HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE: HOW TO RECOVER FROM OVEREATING
‘Tis the season where food is everywhere. From festive office parties to holiday-themed happy hours, it is ridiculously hard not to overeat.
Maybe you had too much to eat at your family’s dinner, consumed one…two…three…four drinks or you didn’t stick to your meal plan like you desired. Whatever the case may be, the fact of the matter is that everyone likes to indulge. The fall and winter months provide you with an excellent excuse to detour from your eating plan.
Unfortunately, there are consequences for abandoning your healthy lifestyle. Not only do you feel guilty, but you physically can’t breathe. Literally! Since you ate too much, your enlarged stomach is pressing against your diaphragm making it difficult for you to inhale and exhale.
Fear not! We have some tips you can use to avoid the aftermath of overindulgence and get your body back to healthy eating habits.
Let Go of Post-Gluttony Guilt
So you over ate. It’s okay! Overindulgence happens to the best of us. If you read our Overcoming Body Images Issues post, you know that Taylor struggled with overeating in the past too. One thing we learned is that it is crucial to stay positive. Instead of beating yourself up, ordering a juice cleanse and working out for hours, try to remain rational.
Mark Sisson, Mark’s Daily Apple, says “Feeling guilty only slows your recovery, setting you up for more guilt-instigating overindulgences in the future.” Get out of the post-gluttony slump so that you can recover and regroup.
What’s the regroup process? Keep reading for tips!
Drink Apple Cider Vinegar with Water
Drinking 64-100 ounces of fluids is an essential step in your recovery from overeating. Fluids help flush out excess salt, sugar, and alcohol. Plus it helps rehydrate your body.
We love mixing apple cider vinegar with water, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. It helps lower your blood sugar, increases insulin sensitivity and boosts metabolism. These effects are fantastic because lower levels of insulin and an increased metabolism will get your digestive system moving.
Try Intermittent Fasting
If you think that you need to eat three meals and two snacks the day after you overeat, you don’t! To give your digestive system a break, try intermittent fasting (IF) for 16 hours after you eat a huge meal. IF is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating.
Note: IF is not a diet, but a way of eating.
We currently practice the 16/8 method and have reaped the benefits from it. How can you do it? The night after you overindulge skip breakfast and restrict your daily eating period to 8 hours. For example, if we stopped eating at 9 pm on Friday then we wouldn’t eat until 1 pm on Saturday.
IF is a very beneficial and powerful way of eating:
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Prevents you from overeating
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Naturally reduces your calorie intake
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Helps your cells repair
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MOST IMPORTANTLY – It allows your body the time it needs to process the damage you did the day before
Reset Your Body – Eat a Vegan-Paleo Meal
Once your fasting period is complete, continue to reset your body by eating a meal that is vegan or paleo. Be sure to fill your plate with whole foods, veggie-based fiber, and adequate protein.
Think about it as a fresh start! Eat lots of veggies, fruit and omit anything heavily processed, filled with gluten, refined sugar, etc.
Bust a Move
We are not saying that you should run a half marathon (this would not end well for you, especially after you just ate your weight in holiday cookies). The point here is to utilize light, KEYWORD: LIGHT, exercise to get your body moving. You can take a walk, play sports on the Wii or even practice yoga. A low-intensity workout speeds up your digestion and gastric emptying - how fast food leaves from the stomach and enters the small intestine. In other words, you’ll be able to flush out the pollutants consumed during the holiday party.
The Skinny
Yes, everyone overeats. Focus on your recovery and you will be back to eating healthy in no time.
What are your thoughts on overeating during the holidays? Do you remain positive? Let let me know in the comments below!
Until Next Time,
Tay
“Your life is happening now. Make it amazing!”
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