Print article Overeating is totally normal-we all do it from time to time, in fact during the holidays there’s a cultural tradition that you’ll expect to overeat. So there’s no need to beat yourself up!
However, it’s also helpful to understand why you are experiencing pain or bloating. The combination of food, liquids, swallowed air and gas-consequence of digestion- can make your stomach, abdominal muscles and small intestine stretched to the max. This can trigger pain for some, and for others the food starts backing up, causing indigestion.
The entire meal can also take a long time to digest, so while your body is focused on breaking down that massive feast, it sends more blood to the digestive tract. Your brain and the rest of your body are getting less blood than they’re used to, so you start feeling that familiar post-binge sleepiness. Once you’ve gone past the point of being comfortably full, you can’t exactly undo it, but you can start to feel better mentally and physically with these tips.
How to feel better after eating:
- Right after you eat: Release any thoughts of guilt or shame. It won’t make you feel better. Relocate from the holiday table and instead of lying down, sit in an upright position and relax for a few moments and tune into your body and see what it needs. Send it some love.
- Five minutes later: Slip into something more comfortable if your wearing anything that is feeling too tight.The more restricted you are the more uncomfortable and less relaxed you’ll feel, creating more stress for your GI system.
- 15 minutes after: Sip on ginger or peppermint tea or warm lemon water. This can help with bloating and indigestion.
- 30-60 minutes after: Go for an easy walk. Physical activity is directly related to good digestion.
- Next day: Eat lighter to help the liver clear out the extra glucose.
Additional tip: It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to send a signal to your stomach that it’s full. Chew your food slowly and just remember the more food you consume at a meal, the more you will cause your body to focus the bulk of it’s energy on digestion.
