OK, this is my cue to make a confession. Prepare to be shocked. I'm a medical writer, and one of my recent assignments was to put together an educational program (geared to doctors) on eating disorders. This entailed interviews with specialists and a lot of research. In the course of my research, I came across an online forum for people with eating disorders. In the binge-eating disorder section, one of the threads started with the question: How many calories can you consume in a single binge? Answers varied widely.
I got it into my head to give it a try. (This was about a month ago.) For context, I've been eating reasonably and exercising regularly for the past 3 years, with occasional "planned binges" at all-you-can-eat restaurants or catered events.
It's common wisdom that our stomach shrinks when we eat normally, making us less hungry and reducing our capacity to overeat. Well, so much for common wisdom: I ate 5,000 calories in one sitting of about 40 minutes. I consumed several crepes oozing with Nutella and maple syrup, along with a large Key lime pie. I only started feeling uncomfortably full toward the very end. Next meal I was back on track and I haven't binged since then. Even so, I was astounded at my capacity to overeat -- and enjoy every bite.
So I had to smile when I read that article. The writers obviously didn't interview the likes of me.
F.
Last edited by freelancemomma; 10-29-2014 at 11:03 PM.
It's common wisdom that our stomach shrinks when we eat normally, making us less hungry and reducing our capacity to overeat.
F.
Is this really common wisdom? Does a person's stomach really shrink once they get used to eating less? Is there a scientific answer to that question? I know that my portion sizes have decreased considerably since doing IE, not because I can't eat more though. I can eat more, but past a certain point I'm not eating out of hunger anymore. I'm not sure my stomach shrunk, I think I just finally figured out how much food my body needs to be satisfied.
Hm. I don't know if my stomach has actually "shrunk" but I find that I can't physically handle as much food, and if I ate a particularly large meal I feel really sick at first, but if I have another big meal the next day my body adjusts back pretty quickly.
I agree with freelancemomma about the calories we can consume in a short period of time though. The examples in the article weren't all calorie dense foods (some, not all). Not to mention, if you're on vacation and all of your meals look like that (definitely happened to me) you could easily hit 5,500 calories in a day.
I do agree with the article about going straight back to your lifestyle though. I think it's okay to slip every once in a while for special occasions, but if you are consistently going right back to your healthy habits afterwards, everything will be okay.
I'm with Claygirl. I don't know if my stomach actually shrunk, but I if I try to eat large portions of food after being on a healthier diet for 2 months does make me feel full to the point of being physically uncomfortable. Then again, prior to lifestyle changes I would constantly stuff myself to that point, so I had to sort of readjust my own perception of when I was no longer hungry. So part of it may have been in my mentality towards what was "full", part of it may be how the food is interacting with my body that I notice more now, and part of it could be that my stomach shrank (assuming that's what happens). Google seems to suggest that adult stomachs stay mainly the same size, unless surgery is involved.
Anyway, as for the article.. In the examples given for calories, it seemed they were still sticking to regular portions and healthier foods. Portions being what usually get me. Yeah, I'll have "one" slice of chocolate cake, but it'll actually be two portions.. suddenly that becomes 1590 calories instead of the 795 the author listed, and that's just dessert. Chicken wings I'll see people eat 10-20 in one sitting, along with whatever they ordered for an appetizer. Add soda/beer/mixed drinks to that and the calories add up very, very quickly. So I think it's rather easy for a lot of us to get to the 5500 calorie mark in a really bad binge day.
The author's conclusion though, I agree with. You shouldn't fret over one day. Even if you do eat enough to gain that pound, just right back on track. One pound when you consider a years worth of loss is really nothing. It's when the one pound becomes a regular thing that you should look at what you're consuming and adjust.
Um, I could totally eat 5500 cal in a day without even thinking about it. In fact on a recent vacation I ate 4000 cal in one day eating only regular meals (at restaurants though) and just having a couple of drinks. I didn't have any dessert or appetizers, I just made food choices that day which were high in calories, like a burger with avocado and bacon, onion rings, and ginger ale with my whiskey.
I'm pretty sure that before I started my current diet, there must've been days I consumed over 8000 cal. I mean, I used to eat whole pizzas by myself.
Granted, I am 5 foot 10 and I have a lot of lean mass, so right now I'm burning fat on 2100 cal per day which would be a lot for some people. But still, it's really easy to eat the 3500 calories necessary for a pound of fat.
That said, I question the validity of the notion that eating 3500 cal will necessarily cause a 1 pound gain each and every time. There must be a point at which your body says nope, I don't need any more calories today, I'm just going to poop them out.
I am pretty sure I could drink an extra 1000 or so calories at a BBQ or a party without a second thought. For some strange reason, I just don't feel all bloated when I drink too much wine. I sure feel yucky when I eat too much food, though.
I don't know if the stomach literally "shrinks" but my experience is that when I've been eating smaller meals for a while, I have trouble eating larger amounts of food that had seemed normal previously. I've heard that competitive eaters have to stay in practice to be able to wolf down incredibly large amounts of food at one sitting.
Interesting article..
