Bingeing and Maintaining...

Looking back I've gone wayway over my maintenance calories SIX times in a month, and I know I probably will continue to overeat during the long weekend with an eighteenth birthday party, visit to a food fair, and a boozy trip to a friends house in the country.. what do I do?

I'm desperate to maintain my body how it is (17 y/o, female, 5'5", 110) but I'm stuck in the cycle of having to save up my calories for days I know I can't avoid consuming more, then end up going what the hell, if I'm going to blow it I'm really going to blow it, then I spend all the next day fretting about how I'm going to maintain my average calorie intake of between 1700-2000...

any advice successful maintainers?

This website does not support people who want advice on how to maintain an unhealthy weight.

Being under weight is one of the most common causes of binge eating

I was a successful maintainer, and I am 5 ‘ 5 and maintained 110 lbs for a long time up until very recently.

The problem was, it is very underweight for our height and so I gained a little to about 114 lbs to make my body healthier.

All around health, nice skin hair nails and a brain that functions well is more important then how much I weigh.

I felt healthy at 110 lbs but experts have proven that the body STILL benefits EVEN THOUGH we already feel okay.

Even a naturally thin women with a BMI of 18 WILL benefit from gaining a little weight, that is a solid fact EVEN THOUGH most people in your position think “ well I am not trying to starve myself so this must be my naturally healthiest weight so why should I bother to gain a little weight when I feel fine now?’’

BECAUSE your body will still be healthier with a little extra weight.

According to http://www.kidsnutrition.org/bodycomp/bmiz2.h tml a seventeen year old female of my height is at a healthy weight with 110 pounds, so I still don't understand why i could be bingeing if my body wants me to gain??

Sorry Claire - I forgot that teens have a different BMI scale! You are underweight on the adults one, but you are not an adult yet, and your body is still growing. MY mistake!

My fear for you is that you sound like you have a strong aversion to gaining ANY weight EVER; it sounds like you are not prepared to ever gain any more weight.

This worries me because some teens at your age are naturally slim like you but their bodies need to gain a little as they mature into adults; my point is, you are still growing so I hope you are not worried if you gain 2 lbs or so.

You won’t necessarily gain anything but there is a chance you will, as a lot of 17 year olds still have growing to do

I have known a lot of 17 year olds who are very thin that have filled out when they got older, but it could have also been their diet too, I don’t know.

MY POINT is, even though you are naturally slim, your body might still have some growing left to do as you become an adult so I hope you are not going to fight that change if it does happen

1700 - 2000 calories is not BAD for your height and age but from my experience, most teens your height and weight need at least 1800 - 1900 calories a day when they are NOT active.

Try to listen to your body - if you are hungry then satisfy the hunger, and do not try and ignore it.

That's ok! Thanks for your advice, I'm definitely going to work on my diet to make it as well rounded as possible and keep my mind more open to fluctuating weight

I’m glad you forgave my little error!

You sound like you have a great attitude, you want to eat balanced and you are open to the possibility of fluctuating weight!

If you treat your body well then any weight increase will still look great on a toned healthy body

Personally, I gained from 110 to 114 recently and there is no extra flab because I am active and eat well; I eat treats when I need them and am not hardcore into vigorous exercise but a few lbs DO NOT make a difference if you eat well and get out each day to do something