Get Back on Track After Overeating
Get Back on Track After Overeating
If you’re like the thousands of Americans who overdid it yesterday, you’re probably feeling pretty miserable today. It’s called a food hangover, and it’s real! To add insult to injury, you may be giving yourself a hard time about it.
Here’s the good news: a single day (or even a few days) of poor eating won’t cause weight gain or poor health. Sure, you may feel crappy and bloated, but, like I mention in this article, it’s physically impossible to gain 10 pounds overnight.
The bad news? Many people feel so distraught emotionally about having overeaten that they do one of two things:
They get f@ck-it syndrome and give up on their health and weight loss goals entirely, or
They punish themselves by under-eating, over-exercising, or both
In my experience, neither of those options is helpful. Giving up entirely shouldn’t be an option at all. And punishment through food restriction or intense exercise only tends to lead to future over-indulgence, binges, and hatred of exercise.
Get back on track after overeating
Overeating happens. And despite all my training in mindful and intuitive eating…sometimes I still overeat. I know I’m going to feel like crap, but I do it anyway. It’s human nature. Normal behavior.
I used to give myself a really hard time about an episode of overeating. I’d be mean to myself for days afterward. I’d exercise intensely, despite feeling tired, bloated, and awful. I’d go to extreme lengths to restrict calories, sometimes only consuming broth, coffee, and water. The result of that torture: binge eating and further self-loathing.
What does work for me after a day of overeating? Being kind to myself. It sounds counter-intuitive, but learning to be kind to myself has helped me consistently and quickly get back on track after an episode of overeating.
Kindness is the key to getting back on track after overeating
My goal the day after overeating is to help myself feel better, both mentally and physically. Here’s what I do to be kind and re-center myself:
Stay off the scale. Salty, sugary, carb-loaded foods cause water retention. Your weight can fluctuate by more than 10 pounds in less than 24 hours. It’s all water. Unless you’re into feeling emotionally unstable, stay away from the scale today (and forever)!
Eat when you get hungry. Caring for your body means listening to it. No matter how much you ate yesterday, one of the most important things you can do today is allow yourself to eat when you feel hungry. If you try to starve yourself, you will get overly hungry and end up overeating again. Listen to your body and nourish it at the first request.
Drink plenty of water…but don’t drown yourself. Re-hydrating after overeating is important. It helps get the bowels moving, flushes excess water from cells, and reduces inflammation and pain (which can be caused by overeating junk). If you can afford it, drink one of those fancy electrolyte or pH balanced waters. BUT, there’s no need to overdo the water. Too many people use water to “fill up” in an effort to starve themselves. That is not an act of self-kindness, and is usually counterproductive.
Get moving. Show your body some love, help get your bowels moving, and improve your mood by getting active. No, I do not mean kill yourself with three hours of running. Being kind to yourself means moving in a way that feels good. Take a stroll outside with your dog. Stretch while you watch TV. Dance. Chances are good that you don’t feel 100% today, so do something that’s easy, fun, and feels good!
Wear clothing that doesn’t restrict…but that still makes you feel pretty. Post-holiday bloating. The struggle is real! Your normal pants may not fit right for a few days, and wearing tight clothing will only make you feel worse. Wear non-restrictive clothing…BUT…don’t wear those ugly-ass sweatpants with all the holes. Even when you don’t feel your best, you still deserve to wear pretty clothes! And science shows that it can improve your mood to put a little effort into your appearance.
I hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!
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Blog Author: Kelly Bailey, IIN certified holistic nutrition coach, and NPTI certified personal trainer
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