Posts by personaltrainer87

Are you regularly gaining on 3000 calories? If you are not gaining at least 1 pound every week, you need to increase your calories by 500. Any less than 500 may be too slow. You are doing a great job - 3000 calories every day is a fantastic effort. Sorry to hear that you are still not feeling your best, but your hair will stop falling out once you gain to a BMI of 20. A BMI of 20 gives your body a chance to repair itself on the inside. I am not sure if your goal weight is a BMI of 20, use the BMI  under the ‘tools’ section of this website to see what a BMI of 20 is for your height.  

Good luck, you are doing a great job on 3000 calories, if you have been able to do that every day, then I am sure you have what it takes to increase by 500 calories. Give it about two weeks to see if you are gaining real weight. I am not an expert, but I do know that experts recommend about 3000 to gain, therefore if you are not gaining fast enough, 500 calories is a good jump (not too little, but not too much)

3500 extra calories = one pound, so your 3000 extra calories can easily be burnt of by taking realistic steps. Burning an extra 200 calories a day for two weeks, or eating about 200 less calories a day combined with burning an extra 200 calories each day for about one week, will burn off 3000 extra calories.

Although restricting calories is not usually recommended, if you are at a healthy weight than I do not see the harm in cutting back no more than 200 calories for about two weeks. No more than 200 calories though, because it will feel like restriction.

Physically you can get back on track and burn those extra calories without having to kill yourself at the gym. You can burn them off in simple, easy steps that do not make you feel deprived. However, it is not just the physical reasons you need to consider. It is interesting that you binged, in spite of the fact that you do not deprive yourself of your “ treat” foods.

A reason that could have contributed to your binge could be the balance in your diet. You may be eating too many simple carbohydrates and thus not leave room for enough proteins. Proteins fill you up, where as too many carbohydrates and not enough proteins can make it easier for people to binge.

It is hard to tell the psychological reasons that could have contributed to your binge, and you have not mentioned any emotion that you feel could have made you do it. Therefore, controlling what is available in your house may be a viable method. You can still have your favorite foods around, but perhaps having less of them will help. This has helped me, because I sometimes over eat just because I am bored. Therefore, I only keep enough for one or two days, so even if I do over eat, I do not have enough food to over do it on.

Okay, from my own personal experience, having anxiety related issues or depression, combined with being at a slimmer than average weight, can cause over eating, emotional eating, and binging.  Even a BMI of 18.5 - 20 can be enough to trigger a persons body to over eat. Your depression and anxiety are enough on their own to trigger over eating. In addition to this, being at your slim weight could also be slightly too low for your body, which would cause over eating. Therefore, your anxiety and depression combined with you being a little too thin will make over eating even more likely.

Personally, I had a similar BMI to you and I also suffer from anxiety and emotional triggers that can cause over eating. I gained a little weight and ate a little more and the urge to over eat dissipated.

SUPERWORMS -   carbs and fruit also do not fill me up as much as foods such as nuts and proteins, therefore I feel more satisfied and less hungry when I eat more of them. However, it is not sensible to recommend that the OP, who is at a low weight, to cut out all grains and sugars too. Even if such diets have worked for us, it is not helpful for us to advocate it to other people. Restricting things can cause imbalances in some people, which could cause over eating.

This has happened to me. I have tried a raw vegan food diet a while ago and I ate an enormous amount of an orange fruit called a tangelo - I am in Australia but in the US I believe it is called a Clementine.

Although I love baked sweet potato and at times I eat a large amount, my skin has never turned orange that I could notice. If it did it was not enough for me to notice.

I am also interested in the what is attainable for different body types. To even be a proper model, you have to be born tall, and with a small frame. Models simply have smaller bones - a smaller structure. In addition to having a smaller body, some models also eat right and exercise on top of this. Not only are most models born small, but they also work at it, too.Although, the extremely tall and thin models who are absolutely tiny that walk the catwalks (90 lbs and 6 feet type tiny), are hired for their child size thinness because it best displays the clothes, and would not need to work out. In fact, their tiny body types and size would not have the capacity to gain muscle as easily as a normal person.

Another factor that has been mentioned is that models must have a fast metabolism. I am not en expert, but I am not sure if their metabolism is faster than a normal person. There are slight variations in metabolism, but for the most part I think that only increasing your lean muscle mass through weight bearing exercise can increase the speed of your metabolism. Because tall thin models have naturally smaller bodies, perhaps their bodies simply need less calories. If their bodies are naturally smaller, they may need less calories, therefore if they DID eat a lot they might gain weight just as easily as the average person.Although some tall and thin people may simply need less calories than the average person because they have smaller bodies that need less energy, there are of course people with elevated metabolism’s, for instance an elevated thyroid, or medical problems that result in extremely tall and thin people unable to gain or maintain their weight, despite eating abnormally large amounts of calories.

