What To Do After A Day Of Food Overindulgence?

One thing I’ve learned in my years as a wellness writer is to be beware of the “all or nothing” mentality. If you have one “bad day” when it comes to what you’ve eaten, don’t let it derail you into consecutive bad bays. One mishap is never the issue. Even if you ate as much as the hungry caterpillar it won’t undo progress, it’s the thinking that if you can’t always eat perfectly that you shouldn’t do it at all that leads to a spiral of bad days – and that’s a problem.

I’ve found the key is to realize that none of us are perfect, and that’s OK. Realizing this and being able to rebound quickly is what makes the difference.

So how do we rebound?

Sometimes after a night of overindulging we feel physically and emotionally out of sorts here are some ways to address both issues according to Vanessa Rissetto MS, RD, CDN founder of Culina Health.

Water water water

“A lot of time overindulging includes alcohol and you might wake up feeling dehydrated. Start your day with water instead of the usual coffee and make sure to keep that up during the day to ward off headaches and overall sluggishness.”

Beware of bloating

“Many restaurants over salt their foods and if you’re sensitive to that you can definitely feel it the next day. Try dandelion tea, or an arugula salad – these are natural diuretics and can help lessen the bloat.”

Don’t skip meals

“Don’t skip meals the next day in an effort to make up for the ‘eating too much’ the night/day before. That’s just a recipe for disaster and will likely have you overeating the next day or the day after.”

Take a walk

“Movement is always a great way to make space in your brain, and get you back in the right frame of mind.”

Don’t beat yourself up

“Eating is how we connect with friends and family. Each meal is another chance to align with your goals so move on and relax.”