Is this normal?

As you all know, I'm following a low calorie diet 6 days a week plus I walk home from work around 40 minutes as a form of exercise. I estimate my calorie intake per day is 1000-1500 calories.

This is where things got me confused. I have a certain cheat day every once a week not to deprived myself. So, mostly on Saturdays, I binge eat a lot starting at 7AM once I wake up. I literally eat A LOT. Biscuits, chocolates, ice cream, instant noodles, and candies for breakfast. Then for lunch I would take out McDonalds or KFC and order A LOT of meals. After that, I treat myself by drinking a grande size frappe from starbucks and a piece of cake. I have this rule I should eat only until 3pm on my cheat day and do a 16-18 hour fasting until the next day. I would feel slobbish and guilty after my cheat day. So, the next day, I won't eat anything till noon. I workout during Sundays and go back to my old diet plan. Then, the cycle goes on every week.

I don't know if it's normal to binge eat uncontrollably on ny cheat day. Even when I'm full, I force myself to eat and eat because that's the only day I can cheat my diet. Then I would feel slobbish and ashamed of cheating my diet. Once I lost all the water weight though, I go back into tempting and thinking what I want to eat on my cheat day again.

Also, I would like to know if this is some form of binge eating disorder or this is totally normal? I've read articles about BED and some said it's BED if binge eating happens at least once a week in the first 3 months. I've been doing this routine over a year now.

Why are you forcing yourself to binge eat? That doesn’t sound disordered to me, just a bit YOLO, but I don’t know.

You’re not at a significant calorie deficit. Binge eating that much will likely counteract any deficit you have through the week

Also - you insist you have a disorder for managing your calorie intake. Then you say you have one for binging.

Do you want to have an eating disorder?

Also - you insist you have a disorder for managing your calorie intake. Then you say you have one for binging.

 

Do you want to have an eating disorder?

Of course not. I just want to make sure and know if my diet routine is healthy or it could be going overboard

It is definitely not normal. You should never force yourself to eat in excess.

Having a cheat day is normal. But cheating because you feel you HAVE to is not normal.

Normal, I think, is whatever we decide to call normal and feel good about. Normal for me used to be yoga seven days a week, followed by beer and cigarettes, because, well, I really liked yoga, beer, and cigarettes.

What, exactly, is the goal of this routine—be it the militant calorie counting, the binging on cheat days, the whole diet? Are you trying to lose weight? Look better? Feel better?

I mean, if this is working for you—great.

As you all know, I'm following a low calorie diet 6 days a week plus I walk home from work around 40 minutes as a form of exercise. I estimate my calorie intake per day is 1000-1500 calories.

 

This is where things got me confused. I have a certain cheat day every once a week not to deprived myself. So, mostly on Saturdays, I binge eat a lot starting at 7AM once I wake up. I literally eat A LOT. Biscuits, chocolates, ice cream, instant noodles, and candies for breakfast. Then for lunch I would take out McDonalds or KFC and order A LOT of meals. After that, I treat myself by drinking a grande size frappe from starbucks and a piece of cake. I have this rule I should eat only until 3pm on my cheat day and do a 16-18 hour fasting until the next day. I would feel slobbish and guilty after my cheat day. So, the next day, I won't eat anything till noon. I workout during Sundays and go back to my old diet plan. Then, the cycle goes on every week.

 

I don't know if it's normal to binge eat uncontrollably on ny cheat day. Even when I'm full, I force myself to eat and eat because that's the only day I can cheat my diet. Then I would feel slobbish and ashamed of cheating my diet. Once I lost all the water weight though, I go back into tempting and thinking what I want to eat on my cheat day again.

That is seriously out of hand. You can have a cheat day, but that does not imply that you should take in 10,000 calories in one day. That is out of control.

A cheat day for me, would be having a normal breakfast and lunch, then a cheat dinner with a dessert. That is it.

That's is super unhealthy to do that to your body. I suggest you see a nutritionist or start a program. Fasting after putting all that sugar in your body is not good either.

