How to Bounce Back After a Food Binge

This article was written by Maria Hart and repurposed with permission from Greatist.

'Tis the season to overdo it with stuffing, turkey, buttery rolls, and pie. With all the office parties, cookie swaps, and holiday potlucks this time of year, it's especially hard to avoid overeating. But really, stuffing yourself rotten isn't limited to the holidays. Sometimes that late-night frozen pizza somehow becomes a single serving with gut-busting repercussions.

Hey, it happens to the best of us. But the real problem is usually what happens after—in our body and our mind.

Are you filled with regret, dejectedly pondering starting a juice cleanse? Or do you feel the urge to go for broke, double down, and top it all off with a big bowl of froyo? Do you wallow in the damage for hours or even days?

And physically, do you fall into a food coma? Get that feeling like your food has turned to concrete in your abdomen or suffer from hours of nausea and discomfort?

Don't fret. Sometimes reframing the situation and having an action plan is all you need to rebound ASAP.

Think About the Situation Differently
It can be easy to beat yourself up. Things like "no self-control," "lazy," and "gross" can get thrown around. Maybe you run five miles and end up making yourself sick. Or swear off eating for an entire day. It's super-easy to treat your body to all types of abuse post-gorgefest, but here's where taking a step outside yourself is critical.

As the custodian for your body, you’re responsible for its care—just like you’d be responsible for a child that you’re babysitting. Imagine finding this kid knee-deep in candy bar wrappers, halfway into an all-out candy binge. Caught red-handed, this kid looks up at you, terrified, ashamed, awaiting punishment. What do you do? Do you yell insults at the child? March him or her over to the treadmill to run off every last calorie? Of course not. With that in mind, let any name calling and punishment stop. You will treat yourself with the same compassion you would treat this child.

Why is this helpful? In his book The Marshmallow Test, psychologist Walter Mischel, Ph.D., a professor at Columbia, describes how emotional situations like this can stay in a heated place, which could lead to more self-destructive or self-punishing behavior. To counter that, it helps to cool your distress by "self-distancing" and entering into "cognitive reappraisal." In other words, viewing yourself from a distance or as another (like a child) helps engage a cool, rational reaction where you can regroup and rebound.

So what should you do to regroup? We're glad you asked.

Take Action immediately
Let's handle the physical symptoms for bloating and food coma first.

Don't let the weight of your food baby take you down for the count (or straight to the couch). Lying down can give you heartburn and other gastro issues. It can even aggravate respiratory issues for people with asthma.

Do get moving. Light exercise is the best thing you can do to help your body bounce back. Operative word: light. Jogging around the block might not be smart, thanks to the high barf factor, but taking a walk can do a world of good. Not only does it speed up digestion, it'll also even out your blood sugar and clear glucose out of your bloodstream. Another idea is light yoga. Certain twisting poses have been known to assist and alleviate digestive woes.

Don't drink alcohol or coffee. Knocking back a boozy "digestif" drink after a calorie rager is a common practice for many, but they don't actually assist with digestion. In fact, alcohol can pump the breaks on your body's digestive process. Coffee may swing you back up from a food slump with a jolt of caffeine, but it also doesn't do any good for digestion.

Do drink water, seltzer, or teas. It might seem counterintuitive to drink water when your belly is full to bursting, but H2O helps move along digestion.  It can also battle sodium and carb bloat, and it’s a preemptive strike against any post-gluttony constipation. You can also try seltzer, which is proven to relieve indigestion. Herbal teas with ginger, peppermint, and fennel have been shown to ease that I'm-so-stuffed feeling. In short, keep these liquids coming.

Click HERE to learn the next step to fighting a food coma from Greatist!

More from Greatist:
What to Say When People Annoyingly Undermine Your Healthy Choices
The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Planning a Healthy Thanksgiving
The Best Free Workout Videos on YouTube

1. Prev:The Fat-Burning Food That Works for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
2. Next:Weight Loss Success Story: How One Woman Shed Over 100 Pounds and Changed Her Life