Ariane,
last year I totally overdid it on Thanksgiving and two days later I felt bloated, heavy, tired and lethargic. It took me days to get back on track and I felt awful. What advice do you have for me this year?
Thanks, Michelle
Michelle,
Thanksgiving is the meal when most people overdo it. Too much starch, too much sugar, too much booze (to drown out the relatives...), and the stress of the travel that goes along with it. For most families, Thanksgiving is about the food and as a result you're presented with so many options that it's probably hard to say no. However, the meal should be enjoyed and shouldn't make you feel horrible two days later. Neither should you feel guilty about having overdone it. It happens and you can undo the damage.
Here's your best course of action this year. And, I'll also tell you how to get rid of the bloat fast in case you're being force-fed by the relatives :-)
Ideally, you want to exercise before eating a big meal. Exercise uses your blood sugar and then glycogen as energy. Glycogen is the energy that is stored in your muscles and liver and supplies you with about 2,000 calories worth of energy. So, on Thanksgiving morning you want to head out for that Turkey Trot or put in a heavy-duty strength training workout to empty your glycogen stores. Once they're empty, your body starts burning stored body fat for energy. In your case, you're getting ready to hit the Thanksgiving table and refill those glycogen stores. Depending on your choices you can either keep your body in fat burning mode or put it into fat storage mode.
There are great choices in a Thanksgiving meal - lots of protein from the turkey and lots of fibrous carbohydrates from the veggies (carrots, green beans, corn, brussels sprouts - you know your veggies). And then there are of course the starches: the stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread and corn bread. Every Thanksgiving also offers up plenty of sugar from the pies: apple pie, sweet potatoe pie, pumpkin pie...
Every one of these food groups are handled differently by your body and once you know this, you'll know how to handle them:
Protein: fills you up for a long time as it takes ages to digest, tells your body to burn fat, fuels your muscles
Fiber: fills you up, provides bulk for your digestion, balances your blood sugar level and satiates you for hours
Starches: if eaten in excess (and that means on average more than 10 - 15 bites) they raise your blood sugar and promote an insulin spike. Insulin tells your body to store fat. After a blood sugar spike you crash and feel hungry and lethargic again.
Sugar: Quick blood sugar spike, which causes an insulin response -> which tells your body to store away the excess calories as body fat. After the quick spike, your blood sugar drops, you're hungry again and lethargic.
Both sugar and starches make you retain water and that's where the bloat is coming from. Mashed potatoes and the pies... Every gram of carbohydrate holds on to about 3 grams of water, so there is no surprise if on the day after a big meal your face looks puffy, your belly is quite round, and your rings fit tight around your fingers. Your energy is typically low and your digestion may be slowed down. Dehydration is common as well.
Thanksgiving is the meal when most people overdo it. Too much starch, too much sugar, too much booze (to drown out the relatives...), and the stress of the travel that goes along with it. For most families, Thanksgiving is about the food and as a result you're presented with so many options that it's probably hard to say no. However, the meal should be enjoyed and shouldn't make you feel horrible two days later. Neither should you feel guilty about having overdone it. It happens and you can undo the damage.
Here's your best course of action this year. And, I'll also tell you how to get rid of the bloat fast in case you're being force-fed by the relatives :-)
Ideally, you want to exercise before eating a big meal. Exercise uses your blood sugar and then glycogen as energy. Glycogen is the energy that is stored in your muscles and liver and supplies you with about 2,000 calories worth of energy. So, on Thanksgiving morning you want to head out for that Turkey Trot or put in a heavy-duty strength training workout to empty your glycogen stores. Once they're empty, your body starts burning stored body fat for energy. In your case, you're getting ready to hit the Thanksgiving table and refill those glycogen stores. Depending on your choices you can either keep your body in fat burning mode or put it into fat storage mode.
There are great choices in a Thanksgiving meal - lots of protein from the turkey and lots of fibrous carbohydrates from the veggies (carrots, green beans, corn, brussels sprouts - you know your veggies). And then there are of course the starches: the stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread and corn bread. Every Thanksgiving also offers up plenty of sugar from the pies: apple pie, sweet potatoe pie, pumpkin pie...
