice). I know I didn't do this yesterday out of deprivation, because as I said I am very satisfied with my diet and progress. It was more like a "why not" moment since I am on vacation this week and don't have to see people and stuff.

I then thought to myself "I will just eat very little, not eat today" to compensate. I went out and jogged 8 miles (instead of four) and ate just a Luna bar (170 cals) and two bags of steamed veggies (160 cals per bag) and a banana. I was still very full all day from yesterday so it was easy not to eat that much. But then about an hour ago I was hungry and was like wait, this is like how I USED to eat when I had my ED. So I simply ate my breakfast, lunch, fruit, and special snack I usually eat everyday and feel great but a little strange. I mean did I do the right thing? Will all that water weight from my binge still go away if I eat "normal" or do you have to restrict severely to lose that? Will I slow that loss down? Also, since i didn't really compensate for it, where will all those extra calories from yesterday go?

I know deep down my sensible side prevailed, so am happy. But definately need some backing up as stupid as it may sound to some!

What's this post for? You don't need our help - you did it all on your own! :) "So I simply ate my breakfast, lunch, fruit, and special snack I usually eat everyday and feel great". Good for you!! That was the best choice you could have made.  You broke the cycle already! Now you know "wow. That made me feel like crap." and can continue on with your sensible, healthy eating.

thank you wishful thinking, your words are very encouraging. I continued just to eat as normal and did so again today as hard as it is. I do still weigh myself (more out of general health than obsession) and I am noticing I am definately bloated. I am just so worried this isn't going to go away. My rational side knows it will, but my ED side is comming through saying this is permanent etc. I just worry if it doesn't go away in the next few days that I will have additional problems. When do you guys think I can expect the "gain" from my binge Sunday afternoon/night to go away just so I have an idea what is "normal"-I know it varies per person and that there is not some definitive deadline for everyone, but I guess just a rough estimate would be nice. I was guessing like the end of the week (like Saturdaish)? As always, all input is welcomed and appreciated. I read these forums often but have never posted myself. While some advice and posts seem off, many are right on target. That is why I chose to post here when I was considering being irrational. I knew there would be some great people to "slap" me back into reality

I bet you don't even look a speck different. :) Maybe some bloating, but man, I think every female on Earth deals with bloating once in awhile! Remember that those numbers are just numbers. Any extra energy that you consumed during your binge will naturally slip off, probably without you - or the scale - even really noticing. From personal experience, I can vary around 5 pounds a day. I can take my measurements, and I'm still the same size.
I encourage you not to worry about your single day of overeating, your body will compensate for it if you just listen to it, and not an over-anxious brain! :P 


If you'd like a personal story...

My weight had dropped significantly without me really noticing or caring last month. I weighed myself and it scared the CRAP outta me. So I binged. I ate 2 boxes of high calorie cereal a day for a week (think Kashi Go Lean, granola, etc.) to bring it back up. Of course this was a stupid idea - I needed to take it slowly. :P I gained a decent amount of weight. After awhile I snapped out of it, and just listened to my body. I naturally dropped a couple of pounds, and my body settled out - AND! I'm quite content with how it looks right now. =) I'm unsure if this is reassuring or not - I hope so. Take care!

Original Post by lgaga23:

thank you wishful thinking, your words are very encouraging. I continued just to eat as normal and did so again today as hard as it is. I do still weigh myself (more out of general health than obsession) and I am noticing I am definately bloated. I am just so worried this isn't going to go away. My rational side knows it will, but my ED side is comming through saying this is permanent etc. I just worry if it doesn't go away in the next few days that I will have additional problems. When do you guys think I can expect the "gain" from my binge Sunday afternoon/night to go away just so I have an idea what is "normal"-I know it varies per person and that there is not some definitive deadline for everyone, but I guess just a rough estimate would be nice. I was guessing like the end of the week (like Saturdaish)? As always, all input is welcomed and appreciated. I read these forums often but have never posted myself. While some advice and posts seem off, many are right on target. That is why I chose to post here when I was considering being irrational. I knew there would be some great people to "slap" me back into reality

 Ok, if I understand you correctly, then you are saying at first you started to restrict (the next day after the binge) but then you realized that you should just eat normally and pretend the binge never happened?  If so, then you are absolutely on the right track.  One should never restrict the next day after a binge.  Especially for a recovered disordered eater, it can be a very slippery slope straight back to relapse.  Good for you for recognizing that.

On a side note, you said that if the bloating doesn't go away in the next few days, you might have "additional problems".  What exactly do you mean by that?  More than likely, the bloat will go away.  But if for some reason it doesn't, you need to really focus on why you would let something like that ruin your recovery.  Part of recovery is learning to be ok with weight gain if it were to happen.  It's not all about just getting to a healthy weight and trying to not go below or above that magic "healthy" number.  It's about working to change the way your mind deals with weight gain as well.  Knowing that even if you were to gain a few lbs above your magic number you'd still be ok.  Your life wouldn't fall apart because of it, and it would not make you any less of a beautiful person.

thanks guys. Yes, I was considering doing something "drastic" to "get back" out myself for that lapse in eating healthy, but resisted the urge knowing that even the smallest thing like that could be detrimental for someone like me who has been successfully in recovery for a while now. I wasn't too hungry all day yesterday, but when I did at the end of the day I knew what I had to do.

I unfortunately do still weigh myself now (once a week usually) so can get a little "number obsessed". I still don't think I am going to set myself back and do something drastic if say "x" amount of weight isn't gone by "x day," but I do know myself and do think I will get rather upset if like after Saturday or Sunday I am still showing the high weight I see now. That is why I asked if/when I could expect to see a decline. I am guessing just over the next few days for sure? I also want to make sure I am not impeding the water weight loss by eating normally (I am guessing I am not).

As unfortunate as this situation was, it is proving to me that I can stand up to my ED still and it feels wonderful to realize just how in control I am now! thanks again guys