Binged last night - Need help deciding how to handle it.

I still haven't purged, but last night I binged like crazy! I ate normally throughout the day: some fruit and yogurt in the morning, a salad and soup at lunch, watermelon as a snack, and soup and half a sandwich for dinner.  I even allowed myself a tiny slice of a lemon bar for eating so well.  Then after work I went out drinking with some friends....and by the time 2:30 in the morning came around I was starving..and the only thing that was open was a pizza place.  I ordered the same pizza I used to always get before I cared about my weight (spinach, mushrooms, feta cheese, and cream cheese...it's a kansas thing)  It's sooo yummy, but terribly high in calories.  I stopped after 2 and a half slices, and went into the kitchen and found some banana bread.  I ate some of that too, and then I think I dozed off for a little while..and when I woke back up I ate another slice and a half of pizza, and even more banana bread! I feel absolutely disgusting.  I more than doubled my calories for the day in that one sitting.  Now that I'm sitting here after just waking up, I feel like I shouldn't allow myself to eat at all today.  I feel like I need to go to the gym and just stay there for hours.  I feel like it's a shame that I didn't purge...although I'm also proud in a way.  But it's hard to want to recover from bulimia and STILL want to lose weight.  I wish I had been one of those bulimics that lost so much weight that they needed to gain weight.  But that's not the case...I still have 20 pounds to lose.  What would some of you do?  Would you fast just for a day and started again with healthy eating tomorrow?  Or would you just accept the fact that you ate like a pig last night and start with the healthy eating today?

 

Eat normally starting at the very next meal and please eat more than you listed in that post.   No wonder you had a problem later on.... anyone would.  Drinking often triggers the munchies and having half a sandwich for supper was asking for trouble.  Fasting/starving tomorrow would only have you bingeing again.

If you want to lose weight, don't do it by starving.  Start by getting into a good eating routine to maintain your weight... say 2000 cals a day of healthy, filling food.  Then drop to 1500 to lose.

The "binge cycle" is called a cycle for a reason.  You undereat, causing you to overeat, causing you undereat...and so on.  I lived this for many years.  You can short circuit the cycle by eating normally after a binge.  The key is to resist the urge to "make up" for the binge.

If you binged, you binged. You said it yourself; today, you start over and you eat healthily. Don't feel the need to burn it all off at the gym, and don't let it trouble you beyond that you did it once and should avoid it again, and pleasepleaseplease don't restrict at all. No fasting. We all slip up sometimes, and truthfully all you can do is get back up again, dust yourself down and set yourself running again. :]

Skimming your intake for that day sans-binge food, you were eating far too little - thus why the starving hunger hit you at 2:30am. You need a filling, satisfying breakfast (a good example is a bowl of oatmeal with some fruit), a hearty lunch and a decent dinner as well as the odd snacks. How many calories are you aiming for a day, if I may ask? Your age, height, current weight? You are certainly trying - particularly as you resisted purging - and should be proud. But it might help you in telling us your target so that you can have advice on how to get there with more substantial food that will keep you off of the binging path as well as saving your metabolism.

I'm 18 years old, 5'10'', and 162 pounds.  My goal weight is 145.  I've been struggling severely with bulimia for 2 years and today is my third day of not purging.  My first post was from earlier this morning, and as the day has gone on I've felt terribly guilty about what I ate last night.  I ate some fruit and a bowl of soup about 2 hours after I woke up (not really out of choice, but because my boyfriend has no food in his apartment, and i had to wait until we left).  I had also ordered half a sandwich but I stopped after one bite because I wanted to make up for what I ate last night.  It's now 4 hours later and I am really hungry again.  I just ate some sugar free pudding to tide me over, because there is absolutely nothing healthy in my house and I want to wait until my parents go grocery shopping.  The thing is, my mom has the appetite of a mouse.  She's 5'2'' and petite...my dad on the other hand, whom i get my height and appetite from is 6'2'' and well over 260 pounds.  He eats extremely unwell (his main diet is a protein shake and bread for breakfast, several PBJs at lunch, and almost always fried chicken at dinner....only to be followed by a cup and a half of chocolate ice cream. Every single night).  I have trigger foods all over my house, and as much as I've begged my parents to keep them out of site, they tell me I need to be stronger.  As much as I've told them I want to see somebody about my condition, they turn down the idea.  They don't understand what I'm going through. They day to day obsessions that are driving me crazy and keeping me unhappy.  They are right, and I really am the only one who can fix my problem...but it wouldn't hurt to have some help.  You know?

As of now, I would really truly love to reach my goal in a healthy fashion.  I want to eat between 1300-1600 cals a day, exercise regularily, and lose weight that way. Tomorrow I plan on starting another diet diary, and take it day by day when it comes to overcoming bulimia.  I've been spending hours on this site reading what others are going through, and their advice to me.  It's honestly what is keeping me going. 

a. don't cheat on your calorie log.   A really "heavy" day will make the rest of the time you ARE on plan look even better.  B. Yes it will delay your target date, but you have MONTHS to make it up slowly and healthily  that is the beauty of this website. c.  I binged on 3 quarts of movie theater popcorn - I was sick, wanted to purge, but I would not have learned the lesson of what not to eat in the future.  D. Purging is not a substitute for healthy eating, and neither is starving yourself an atonement for past indiscretions.  They both support the false notion that I can eat what I want and "make up" for it later.  No you can't.   Binging followed by heavy excersize is how you GAIN  weight - look at any SUMO wrestler. 

 

I am so sorry - believe me I have been there done that so many times. And I know what you mean about the mixed proud/guilt feelings about not purging. But you SHOULD be proud - good for you. I know for me, when I have those times there is nothing that can be said that will stop the shame spiral. All you can do is try not to beat yourself up, eat as normal as you can, and distract yourself with something that has nothing to do with food. Go shopping, or go to a movie - if you can get through that next day you will be back on track before you know it!