In addition to this, models are also born with perfect bone structures and symmetrical and attractive faces. Psychologically, such people may feel more comfortable eating foods like pizza, because they have always had a perfect face regardless of their food choices. Basically, when the pressure is off a person, it is much easier to eat what you want, when you want it. Models are under enormous pressure in the industry, but they can still get away with eating a less than clean diet, and still having gorgeous faces.

GOATS CHEESE is the BEST!  Goats fetta is nice, but there is a place where I live that makes a soft, brie type goats cheese that REALLY nice!

Today I ate about 550 calories of goats cheese just because I felt like it. I was not hungry.

The disorders I am overcoming are to do with the all or nothing mentality such as either being orthorex ic, or eating a “ bad” food and then binging.

Lately I have challenged my ED’S by letting myself eat too much when I am not hungry, and not restricting as a result. I simply wait until I genuinely feel like food next, either when I feel hungry or when I know it is time to eat (as I do not feel hunger strongly so it is hard to tell when hungry)

It is normal to eat just because you feel like it at times, and I refuse to beat myself up over it any more.

The GREAT THING about my improved attitude, is that I never end up binging -  because I can let myself 500 calories of cheese or whatever, without feeling the need to keep going.

I do not think people eating chocolate cake have to pitty people eating strawberries. A major factor in the long term success of slim people, such as myself, is that we learn to actually enjoy unprocessed natural foods. Although I do enjoy expensive high fat cheese and dark chocolate occasionally, I have eliminated most artificial, fast, and processed foods from my diet, therefore my body does not crave chocolate cake like crazy.

There are so many healthy choices you that actually do taste good, too. For instance, if your friends order pizza, order a small vegetarian pizza with thin crust and no or ½ the cheese, only have 2 slices and save the rest for the next day. To be successful you need to develop habits that  you enjoy enough to sustain, and learning to enjoy eating healthier, without feeling deprived, is important.

Some people like being skinny. It is a personal preference. An opinion.  Some people simply like the way very thin people look. However, the pain and suffering that maintaining a weigh that is too low for your body will ‘outweigh’ the benefits of being as ‘skinny’ as you want to be. Being able to live a normal and healthy life feels better than ‘ skinny’ feels. Trust me, it is not possible to enjoy being skinny if it stops you from having friends, performing well at school or your job, and basically holds you back from achieving your potentials in life.

That could be true, but another theory that I have recently read about, is that males are also attracted to the fragile nature of very thin women, because it makes them feel more powerful. I have heard a lot of women say that when they become shockingly thin, they were upset to discover that there were quiet a lot of men who actually like very thin women.

Thinness is not the only the criteria for 'perfection' that the media projects all models and actresses that are well known and rich enough to be famous have perfect teeth and great skin (or it is made up if it is not naturally very good).

Personally, I do find the perfect white teeth and nice hair and skin more attractive than bad skin and normal teeth. However, we all know that who a person is on the inside is more important than looks. Unfortunately, who a person is on the inside cannot be shown through media images and on magazine covers, so the images that are visible are the ones that are reinforced.

On a funny note - did any one watch that stupid reality show called true beauty? It was an American show that was shown here in Australia, that Vanessa Millano girl was the host. Basically, some of the people on it were such idiots, that I actually felt sorry for them. Looks will not buy them the tools to have a great life -  no person who is worthwhile would be able to be close with such an idiot, if they cannot even have a conversation with them lol.

I do not think  it is worth dieting if you cannot allow yourself to have one small piece of cake. What is the point?  To be successful, you need to learn that you can easily fit the foods that you truly crave, such as chocolate cake, into your calorie allowance without it making any difference to your body.  I would save room for a 250 - 400 calorie small piece of cake, considering it is home made with love by your sister!

Not only should you have a small amount of cake, but you also need to learn that it is okay to eat when you are hungry, no matter what event or situation you will be in later that day. If you normally eat lunch at 12 and if you feel best if you eat regularly, than I would not deliberately try to not eat. Instead, I would still eat when you felt like it, however, to save room for the luncheon, you could cut back on your usual lunch. For example, instead of a sandwich, have half of it. Or, pack a lighter salad instead.

It is actually  better when people do have a snack just before a gathering or special event that involves fattening foods. Having a few carrot sticks, almonds, a glass of milk, or anything of you choosing, will mean that you will not arrive hungry, and therefore you will be able to control yourself around the food. It is more likely you will be satisfied with a small bit of cake!

