I binged on carbs yesterday

(Zenjen) #1

Heey!

I’m writing this because i want to tell someone what is going on with me this weekend and maybe hear your experiences about binge eating on carbs after doing keto. I think that if i just write my problem down that it would calm me.
I’ve been on keto for almost 3 month now, i lost 17.6 pounds/8kg (still 8 pounds to lose), my health improved and i felt really good on this diet, so i decided to make keto my lifestyle. I’ve had no cravings for 2 months, even when someone next to me ate pizza or other carbs. But yesterday, when my best friend was having her birthday party, i decided to have a cheat day and have some fun without thinking what food/drink i put in my body. I had 2 glasses of red wine, orange juice, 3 slices of pizza, 2 pieces of cake and some cookies. I totally binged and i couldn’t even drink anymore because i was so full.
I am so dissapointed with myself today. I lost my control and i’m feeling like shit. My stomach aches, i have a headache and i have literally no energy. I am back on keto today so i know that this headaches will go away soon, but the biggest fear i have now is to step on the scale on monday (which is my weigh in day). I worked so hard to lose this 8kg and now i think i destroyed everything i’ve worked for. How many pounds/kilos do you think i’ve gained because of this cheat day? Is this mostly water weight that i could gain? i’m so stressed out right now.
Maybe some experiences?

Thank you for listening to my problems, i’m more relieved just with posting this.

(Allie) #2

Let go, put it behind you, get back on track.

(Michelle) #3

Yep, put it behind you!

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #4

One day may slow you down for a few days, but won’t set you back at zero. You’ll be fine. And you learned something, so that’s always good. Maybe next time a mini slice of cake to feel like you are participating, eat pizza toppings without the crust, keep the two glasses of wine but ditch the OJ. OJ, in my opinion totally not worth it. I don’t like cake that much so that’s not a temptation for me. (Now, pie on the other hand…)

#5

I think the key word here is “decided”. You made a conscious decision. And now you’re reaping the consequences which you should also recognize as a decision. If you didn’t know the physical effects…now you do :grinning: And I suspect the scale might go up a pound but maybe not even that. So enjoy getting back on track and find something else to stress about :wink:

(Daisy) #6

You can’t let yesterday’s decision define tomorrow’s future.
I recently gave an illustration: say you’re driving down X street and you know there’s a stoplight that will surely delay you for 30 seconds. You’re in a massive hurry and know that if you quickly cut down Y street, you can miss the light. You swerve down that street, only to be held up be traffic (a garbage truck, a little old lady crossing the street, a fender bender) for an extra 60 seconds. Do you get super frustrated at yourself and probably curse the traffic and your poor decision to take Y street, knowing that if you had just stayed on the road you were on, you would have been to your destination already? Of course you do! Do you let it define the next week, month, 6 months of your life? I would hope not!!! It was a bad choice that caused you to maybe have a slightly bad day.

Don’t let it affect your future, just that one day. Maybe skip weigh in if you’re that concerned about it. The scale can be a good resource, but it’s only a tiny corner of a bigger picture with keto. If it’s going to stress you out, skip it!

(bulkbiker) #7

Next time you feel like doing the same just remember how you feel today… learn from it and move on… and of course don’t repeat it expecting a different outcome.

(Zenjen) #8

This mades me think of how silly it is to be so stressed out because of one cheat day. Gave me a new perspective, thank you.

(Zenjen) #10

I already exercised today (i’m doing yoga), but just for 20 minutes because i feel ill today. I hope that this is enough.

(Allie) #11

You’ll get back into ketosis with or without exercise so don’t worry.

(Zenjen) #12

Great. I think that fasting till the evening will make more effect. or not?

(Natasha) #13

“but the biggest fear i have now is to step on the scale on monday (which is my weigh in day”

My advice… don’t weigh yourself on Monday.

You already know the scale weight is going to look ‘bad’ but it isn’t going to be an accurate representation of what’s happened. At the most you might have gain 1lb of ‘real’ weight, but the scale isn’t going to show that, it’s going to make you feel you’ve undone so much good work in one binge, why stress yourself out. Just get back on track and by next week you’ll have got rid of all the water weight…

(bulkbiker) #14

But then again by seeing how much work and effort has been undone that could be a great motivator not to do it again…? Don’t you think?
Depends on personality…

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #15

I find that sweets are—usually—not that tempting anymore, because they don’t taste as good as I remember, now that I’ve been keto for a while. But there are those days, however, . . . ! :grin:

Learn from it, keep calm, and keto on! :+1:

(John) #16

This is an excellent experience for you. You had a “cheat day” and it has made you feel bad both physically and psychologically. That is a wonderful gift. There is nothing better than to have an immediate negative outcome from doing something unhealthy - you get negative reinforcement, which makes it much less likely you will repeat the behavior.

One day is nothing on a life’s journey.

(Robert C) #17

Too many carbs yesterday? Burn what you can - take a super long low intensity walk - listen to some podcasts and have some silent time to think.

Weighing tomorrow is going to just show a big water and stomach contents gain. One day can’t cause much of a fat gain unless you let the higher weight allow you to say “what the hell” and spend a few more days in carb land.

(Natasha) #18

Yes! Good point, I hadn’t thought of that!

For me, it’s always a balancing act between keeping some accountability and self sabotage if it all goes ‘wrong.’ I haven’t fallen off the keto wagon yet, but when I do, I think I’d prefer to only see the true damage done!

(Zenjen) #19

I think that i would be more discouraged if i saw that increased number on a scale. But for some people this might work better to not make the same mistake, i agree.

(Zenjen) #20

Do you maybe know how many days it takes (if you immediately go back on keto after that one cheat day) for water weight to go out of our bodies?
Thank you for your help :slight_smile:

(Robert C) #21

I think the fallacy here is that the “true damage done” is not the scale weight directly after a “bad” day.
Say you are 5 pounds up - really 8 to 12 ounces of additional fat and the rest is water retention and stomach contents - will you really be able to not kick yourself to the curb?
Say you are mysteriously 2 pounds down (through some water dumping effect of something you ate and skipping liquids from noon the day before) - would you take it as “okay” to have the cheat days?
Scale weight comparisons are best only when done under similar circumstances (i.e. several days of your normal diet, same amount - usually 0 in the morning - of liquids, similar sized meals the previous 24 hours).
You do not care about weight - you only care about weight differences under very similar circumstances.