How To Recover From A Binge-Eating Blowout

Did you overindulge on takeaway food? Down too many full-strength beers? Don’t stress, we've all been there, especially around big events like State of Origin night when you have mates around.

That said, you don’t want to let one night derail your weight loss journey. We've got plenty of tips to help you bounce back from your binge.

For the uninitiated, a treat meal refers to a meal that people would generally consider to be unhealthy — think a pizza, a hamburger or a piece of fried chicken.

These are occasional high-calorie meals that are integrated into a meal plan as a reward after you have stuck to a calorie deficit diet throughout an entire week.

Funnily enough, these occasional high-calorie meals can help you lose weight — they can help you overcome weight loss plateaus by providing a shock to the system that revs up your metabolism.

Knowing this, it’s important to realise that you shouldn’t beat yourself up if you occasionally indulge in some high-calorie food — like on State of Origin night!

One night of dietary debauchery isn’t going to destroy your health kick — just don’t make it a habit. And that's what we're here to help with.

Ok, let’s say that you have a big one on State of Origin night and chow down on as much pizza, beer and chips as you can handle. The next morning, you step on the scales and you notice that you’ve gone up a couple of kilos.

Don’t lose faith and give up on your weight loss journey. Try to adopt and maintain a growth mindset. A growth mindset is a mindset where you repeatedly tell yourself that your current circumstances are not set in stone and that you are more than capable of adopting the behaviours that will help you reach your goals.

For example, in this post-Origin weight gain scenario, rather than thinking ‘Oh, I’ve gained a couple of kilos, I'm never going to hit my ideal weight,’ think something like, ‘Oh, I’ve gained a couple of kilos. This is a temporary setback, but I KNOW I can continue to lose weight and eventually hit my goal.’

Bouncing back from adversity and hitting your targets is always easier when you have a strong support network around you. If you feel like reaching out to like-minded individuals who will support your journey, check out our Man Shakers community group on Facebook.

Fun fact: water can help you get back on the horse after binge-eating. After indulging in an evening of high-salt and high-sugar foods, mixed with alcohol, it's best to consume at least two litres of water. This water will help aid your digestion and reduce bloating. 

You mustn’t fast after a binge-eating session. Restricting your food input will increase your likelihood of binging again. Instead, eat regular meals and small snacks and include plenty of protein to make you feel full. High-fibre foods will also make you feel fuller for longer and restore any lost vitamins and minerals.

Ideal meals include:
-    High-protein Greek yoghurt for breakfast.
-    A healthy salad, sandwich or wrap, including a lean protein for lunch.
-    Grilled salmon, steak or chicken with veggies for dinner.
-    Or a Man Shake for any meal!

Try snacking on healthy options like fresh fruit or veggies with hummus.

And now for the most obvious answer ever to a binge-eating blowout: exercise. If you overindulge in junk food, try to burn it off the next day with some exercise. It doesn’t need to be super intense — remember that walking burns calories. If you want some insight into how much walking you’ll need to do to burn off junk food, here are some useful stats, which can act as a guide.

It takes a 100kg man walking 5km/hour:

• 2 hours and 15 minutes to burn off a Big Mac and medium fries
• 1 hour and 45 minutes to burn off a Dimino’s Mini Meatlovers Pizza
• 2 hours and 30 minutes to burn off a Subway Footlong Meatball Melt

Studies have shown that a lack of sleep can increase your appetite. According to these studies, you’re more likely to desire unhealthy food when you’re tired. To avoid this, try to get eight hours of sleep post-binge to ensure your hormones and appetite remain in balance.