I hope you realize that you can achieve your goals and still eat your favorite foods - especially at a special even where there is home made cake! These are the times what it is okay to enjoy treats. You will feel resentful if you constantly make yourself resist treats, when there really is no need to deprive yourself.

To eat clean you need to learn to read ingredients.  Processed foods can be clean, if they do not contain any preservatives or man made chemicals. Or example, canned beans are clean if the only ingredients are beans, salt, and water. Another example is tinned tuna or salmon, these are clean if the only ingredients are the fish, salt, and water. Smoked salmon is also clean as far in my opinion, because the only ingredients are wood smoke, salt, and salmon.

Things like veggie burgers or patties can be clean if they contain: vegetables, salt, grains, spices, and oil. Any ingredients other than these things, is probably artificial or man made. For example, thickener, emulsifiers, food acid, preservatives, and added colors. I eat clean, but I allow myself to have certain non clean foods occasionally. I eat fresh whole foods most of the time, but if I truly love a food that is not considered clean I will have it occasionally, for example, I do love certain vegetable burgers that have fillers and man made ingredients.  A long term diet is not sustainable if you deprive yourself of certain things that you love.

Basically, I eat clean most of the time, but I do have non clean foods occasionally such as vegetable burgers, and it makes no physical difference. However, it is actually cheaper to make your own burgers, plus you can put exactly what you want into them so they are more likely to taste better than processed ones. They can be quick and easy to make, and to save time you can make them in large batches and freeze the rest of later.

I am at the lower end of healthy, and I do not experience intense physical hunger. This tells me that my body does not need to gain extra weight. However, because you only just stopped gaining, your body may not have calmed down yet, and it may still be exited that you are feeding it properly. I am no expert, but maybe your hunger will calm down, and it may just take a while after you restore your healthy weight.

Another possibility is that you may stand to gain a little more. In addition to these possibilities, it is also normal to get anxious and uncertain about the calories you eat after you initially reach a healthy weight range. You have been gaining, so now that you are not sure that you still need to, you may not know how to handle eating ‘ normally”. I certainly didn’t for some time after reaching a healthy weight.  The anxious feeling made me want to eat.

I think I just added more food in general lol! It is hazy and I cannot remember exactly. Ultimately, all my cravings went away once I reached a healthier weight and ate an adequate amount of fats, proteins, and carbs.

Peanut butter, dried fruit, and trail mix are all calorie dense foods that your body would associate with nourishment, so it makes sense to me that it would be the type of food that your body could crave when it is wanting to gain weight. Once your body stops needing extra calories in general, you may still crave trail mix, but there is a difference between a physical craving, and a craving that is purely for the taste.

I still crave the taste of peanut butter at times, but it is very different to when my body craved the dense food for its calories, when I needed to gain.

I know that 500 calories adds up over time, but I am wondering what happens  if over the space of one year, a person over eats 500 - 1000 extra calories than their body needed;  does the body store every last bit of the extra 500 calories as 0.0000987868  of a pound?       

I am interested in to know if the body is 100% accurate in terms of the extra calories it burns or stores. Over 12 months, if a person only eats 500 extra calories on ONE given day, and eats within their limits every other day,  then I wonder if the body COSNDIDERS that tiny amount of extra? It just sounds like such an insignificant amount, that I wonder if the  body does bother storing 1/100000000000th of a pound...

I plan to do food science at Uni next year or the year after, so hopefully I will learn the exact science of it lol, and how accurate the body is in this respect.

Skippinggirlyvinegar -    your day actually looks pretty balanced to me compared to what mine was haha.    You did not eat a large amount of any particular thing -  you snacked, but had balanced, reasonably sized snacks, which looked fairly normal to me.  I sometimes eat like that, when I have regular smaller snacks, such as hummus with carrots or yoghurt with berries,  rather than have a large 3 meals.  Well done on your food choices, you made such healthy choices and you ended up having a great variety of some really healthy foods!   A lot of other people studying to not have the same commitment to their food plan!   Is there a particular reason why you dislike eating this way?  Because you actually ate exceptionally healthy.

Baby_angel_love - natural peanut butter is a fave snack of mine. I like the idea of baking my own things, because I change the recipe and so it adds variety to my snacks. It is important for me to keep things interesting;  smoked salmon one day, goats cheese another, raw chocolate or peanut butter another day, and home made cookies another time. These are all fave treats of mine.  However, I do not usually ONLY eat cookies all day, like I did today.

Loved reading the responses, but it did  make my day look pretty bad haha - because my version of a funny food day is usually to have a large amount of a particular food, in the place of other foods. So far, you  guys have both shown normal structures days/ meals/ snacks.

Come on, there must be another person who has done what I did today?