How Bad Is One Day Of Binge Eating?

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ICYDK today is National Eat What You Want Day, so naturally, it makes sense to order an XXL Pizza with extra toppings, right? Not so fast!

While for some people the day alone might be reason enough to ditch the celery and hit the buffet, we thought it might an idea to check just how much damage one binge day can do to our overall health.

“The occasional binge is unlikely to impact on your overall health, binging out for one day is unlikely to make a huge difference overall," says Dr Christina Pollard from Curtin University's School of Public Health.

But, before you go filling your trolley with Kit Kat’s thanks to this free pass, you might want to hear what else Dr Pollard has to say.

“We tend to not do that [eat junk food in moderation]. We are prompted every day to eat junk food – by advertising and promotions. Constant reminders to eat chocolate or drink soft drink on the TV, through price deals at the end of the supermarket isles etc,” says Dr Pollard.

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So, in layman’s terms - while it might not technically ruin your health, if you go crazy once, chances are you won’t be able to resist having another binge day... And another.

Dr Pollard says that rather than restricting ourselves and wanting to binge on days like this, we should always allow ourselves treats, paired with a healthy lifestyle.

“The key dietary advice from health authorities is to ‘Eat and enjoy a wide range of nutritious foods –every day’ and to “limit foods high in added sugars, fats, and salt”.

Yep, so you can still indulge in a slice of pizza or a choc-top every now and then, as long as you’re not going overboard. Dr Pollard suggests the following steps to finding a healthy diet;

"1. Think about what you want,
2. Look at what you usually eat,
3. Identify the things that make it easier for you to eat how you want to
4. Set a goal to make changes in small steps.”

Now, about that pizza... Sorry, slice of pizza.