Overeaten massively - how much weight will I put on?

[TheyIndeed]

As the title says really ... massively indulged, I usually only have around around 2k maintenance calories and today hit 4.5k.

Google suggests that an extra 3.5k calories equates to a pound of fat, has that been other people's experience here too? Surely your body can't put that much fat on in one sitting?

A friend of mine used to say
"Eat it today, wear it tomorrow "

Ask him what happens to the excess consumption

Ah reminds me of my "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" days 😁

I don't think it's true though - you don't absorb every single calorie from everything you eat.

I'm back to within 0.3 pounds of my pre-binge weight over here today without any calorie-cutting or excessive exercise (and actually eating a little too much on a few days this week) - and you can fluctuate that much just by drinking a bit more the night before or something.

I am disciplined through the week and do a lot of exercise but on Saturday evenings I drink wine and eat what I want. I would usually have exercised earlier in the day. Life is far too short to worry about having a blow out. It's all about balance. Otherwise it's miserable.

Did you do any exercise OP to counterbalance it?

Ironically I usually do loads of exercise as I love it, but this week I've been too busy.

I barely had time for one brief weights session, one yoga session that I had to cut short, and a much lower daily step count than usual.

I'm trying to summon up the energy to do something now but not really in the zone!

@TheyIndeed I did enjoy it! 🙈

Just had roast now but limited myself to 2 small potatoes and chicken with a LOT of veg and no stuffing or Yorkshire.

Must help a bit, hopefully!

It's the larger picture that needs looking at. No point stressing out over a pizza if you enjoyed it!!

It does sound a bit obsessive to be worrying so much about one meal's calories.
Understandable if you were on a strict weight-loss diet or if you were a jockey or sonething, but otherwise not so much. Relax a bit more around food maybe?

Thanks @Polkadothot I am still trying to lose a bit of weight overall so that's the context.

We're due to have a bit more food than usual tomorrow so I'm grateful to you for bumping this thread as I'd completely forgotten about it and I'll probably have the same vague worry afterwards 😁

That was debunked years ago.

Interesting, in what way @Watchkeys?

It's really interesting. On the whole I eat a pretty balanced diet. Eg breakfast will either be porridge or a couple of poached eggs on toast. Then yesterday I had a sudden urge - which happens occasionally - for a full English. I had the time so got it sorted - sausages, bacon, eggs, black pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes, fried bread and baked beans. My plate was piled high and it took me a bit of (very enjoyable) time to get through it all. Heaven knows how many calories it was.

Reading that back now I'm thinking, "What?!". But I really enjoyed it and it was as though my body was saying to me "Go for it!" I've just had a physically very active sort of a week so maybe that had something to do with it. But definitely not for every day and I wouldn't want it to be.

When I've done that or any kind of occasional binge-out before - takeaways or whatever - it's never made a difference to my weight. Maybe it's the body's way of saying "stock up for a bit", in case the lean times come, or something like that? When I've had weight gain it's been when I've been over-doing the cakes, biscuits etc. with little exercise over a sustained period of at least a week.

I'm sure you'll be fine op and wouldn't worry about it.

That sounds delicious @Iloveabaconbutty - you're living up to your username there!

I think what you're describing there is the more pretentiously named "intuitive eating".

Unfortunately I'm on an anti anxiety medication called Mirtazapine which really boosts your appetite too, so if I ate intuitively these days, I'd be the size of a house.

I need to come off it but every time I've tried the insomnia side effect has broken me.

Ah, that must be really tough. I wish you all the best. 💐

Watch Zoe Harcombe on YouTube. Her lecture with the word 'kettles' in it will explain. Calories in = fat gain/loss makes no sense.

This is really not how it works!

One off? Nothing. I was always surprised after a two week holiday of indulgence I put nothing on. Relax

@Watchkeys maybe you could explain for those of us who don't want to search for something on YouTube?

It's an interesting watch:

Her main point is that it's not as simple as "calories in, calories out", as humans aren't predictable identical machines.

So in this case, if we both eat 3,500 calories, we'll both see different results. It's not all instantly stored either.

She suggests don't count calories, just stop snacking and cut out processed foods to control your insulin, do more movement, and your body will do the rest.

How come whenever I’ve gone on a calorie controlled diet I’ve lost weight?

Likely because you ate less carbohydrate @DanceMonster , and so less triggered your insulin response, enabling glucagon to get a look in. Glucagon is the hormone that encourages our bodies to burn fat, and it can't operate much when there's insulin around. Snacking and carbs promote insulin release.

@AutisticLegoLover that's a summary in my previous post.

How do you know I ate less carbohydrate? I eat mainly carbohydrate, generally.

I don't know that, @DanceMonster , which is why I said likely. Generally when people go on calorie controlled diets, they don't cut out protein, or just fat on its own. They eat less of everything (including less carbs) or they cut out the sugary snacks/crisps/fizzy drinks. What did you cut back on?