Every one of these food groups are handled differently by your body and once you know this, you'll know how to handle them:
Protein: fills you up for a long time as it takes ages to digest, tells your body to burn fat, fuels your muscles
Fiber: fills you up, provides bulk for your digestion, balances your blood sugar level and satiates you for hours
Starches: if eaten in excess (and that means on average more than 10 - 15 bites) they raise your blood sugar and promote an insulin spike. Insulin tells your body to store fat. After a blood sugar spike you crash and feel hungry and lethargic again.
Sugar: Quick blood sugar spike, which causes an insulin response -> which tells your body to store away the excess calories as body fat. After the quick spike, your blood sugar drops, you're hungry again and lethargic.
Both sugar and starches make you retain water and that's where the bloat is coming from. Mashed potatoes and the pies... Every gram of carbohydrate holds on to about 3 grams of water, so there is no surprise if on the day after a big meal your face looks puffy, your belly is quite round, and your rings fit tight around your fingers. Your energy is typically low and your digestion may be slowed down. Dehydration is common as well.
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Here's how to fix it:
- Exercise before eating a big meal. Empty your glycogen stores (an hour of a high intensity workout would be ideal. Take a look at this mega-intense treadmill routine or a workout in a snap if you need some inspiration).
- Start your meal with a protein. Eating the turkey first will ensure that you balance your blood sugar somewhat before the starches and sugars will put it on a rollercoaster ride. For example, fill your plate with turkey that's the size and thickness of your palm (about 20-25 grams) and then add lots of veggies for fiber.
- Eat starches later in the meal as they add up quickly in carbohydrates and they will impact your blood sugar negatively. For example, you could eat 50 spears of asparagus to get 30 grams of carbs but only 1 cup of mashed potatoes to reach that number. Or, you could eat 4 cups of green beans but only 1.5 slices of bread to get 30 grams of carbs - 30 grams of carbs is about the amount of carbs that will keep your blood sugar balanced and in fat burning mode. If you eat much more than that you will spike your blood sugar and signal your body to store fat, so balance in carbs is key.
- Skip the sugar if you can. If you eat the sugar (desserts or alcohol) then make sure you skip the starches instead. You don't want to overload your body with too many carbohydrates from sugar and starch as they have unfavorable health effects if eaten in excess. However, if you do have the dessert you should be aware that if you eat it hours after the meal - alone or without any added protein - that you might end up crashing from too much sugar.
Most people don't pass out on the couch after the big meal from the tryptophan in the turkey (you'd have to eat the whole bird to get a good dose of narcotics from that), but they fall asleep because their blood sugar is so low that the body doesn't have any energy in the blood stream. All sugar that went into the blood has been shuttled into the cells and there is nothing left for your brain or body to derive energy from.
After a heavy meal, you want to make sure you exercise within 12 to 16 hours. That's your magic time frame in which the energy you ate is likely still in your muscles and liver. However, if you ate more than 2,000 calories in that meal (that number varies depending on how much muscle mass you have), then chances are some of the food was already converted into body fat. Pinch yourself - you'll know where it went :-)
So, head to the gym and put in another high intensity workout the next morning or, even better, the same day in the evening. If you can work off the glycogen stores then chances are no excess food will be converted to body fat.
How do you get rid of the bloat?
- You need to drink lots of water to rehydrate your body and push bloat water out of your system. Aim for at least 3 liters a day.
- Follow Thanksgiving with a low-carb day. All meals should consist of a protein and veggies. No starches or sugars as they will make you hold on to water.
- Exercise to induce sweating out excess salt and to regain your sense of what a healthy body feels like.
- Add starches back only on the day after the low-carb day. Starches are not necessary nutritionally, so you can delay introducing them as long as you want. Sugars are certainly not necessary for you to survive, so keep them at bay as much as possible.
A typical low-carb day could look something like this:
Breakfast: 3-egg omelet with mushrooms, onions, broccoli
Snack: 20 almonds
Lunch: Large mixed green salad with tuna and 1 tbsp of olive oil with lemon dressing
Snack: Whey Protein Shake (Protein powder, water, ice)
Dinner: Grilled Chicken or Fish with roasted or steamed veggies
Or:
Breakfast: 1 cup of low-fat plain Greek yogurt with 1 green apple
Snack: 3 hard-boiled eggs
Lunch: Turkey burger with veggies
Snack: Veggies (bell peppers, baby carrots, snap peas, celery) dipped in low-fat greek yogurt mixed with Herbs de Provence
Dinner: Chicken soup with mixed veggies (the lighter the dinner, the faster the fat loss and the better your sleep).
Happy Thanksgiving!
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