5 Steps to Recover After Overeating

Here’s how to get back on track with your fat loss goals if you eat more than you planned during the holiday season.

5 Steps to Recover After Overeating

Despite our best efforts to avoid it, sometimes overeating happens. This is especially true during the holiday season, when delicious food is a big part of celebrations.

Luckily, one day of eating more than usual isn’t a problem! It won’t sabotage the progress you’ve made towards your health and fitness goals if you have a plan in place to recover after overeating.

The only time it becomes an issue is when you let one day of overeating spiral into multiple days because you feel like you’ve already “screwed up”.

I call this the “What the Hell” mentality.

For example, maybe you overeat at Christmas dinner. Then, instead of moving on and eating normally the next day, you say “What the hell, I’ve already ruined my progress, I might as well keep going and start over on January 1st.”

With this mindset, the time between Christmas and New Year’s (or sometimes even the whole month of December) can turn into a break from eating nutritious food and taking care of your health.

People who take this approach start the New Year feeling:

Uncomfortable
Unconfident
Unenergized
Unsuccessful

This pattern might be something you’ve struggled with in previous years, but it’s time to make a change!

Of course, do your best to listen to your hunger and fullness cues during holiday meals and parties you have over the next couple weeks.

But, if you do happen to overdo it, the best thing you can do is get back on track right away.

Here is my 5-step plan to recover after overeating:

1. Drink 2-3 L of Water

Drinking plenty of water after overeating can improve your digestion and help reduce bloating from overconsuming salty foods. Start your day with a big glass of water before you have breakfast and sip on water throughout the day. You can also add lemon or zero-calorie flavor drops if that motivates you to drink more water!

2. Get your steps in

Even though you might feel like doing an intense workout to “burn off” what you ate, I don’t recommend this. You will probably feel worse and you may start to view exercise as punishment, which can create a bad relationship with exercise. Instead, get out for a walk or do some gentle yoga/stretching to get your digestion moving and clear your head. Try to see movement as a way to help your body feel better.

3. Prioritize protein and fiber

Do not skip meals the day after overeating! Instead, listen to your hunger cues and eat the next time you’re hungry. At your next meal, include sources of fiber and lean protein to help you feel satisfied.

Sources of protein include: chicken, turkey, tempeh, tofu, eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lean ground beef.

Sources of fiber: Beans and legumes, whole grains, fruits, vegetables

4. Do something productive

This is one step of my overeating recovery plan you may not have heard of before, but it can be very helpful. When you overeat, there’s not much you can do to get rid of that puffy, sluggish feeling right away. But accomplishing something on your to-do list (like cleaning or laundry) will give you a feeling of accomplishment that can energize you and help you feel better.

5. Show yourself compassion

Everyone overeats sometimes. EVERYONE! So don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead, remind yourself that you’re human and you’re not going to do everything perfectly all the time. Take care of yourself, and consider taking some time to journal about how you’re feeling. And remember: every time you make a “mistake” with your nutrition, it’s an opportunity to learn and make changes in the future.

Holiday Nutrition Reminder

It is possible to enjoy the holiday season AND stick to your nutrition goals!

But it all comes down to mindset.

Whether or not you reach your weight loss goals depends on your overall diet and calorie intake over time — not what you do on a few days out of the whole year.

So let’s get rid of the all-or-nothing mindset this holiday season and enjoy our favorite foods guilt-free. Being flexible and including less nutritious foods is completely okay, AND makes it more likely you’ll be successful with losing weight and keeping it off long term!

If you’re struggling to find a flexible approach to nutrition on your own and want to learn how to reach your fat loss goals, while still eating all your favorite foods, that is exactly why I created the Nutrition Blueprint Method.

Click HERE to book a free Blueprint Call so we can learn more about you and start creating a personalized nutrition and lifestyle blueprint to get you to your goals in 2023.