This time of year, it can feel as if you are constantly moving from one event to the next. From potlucks at work to dinners with the in-laws, this season is filled with lots and lots of food. We all love the quality time spent with loved one and treats that come along with it but we can assure you that no one is looking forward to the grogginess that comes after a night of feasting.
Have you ever been so hungry that you, eat a huge meal, maybe even dessert, then 20 minutes later feel like you need to unbutton your pants and lay down? Yeah, us too! We may be dietitians, but we are human too and we have all been here. This overstuffed feeling can be quite uncomfortable. Overeating occurs when you continue to eat past the point of being full and honestly this is SO easy to do for many different reasons.
Overeating can impact your body in ways that you may be unaware of. Digestive enzymes are available for a limited quantity, therefore, the more you eat, the longer it takes to digest. Overeating frequently will slow down the digestion process meaning food stays in the stomach longer, which can feel a little uncomfy. Overeating can also affect your sleep. When your hunger hormone levels crash after overeating, it can disturb your circadian clock which controls your sleep cycles.
But we have to remember no one is perfect, and you are most likely going to overeat again in your life, and that is OKAY. We have to give ourselves grace during this process and say “why did this happen?” instead of beating ourselves up. Did you not eat for 5-6-7 hours? Did you skip a meal and then get in-front of food? Did you cut out a whole food group and then binge on it because you missed it oh so much?
You are allowed to overeat. It means you are human...congrats! But if you don’t like the uncomfy feeling and are interested in learning how to lessen the frequency in which you overeat, we have some tips for you.
There are many ways to prevent feeling overstuffed!
1.Slow down when eating. Give your body time to get the fullness signal. Listen to your body when you are getting that full feeling.
2.Pay attention to your portion sizes to prevent overeating. Eating from a salad plate instead of a dinner plate can help portion out food!
3.Taking a gentle walk after eating can help stimulate digestion.
4.Avoid carbonated beverages if you do overeat. Carbonation adds to the bloated feeling.
5.Get rid of distractions and focus on your food while eating.
6.Practice mindful eating. Mindful eating is about using mindfulness to reach a state of full attention to your experiences, cravings, and physical cues when eating.
7.Eat regular meals and snacks.
8.Avoid getting hangry! The longer you go feeling hungry, the more likely you are to overeat later on in the day! Where do you land on the hunger scale right now?!
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