The FastDay Forum

I guess it depends on if its homecooked Chinese/Thai or take out. I do not retain when I eat rice with my Chinese/Malay cooking and retain like mad when I have pasta or bread.

Chinese food takeout are not actually what real Chinese would consume. There are variety of it from different provinces and its very varied. What I see sold in England are mostly things that are catered to the taste of Westerners. Lots of salt and sugar in the cooking.

A 'typical' meal should be of soup (broth based) a meat or fished and vegetable. Tofu is also used a lot. The fished would probably be steamed and vegetable woked in a very light sauce. Deep fried stuff is more of the 'banquet meal'.

I try to avoid eating out at 'generic' restaurants as I know that lots of them are processed to semi process stuff. I was a waitress at a pizza restaurant for 10 years. Go to a steak house and other place, look into the kitchen and you see the same semi process places.

Now try eating at a everything made from scratch restaurant, you leave feeling full but not stuffed as its all non proceessed!

Thanks for sharing Caroline and helping us all remember we are human!

I always gain around a kilo when I eat Thai, Chinese or Italian food out or takeaway. In fact that probably covers the type of food I have if I don't cook at home. I'm sure it is the salt leading to fluid retention that does it for me and it takes a day or 2 for it to equalise.
I eat (mostly) good carbs all the time and they don't affect me this way.

It is scary to feel you have lost control for a little bit, but you must have psychologically needed a break out and I'm sure will get going again.
You have done so very well, don't be cross with yourself.

I hope this helps Caroline to know that you are not alone. I had a big night last Saturday away with my best girls (I'm 45 and we're still friends from high school) in a pent house eating,drinking,reminiscing over photos- I was in charge of dessert and brought my favourite baked blueberry and rasberry cheesecake-anyhoo! During the week i'd gained nearly 2 kgs and that settled down to 0.9kg on Friday after my 2 fast days. Slightly dissapointing as now I haven't officially lost 10 kgs anymore but would I change a thing? No bloody way! the gain is just a blip in my journey.

I find that a heavy carb(which includes sodium) day will cause me to gain, but its the water retention and not true weight gain. I read that water retention is needed when eating carbs to process the carbs. I am a daily weigher (using Libra), and have seen a 10 lb swing after one of those days (Like fathers day). What I have come to realize is that it is not true weight gain, it is impossible to eat the equivalent extra calories to cause a big weight gain(at 3500 per pound, to gain 2 true pounds is an extra 7k in calories over your normal TDEE which is very hard to do).

What I do is then next day(Or that night) after a binge, is start drinking a bunch of water. I also fast the next day even if it is not my normal day to fast (I shift it)My weight is usually back down after 1 full day, sometimes 2 at most, as I flush all the sodium out of my system.

I have learned to not even weigh myself until 2 days after a binge so I do not get discouraged.

I've had a similar disruption to my usual pattern after eating chocolate. I'd pretty much lost my taste for it but suddenly had the munchies and over-did it. it coincided with a meal out with a meringue and cream. Usually I've found that a meal out - even cream teas- has triggered a small increase quickly followed by a drop but this time I seem to be retaining the extra 2lb despite a fast. I'd been walking- c 12 miles- but by now any muscle adjustment should have settled down. Can it be the simple carbs/sugar? Chocolate plus meringue must have more sugar than your Chinese meal. It's the only real difference for me. I try to take psyllium husks with sweet stuff to slow down the release but for me chocolate is off the menu again.

[carorees]

So after yesterday's fast I'm still up overall (by 300g) compared with before the chinese meal, am fasting again tomorrow due to a lunch out on Thursday and hopefully that will finally get me below my previous lowest weight which was 10 days ago! I'll also do a mini-fast on Friday as we are going to a party that evening in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the problem!

[Moogie]

Just wanted to say I've had the same problem having had a Chinese on Monday. Weight has gone up this week and defo been more inclined towards munching. I'm not a big fan of Chinese, without the MSG it's bland (at least from our local) but with it I just have to keep drinking loads of water... and yet very little of that seems to come back out! (TMI?)