You know that this isn't normal, and you are sabotaging your weight loss.

So many years ago there was a popular diet with a cheat day that encouraged this type of binging. I did it as a teenager for awhile and I think it’s very unhealthy for the body and mind. Here’s what I do that works for me. I don’t diet. I had s borderline eating disorder many years ago and I got over it and I won’t “diet”. But. I do portion control and I drink tons of water - at least 10 glasses a day plus no soda or diet soda or other drinks other than coffee with some milk every day. I do not eat sweets between meals but I do eat some sweets. Onto the “cheating”. On weekends I allow myself an extra small dessert twice during the weekend. I never eat past being full so I won’t eat that dessert if I’m full. I have been a normal weight and thin basically my whole life other than when I was pregnant and for a few months after. I also have been exercising regularly since 1982 and 5-7 times a week for many years (7 times for the last 5 years). The water, exercise, portion control, sweets in moderation and a little extra on weekends (or vacation or holidays) keeps me healthy about my body image and food. Cheating like you describe would get me back into disorder territory fast. If I ever had to lose weight I’d likely try weight watchers. I’ve heard that’s the most common sense approach.

I have the same binge "schedule". I binge on the weekends but I binge on meat and fruits mostly. I do eat a lot though, like 4-4.5K calories sometimes. During the week I am at a calorie deficit( 1800-1900 calories). I workout (intense weight lifting) about 4-5 hours per week and some weekends I walk about 3 hours. If I binge more than I should on a weekend then I am at deficit for two weeks. Usually, I put on a kilo or two, then I lose them before I binge again.

So no, you are not alone lol. But you have to be at deficit until you lose what you have gained after binging.

This is awful. You're starving yourself and then you eat voraciously. This is not healthy for your stomach or your organs to be hit with so many calories and have to process so much food. How do you feel after doing this? You must feel awful, being stuffed and have to digest all of this. Is that why you don't eat after 3 pm? You just can't. This is an eating disorder caused by starvation.

Instead of eating 7 meals in one day, you should stretch this out during the week so you're not starving yourself. Add an extra meal each day and increase your calorie intake to 1500-1800, Also just walking back and forth from work is not enough exercise. From what you've said, you get no other exercise. You need to take an extra walk each day. I understand about your safety concerns. Maybe you can walk around a shopping mall or your apartment building, some place safe.

But the bottom line is you've got to stop starving yourself. It's not good for your body and you may need to talk with a nutritionist or a therapist to get you towards a more normal eating plan..

Just eat in moderation every day. Not starvation but what your body actually needs. But binging like that and actually forcing yourself to eat more and more and more is actually not normal and every calorie you saved over the week you packed on and more.

This is awful. You're starving yourself and then you eat voraciously. This is not healthy for your stomach or your organs to be hit with so many calories and have to process so much food. How do you feel after doing this? You must feel awful, being stuffed and have to digest all of this. Is that why you don't eat after 3 pm? You just can't. This is an eating disorder caused by starvation.

 

Instead of eating 7 meals in one day, you should stretch this out during the week so you're not starving yourself. Add an extra meal each day and increase your calorie intake to 1500-1800, Also just walking back and forth from work is not enough exercise. From what you've said, you get no other exercise. You need to take an extra walk each day. I understand about your safety concerns. Maybe you can walk around a shopping mall or your apartment building, some place safe.

 

But the bottom line is you've got to stop starving yourself. It's not good for your body and you may need to talk with a nutritionist or a therapist to get you towards a more normal eating plan..

I don't think she is starving herself. I think 1500 calories is a bit high if you are trying to lose weight. She should be around the 1200 range.

She should be eating that crap more than once a week, and then it is one or two items. She needs to get her calories under control.

OP, you don;t know what you are doing with your diet. Seek a professional.

I agree with Holly. 1500 a day is far from starving yourself.

Now if it was 400 or less per day, then yes, that would be cause for concern. But 1500 is still doing fairly well.

