Get fit.

What do I do after a binge?

Embrace your body, cherish your body, empower your body. I am being completely honest here. Your body is going to cope with the food on its own, that is its task. Purging or laxative abuse will not help your body. However, there are these three simple steps that might help you deal with the fact that you slipped and make you feel better about yourself.

• Accept that you binged. Explore your emotions. You are likely feeling a range of emotions: Guilt for having eaten so much food, anger for having lost control of your eating, and depressed over feeling so uncomfortably full. You may feel hopeless and despairing because of falling once again into an old, familiar pattern. Before you sink into self-defeat, here is an encouraging scientific nutrition fact: Even the biggest binge will not add fat to your body. Adding body fat requires that you continue overeating over a period of time. An isolated binge will not have an effect on your body fat stores. Make this clear to yourself. You did not gain fat. You gained water weight from food. This is not fat! Do not bother to weigh yourself, it will only upset you (although, as I said, the number on the scale is not to be trusted). Accept your emotions. Accept that you deserve to treat yourself and your body with the outmost delicacy and love now.
• Take the time to learn something from your experience. A binge may be related to a variety of factors including excessive dieting, being in a semi-starved state, skipped meals, restricted intake, sense of deprivation, low blood sugar levels, too few vegetables and fruits (lack of fiber), inadequate protein intake, excessive processed carbohydrates, coping mechanism for stress (boredom, anger, sadness, etc.) or even depression. Explore the issues that triggered your binge. If binges are a common experience, you might consider keeping a binge journal. In this journal, gather information surrounding your binge. Ask questions such as, “What am I feeling and thinking right now? Is this hunger? What do I need to soothe myself? How can I help myself through this?” Begin using your information to construct strategies on how to stop a binge before it starts.
• You are likely retaining water and feeling bloated after a binge so it is time to shed this excess water. Pass up on high-sodium foods like frozen dinners, fast food and canned foods. Drink lots of fresh water throughout the day to flush your system thoroughly. I mean this: Lots. Of. Water!
• Concerning post-binge nutrition, do not give in and decide to restrict and starve yourself. Depriving yourself of nutrients is counter-productive and may just lead to yet another binge. Eat regular meals with a lot of protein (fish, poultry, tofu, eggs, low-fat cheese, vegetables, Greek yoghurt) and fiber.
• Do something that soothes your soul. The most helpful thing to do in my experience is to shower, shave and scrub thoroughly to feel “clean” again. Go for a walk (or even a run) to get some fresh air up your nose. Snuggle up in bed then or tidy up your room, put some mellow music on, read a nice book or have a conversation with someone you know can comfort you - if you do not think you have got that someone, go on Tumblr and reach out. Surround yourself with nice things and people. You deserve this.
• Give yourself a pep talk. Think positive. You are not a bad person, you are not a failure. You did not gain fat, you did not mess up your progress. Everything is fine. Your worth as a person is not diminished in any way by your eating patterns. You can take action immediately to re-establish control of your eating patterns. You are able to take care of your body as a loving mother takes care of her child. You are entitled to love yourself unconditionally. Do not forget this!

What are healthy snacks for post workout?

Make sure you help your body repairing muscle tissues and replenishing glycogen stores (which are depleted after a strenuous workout) by trying out some of these post-workout snacks: A protein shake with banana, peanut butter and banana on rice cakes, hummus and whole-grain pita, Greek yoghurt and fresh berries, whole-grain tuna sandwich, turkey and cheese with apple slices (without any bread!), Veggie omelet with a few slices of whole-grain toast or cottage cheese with anything to make it either savory (tomatoes and chives) or sweet (fruits).

Drinking lots of water should be a given to avoid bloating.