The cheat day eating, water gain, and psychological help

Question
Hi Tanya. I lost 25 lbs since January and I have been
doing great with the diet and exercise programs from Men's
health.
I started binging for some reason about 3 weeks ago on an
average of 1-2 times a week. My worst binge I must admit was
yesterday, which I still feel extremely guilty about. I feel
ashamed of my defeat by the food crave and I really need to
tackle the root of the problem within. I weighed myself on
Friday (like I do every morning) and I registered 165 lbs on
my scale (right on my target weight). I've been holding 165
lbs for close to 4 months now (formerly 187 lbs), and I'm
really proud of it. I had a binge-full day yesterday
(Saturday), as my diet recommends/allows a single cheat meal
(as long as it's a single meal and it takes place once a
week), but I gave in and binged all day yesterday :(
I weighed myself this morning and I registered a whopping
173 lbs.
As a result, I've been depressed all day, though I am kinda
happy for keeping it healthy today (raw vegetables, fruits,
and a 6 oz chicken breast for lunch), not to forget, tons of
water (150 fl.oz.) + 2 cups of green tea through out the
day.
I am deeply concerned that I am not going to be able to shed
the weight that I gained all in one day. I have to admit
that i'm obsessed with weighing myself.
I work out 6 days a week (3 weight training days, 2 days
where I brisk walk, and one day of interval training). I
lost a bunch of fat and I have a six pack now, and I'm
really excited about my new look. I still don't have an
answer though for why I go through these binge episodes.
I plan on visiting a psychologist or a nutritionist this
week (who would you recommend??).
How did I gain this much weight in this short period (1
day)? Is it fat? Can i get rid of it? How????"

Answer
Hi,

The weight you gained in that one day you describe cannot be fat even theoretically, unless you've managed to consume 8 x 3500 = 28,000 Calories in a single day. It would mean, for example, 400 slices of white bread or 100 large backed potatoes, or 70 cups of heavy cream - you got the idea.

Good news is, water weight can be as easily get rid of as it's easy to gain. For example, try to eat plenty of cucumber, parsley, watermelon, drink tea and coffee. Also, go swimming, better in sea water if you can, or dissolve a pack of sea salt in your tub and soak in it. Go to a sauna, drink some dry wine or beer. Then weigh yourself again.

You are right that it'd be wise to seek a professional advice. I would go to psychologist since until you binge you did really well.

Good luck,

Tanya Zilberter

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