I agree with Holly. 1500 a day is far from starving you.

That's if she's even eating 1500 calories a day. She has said she eats three half-bowls of rice a day and a little meat and veggies. That's about 1,000 calories. And then to eat 3,000-4,000 calories one day a week cancels out any dieting gains, so she's not losing any weight. It's not a good diet plan.

Going wild on a cheat day is not unusual, no. Plenty of people do this. It's not necessarily the healthiest way forward, but a treat-filled cheat day does not qualify as an eating disorder.

What does strike me as unusual here is that you appear to be forcing it on yourself, OP. What's up with that?

That's if she's even eating 1500 calories a day. She has said she eats three half-bowls of rice a day and a little meat and veggies. That's about 1,000 calories. And then to eat 3,000-4,000 calories one day a week cancels out any dieting gains, so she's not losing any weight. It's not a good diet plan.

"I estimate my calorie intake per day is 1000-1500 calories." She is not starving herself. She didn't add her entire menu. I think she left stuff out. Dieting should not include rice three times a day,

You undo the good you do during the week when you pig out on your once a week cheat day. Do you not see that? All that work for 6 days goes out the window when you chow down on everything in sight on day 7. It is not normal and it is certainly not healthy. A dietician can help you work out a 7 day a week plan to eat healthfully for that entire week. Please get some assistance with eating properly before you ruin your health.

Replied in your identical thread: https://www.enotalone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=555085&p=7062779&viewfull=1#post7062779

Unfortunately, this kind of eating style is not abnormal. Not healthy, but not abnormal. Certainly not an eating disorder. Despite being thin, I do partake in forcing myself to eat (aka pleasure eating). I like food. A lot. However, I am active and work out enough to burn it. It's normal. You want to taste food for satisfaction. How do people think they become overweight? Due to this. They don't need the extra calories - they like enjoying them.

Look, there is no question you have unhealthy eating habits. The truth is, so does the rising majority of food abundant areas in the world. Many struggle to battle the bulge. Now, more are failing because of the kind of unhealthy food easily available.

Do yourself a favor; start working out at least a few times a week (not just walking, go to the gym) and start only buying healthier food. It's harder to eat unhealthy when there's nothing but healthy foods in your home. Buy items you love that are healthy. I like to eat, but there are healthier options I choose that are also tasty to me. I like to drink unsweetened/lightly sweetened low calorie tea and sparkling water when just plain old water doesn't do it for me (I drink a lot). I don't like empty calories, so if I can improve on my snacks or eliminate it from drinks I will.

Seek advisement of a nutritionist if you can, but I am sure you know the basics of good nutrition to at least start buying produce and whole grains with fiber first. You can only get away with not exercising in your life for so long until you begin to develop health problems. I am talking about lifting weights with proper form and low impact aerobic exercises, not just walking. You seem to like to talk about your diet/fitness or find excuses such as having an eating disorder, rather than seriously fixing your overall health. Sorry, you're in a similar boat as many others. It is a struggle for most, some just manage it better than others.

Unfortunately, this kind of eating style is not abnormal. Not healthy, but not abnormal. Certainly not an eating disorder. Despite being thin, I do partake in forcing myself to eat (aka pleasure eating). I like food. A lot. However, I am active and work out enough to burn it. It's normal. You want to taste food for satisfaction. How do people think they become overweight? Due to this. They don't need the extra calories - they like enjoying them.

 

Look, there is no question you have unhealthy eating habits. The truth is, so does the rising majority of food abundant areas in the world. Many struggle to battle the bulge. Now, more are failing because of the kind of unhealthy food easily available.

 

Do yourself a favor; start working out at least a few times a week (not just walking, go to the gym) and start only buying healthier food. It's harder to eat unhealthy when there's nothing but healthy foods in your home. Buy items you love that are healthy. I like to eat, but there are healthier options I choose that are also tasty to me. I like to drink unsweetened/lightly sweetened low calorie tea and sparkling water when just plain old water doesn't do it for me (I drink a lot). I don't like empty calories, so if I can improve on my snacks or eliminate it from drinks I will.

