Exactly What to do After You Overeat
We have all been there, when “one last bite” turns into finishing the whole meal, or when finishing your dinner, your friend’s dinner, and ordering dessert sounds like a great idea. Overeating is a feeling most of us know. On top of the pants-unbuttoning, too-full feeling, many may also experience guilt and shame.
There is a silver lining, a lot of people overeat and there are a lot of ways to handle it in a healthy way, both immediately after it happens and in the days to come.
Relax, and read these tips from nutrition experts.
Why do we overeat?
Overeating has become commonplace because we are presented with opportunities to overeat every single day. Every day we are bombarded with imagery of eye-catching comfort food, and that delicious, low-cost food is almost always just a car ride or phone call away. Not to mention the portion sizes are much larger in the United States than just about every other country. If you do not feel you overeat your stomach’s capacity, you may be overeating your calorie needs.
So you have overeaten. Here’s what to do.
Don’t: Fast or skip your next meal
After you overeat it may be tempting to fast for a while or to skip your next meal entirely. But our bodies need food to survive, and fasting or skipping a meal could lead to another bout of overeating. When we restrict what we eat, we set ourselves up to overindulge.
Do: Make sure your next meal is healthy
For your next meal, eat normally. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Recognizing your body’s hunger signals can be difficult at first, but the more you pay attention to and respond to what your body is telling you, the easier it will become. You do not have to force yourself to eat your next meal if you are not hungry yet, but if you are, do not feel like you need to skip that meal. Just make sure it is both healthy and satisfying.
Don’t: Complete a rigorous workout to “make up for it”
Doing an intense workout following a large meal will likely just make you feel worse and more sick to your stomach than you already did.
Do: Take a walk
Lighter exercise, such as a walk, will get the food moving through your digestive tract and being in nature will brighten your mood and lower your stress levels.
Don’t: Try to detox
You do not need to do a juice cleanse to recover from a bout of overeating. Detoxing implies you have exposed your body to toxins, and unless you swallowed poison, your body is able to process what you put in it. Overeating, even if it is throughout an entire day, does not warrant your need to restrict your food intake in the following days, either.
Do: Drink water
Water will help flush out some of the sodium you have consumed, but do not overdo it because it could result in you feeling more full and more uncomfortable. Four to eight ounces after a large meal should help without making you feel too full.
Don’t: Say “screw it”
It is tempting to say “screw it” after overeating and continue eating poorly throughout the rest of the day. We often have this idea that if we do not follow healthy eating perfectly it does not matter, but one bad meal is far better than a cheat meal that turns into a cheat week, or even a cheat month. One bad meal does not have to derail healthy habits.
Do: Be conscious of your next meal
If you overeat early in the day, think about what your dinner will look like. You should strategize the healthy, balanced meal you will eat next. Pairing a lean protein with fiber-rich vegetables is the perfect healthy and satisfying meal that will get you back on track.
How to prevent overeating
Instead of trying to clean up the mess after overeating, it may be easier to prevent the act. While you still may overeat, these tips might reduce the number of times you feel like you can’t leave the couch for a few hours.
Don’t: Categorize foods as “good” or “bad”
Overeating can result in feelings of shame and guilt, which, in turn, can create a poor relationship with food. This could fuel a diet roller coaster, where you are constantly gaining and losing weight. Labeling a food as “bad for you” can cause it to become a restriction. Restrictions will cause you to crave the food more and may give way to overeating.
Do: Remember that there is room for indulgences
Try to shift your mindset from dieting to “all foods fit.” This will make it easier to stop the cycle of overeating and restricting. Instead of labeling certain foods as “bad,” just try to enjoy them fully when you eat them. The temptation decreases significantly when you allow yourself to occasionally indulge when following a healthy diet.
Don’t: Undereat throughout the day
When you undereat during the day you may be extremely hungry by the time dinner rolls around, which can result in overeating during the time of day your metabolism begins to slow down.
Do: Eat throughout the day
Nutritionists recommend eating real, whole meals at each meal. This will keep you full and satisfied for far longer than just a coffee for breakfast. Split up your daily caloric allowance to be nearly even for every meal.
Don’t: Stay silent if you are struggling
Overeating is an incredibly common problem, you do not need to suffer in silence. Confide in your friends and family or reach out to a professional to work through the root causes of your overeating.
Do: Understand your triggers
A dietitian or therapist can help you find your triggers, but you can also try to do your own research by keeping a food journal, meditating and eating mindfully. It is common to turn to food when you are bored, lonely, frustrated, stressed, happy, etc. So, try to work through the emotion without food as your crutch.