Keeping your body well-hydrated is always a good practice, especially after a binge, because water aids in digestion and reduces bloating. Vavrek recommends sticking with vegetables, fruits and other foods with high-fiber content as well as lean protein the day after a binge.
It takes around three days to recover from a binge and return to your regular weight. Furthermore, the amount of days it takes to lose binge weight is determined by how different the binge food is from your usual diet, your fitness and activity level, and how you react to the binge.
Your body needs time to digest after a meal or snack.
When you go to sleep, your body automatically slows down digestion, which can lead to some discomfort if you just ate a big meal or snack. Instead, try to wait at least 3 hours before heading to bed—this will make it a lot easier for you to fall asleep.
It can be useful to remember that, just as one day of dieting will not cause a person to lose weight, a day of binge eating will not cause weight gain. Although an episode of overeating can happen to anyone occasionally, some people have a binge eating disorder, which usually requires professional attention.
Fasting after a binge may also reinforce the mentality that food is morally bad and must be compensated for. It can be viewed as a type of purging, an unhealthy coping mechanism used to rid the body of food consumed.
Don't restrict your food the next day.
Your first inclination is likely to cut WAY back on your food for the next few days. This only reinforces the binge/restrict mentality. You are better off eating healthfully and maybe a BIT lighter than usual if you wish as your probably won't be as hungry.
Keeping your body well-hydrated is always a good practice, especially after a binge, because water aids in digestion and reduces bloating. Vavrek recommends sticking with vegetables, fruits and other foods with high-fiber content as well as lean protein the day after a binge.
Binge eating is when a person eats a much larger amount of food in a shorter period of time than he or she normally would. During binge eating, the person also feels a loss of control. A binge eater often: Eats 5,000–15,000 calories in one sitting.
After a binge, your system is overloaded with a rush of calories, sugar, and fat. In addition to causing hormone and energy levels to fluctuate, this significant excess of calories promotes fat storage, inflammation, and digestive discomfort (think bloating and constipation).
Go for a Walk
Going for a walk right after you've overeaten can help you clear your mind and will make your body feel better, too. Walking has been shown to help accelerate stomach emptying, which may relieve uncomfortable feelings of fullness or bloating caused by overeating ( 1 ).
Following a bingeing episode, individuals may feel uncomfortably full and/or sick to their stomach. They may experience bloating, abdominal pain, and nausea. Binge eating overloads a person's system, which may result in low energy, sleepiness, and sluggishness.
You Ate a Big Meal Recently
It's just downright mean to weigh yourself after you just ate a big meal. According to the Mayo Clinic, food can take up to eight hours to pass through your digestive system, which can cause you to retain a little extra weight until the process has ended.
Behavioral and emotional signs and symptoms of binge-eating disorder include: Eating unusually large amounts of food in a specific amount of time, such as over a two-hour period. Feeling that your eating behavior is out of control. Eating even when you're full or not hungry.
You don't absorb every calorie you eat.
Some foods, particularly those high in fiber, make their way through the digestive system without being completely broken down. Others, some of the higher fiber foods (specifically those in the soluble variety), can prevent absorption of fat. Whole almonds are a good example.
Do not skip meals. I cannot emphasize this enough. I get that this can feel hard. But the most important thing to do the day after binge eating is to feed and nourish your body.
You probably can't eat enough to gain weight with just a couple of days of overeating, but according to the website SFGate, any extra calories you consume end up stored as fat, which means if you continue to regularly overeat, it'll make it easier for you to gain weight in the long run.
So here it is: If you live an entire week avoiding nutrition labels and making gym excuses, you can expect to gain about four pounds—one to two pounds of water weight (bloating) and one to two pounds of actual fat, Glassman says.
A binge eating episode can last over an hour, though it may be much shorter or longer. Sometimes binge eating is a planned activity and other times it is not. Most binges involve the consumption of more than 1,000 calories, with a quarter of binges exceeding 2,000 calories.
The amount and type of food you eat during your binge will determine how it will affect your progress on your diet. Considering that most diet plans induce a calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories a day for a 1- to 2-pound weekly weight loss, you may still lose weight if you have a 500-calorie binge once.
Not only will the actual weight of the food in your belly tip the scale, but excess sugar, salt, and starch can make you retain water, which will flush out over time. Rather than risking the post-binge blues that accompanies a skewed scale reading, weigh yourself after a couple days of normal eating and exercise.