 

Seek advisement of a nutritionist if you can, but I am sure you know the basics of good nutrition to at least start buying produce and whole grains with fiber first. You can only get away with not exercising in your life for so long until you begin to develop health problems. I am talking about lifting weights with proper form and low impact aerobic exercises, not just walking. You seem to like to talk about your diet/fitness or find excuses such as having an eating disorder, rather than seriously fixing your overall health. Sorry, you're in a similar boat as many others. It is a struggle for most, some just manage it better than others.

I partially disagree. I don’t think most people force themselves to indulge. OP used the words “force” - that stands out to me

I partially disagree. I don’t think most people force themselves to indulge. OP used the words “force” - that stands out to me

...she just described pleasure eating:

"I don't know if it's normal to binge eat uncontrollably on ny cheat day. Even when I'm full, I force myself to eat and eat because that's the only day I can cheat my diet."

This is not a disorder. She does it because she likes eating these junk foods and this is the time she lets herself do it. It can be applied to anyone who eats after they're full, or does a diet (which often end in binging). Again, it is not healthy, but labeling it as a disorder is extreme. This is normal human behavior by today's standards due to the availability of unhealthy food that is designed to capitalize on the body's natural cravings. It is a huge struggle in the world now. Many go through this and it is well documented/studied. Heck, many will do this soon, per the tradition for Thanksgiving. More often, people overeat on their days off.

You should not be doing temporary diets. You should be making a permanent lifestyle change with food. Labeling this as a disorder can cripple a person, as it puts the focus towards a mental health issue instead of eliminating the temptation to crash diet, which your body will naturally fight against. Eliminating the dieting will solve the problem. To be clear, this is obviously a physical struggle (due to crash dieting), not a mental one (disorder-wise).

I think, rather than it being a disorder, that it's more a way for you to stuff it all in, because you know it's off limits till your next cheat day.

How about this: work in some of your favorites during the week. Plan to eat 150 calories (within your 1200-1500 range) of something you'll really enjoy, about half the days of the week.

That way, come cheat day, you won't feel so deprived, like it's a whole other week till you get to eat it again.

...she just described pleasure eating:

 

"I don't know if it's normal to binge eat uncontrollably on ny cheat day. Even when I'm full, I force myself to eat and eat because that's the only day I can cheat my diet."

 

This is not a disorder. She does it because she likes eating these junk foods and this is the time she lets herself do it. It can be applied to anyone who eats after they're full, or does a diet (which often end in binging). Again, it is not healthy, but labeling it as a disorder is extreme. This is normal human behavior by today's standards due to the availability of unhealthy food that is designed to capitalize on the body's natutal cravings. It is a huge struggle in the world now. Many go through this and it is well documented/studied. Heck, many will do this soon as a tradition for Thanksgiving. More often, people overeat on their days off. You should not be doing temporary diets. You should be making a permanent lifestyle change. Labeling this as a disorder can cripple a person, as it puts the focus towards a mental health issue instead of eliminating the temptation to crash diet, which your body will naturally fight against. Eliminating the dieting will solve the problem. To be clear, this is obviously a physical struggle (due to crash dieting), not a mental one (disorder-wise).

Well my pleasure eating isn’t like that. It’s not forced. It’s because I want to.

Well my pleasure eating isn’t like that. It’s not forced. It’s because I want to.

I would think this selection would be quite pleasurable to eat: "So, mostly on Saturdays, I binge eat a lot starting at 7AM once I wake up. I literally eat A LOT. Biscuits, chocolates, ice cream, instant noodles, and candies for breakfast. Then for lunch I would take out McDonalds or KFC and order A LOT of meals. After that, I treat myself by drinking a grande size frappe from starbucks and a piece of cake"

You think she forces herself to eat these tasty morsels? I am getting hungry just looking at it and I am full! Alas, they aren't in my place ;)