I binged the other day, and consumed 230 carbs. My weight went up, which was no surprise. I read somewhere that it takes about 4 days to go back to your normal weight after binging. How much of this added weight do you think is going to stay on me? Calorie wise, I only consumed about 2000, which isn't too horrible for someone my size. So all I'm worried about is what the carbs will do to me. Right now I'm hanging on to 4-6 extra pounds, and my binge was the day before yesterday. I can live with being 4 pounds heavier, I had it coming to me, but I'd really like to be at 230 or below again. Editing my ticker was kind of a downer.
I don't know that anyone can say how much is going to "stick" but have you considered a short term fat fast? I don't know that it is the best idea for you since it is for metobolically resistant people but read up on it and decide for yourself.
This is always a guessing game, and no one can give you a precise answer, but the laws of physics still apply. Calories do still "count" and you cant gain a pound of fat unless you eat 3500 calories over the amount you burn, and you can't burn zero (just being alive burns calories).
So if your 2000 calorie estimate is correct, it's extremely unlikely than much if any of this can be a "true" gain.
To do the calorie math - We'll assume that you normally burn 1500 calories. That's a low estimate, and you probably burn more, because it would be extremely unusual, (not impossible, but very unlikely) for you to be burning less than 1500 calories per day, just with normal activity.
Which means that at MOST you ate 500 calories that you didn't need, which would be 1/7 of a pound or 2.2 ounces.
Even assuming you did burn zero calories that day (it would have to be some weird voodoo magic, since even in a coma you would burn hundreds of calories daily) those 2000 calories could not cause more than a 1/2 lb gain.
So what did you gain?
WATER. Just water (and maybe, at most 2 ounces of fat). Assuming of course that your 2000 calorie estimate is correct.
It's very common in low-carb eating to retain less water than in higher-carb eating. I've read that it's because with a higher carb diet the body requires more water for processing. This isn't fat, and if you later decide to switch to a high carb diet (and you have a metabolism that allows you to), you will probably see a small gain in the first week just because of the transition. You're not gaining fat, your body just needs to store a little more water than if you were eating low carb. And if you then returned to low-carb eating again, the first few pounds you lose will not be fat, but the extra water that you needed on high carb eating and now don't.
There are a few things you can do to speed up water loss, but there's no need to push it or do anything extreme. Eating lower carb than you normally would, being conscious to reduce sodium intake a bit, and drinking a little extra water (water flushes water) should be sufficient.
If you like asparagus, it's a natural diuretic and some folks swear by it. Or a little lemon in your water, but really all that's necessary is getting back on your food plan.
Maybe you would be happier just putting the scale away for a few months and not weighing yourself at all, because it upsets you so much when your body does the normal up and down of water weight gain/losses. I think you are at risk for going off the diet entirely just because of what the scale says on any particular day.
I would really advise just putting the scale away somewhere out of sight, and sticking to the diet/exercise plan for a few months, and checking every few weeks to see how your clothes are fitting. At the end of 3 or 4 months, your clothes should be fitting looser and you should be feeling better. I really hate to see you going through all this psychological trauma every day over what the scale says that day.
Lori, I completely agree with you. But I can't seem to stay away from the scale... It's like an abusive boyfriend. :P There's a closet in my basement that I'm too afraid to go in (we all have our silly fears), maybe I can ask my mom to put it in there.
I weigh myself everyday. I can't help myself but I also get a yay feeling when I don't gain because that's what I would be doing if I didn't care what I ate.
we all mess up from time to time......shake that off and move on! Just take it day by day and look at the long-term goal. The scale can be a bad thing and disappointing. Maybe see if you can go a week without weighing? I havent weighed in a longgg time now....I can't wait to see how much I've lost....may have to treat myself with a pedicure when I do weigh
Shoot...I fluctuate up 5 lbs even when I stay on plan perfectly. Water is all it is. I weigh daily, but only look at Monday's number. I would not personally do anything but drink more water today and get right back on plan. Seriously tho you might want to ditch the scale and weigh once a month or something as it seems your moods are often affected by the number on the scale.
I'm like Torister - my weight fluctuates regularly by about 3-4 pounds without any real reason if I'm not lucky. With pre-menstrual plus salt it can be 6 pounds easy. I just recently stopped weighing daily and I'm much saner now moving to weekly, but for me it's really the long-term view that matters - I don't care much if the scale is flat one week if I know I did the right stuff as far as food & exercise are concerned.
When I have gone severely off plan of low-carb I do get a big jump in weight that usually lasts about 4 days and then my weight will usually be back where it was. No permanent damage, although I can be pretty sure I won't *lose* for a little while...
If it keeps you sane and in it long term, I consider it a short detour that's sometimes worth it...
230 Carbs
