How to Reduce Holiday Bloating Before and After a Big Meal

How to Reduce Holiday Bloating Before and After a Big Meal

The dishes arrive faster than conversation. Another spoonful is offered before you've tried the first, and the food has enough history attached to it to get an introduction. Wondering how to reduce holiday bloating? The Bloating & Digestive Comfort Guide can help you think about portion size, eating rate and the context of the meal.

Celebration needs to include the opportunity to eat as well as give thanks. For many families, feeding is how you express love. Knowing how to enjoy this act comfortably means knowing when to stop and being able to allow the host to sit down as well.

Before dinner, make room for everyday meals

Holding yourself back for the main course is a good idea until it turns out the meal will be running late. Then the smell of the food becomes a personal temptation. Eating ravenously after not having eaten anything can make eating at a comfortable pace difficult. Stick to your regular eating schedule, changing the timing and the quantity according to when dinner will probably happen.

If you are in charge of cooking, set your lunch aside before all counters become loaded with dishes. Making a bowl of soup or a sandwich becomes suddenly hard when six other people's food has priority. Maintain all prescribed meal plans, including those for diabetes.

The Everyday Grocery Guide will help put those regular meals on your shopping list along with ingredients for the celebration. Breakfast may lack the glamour of the center piece but still has the same tasks. Keep the person preparing the feast in mind when choosing the food.

Choose familiar ingredients before trying any digestive products

A special dinner can be a powerful stimulus for finding digestive comfort. But trying a new fiber powder, probiotic and herbal combination simultaneously makes it impossible to figure out which product agrees with you. Discuss unfamiliar products with a qualified professional and keep your familiar foods in your preparations.

If you have any allergies or known intolerance of certain foods, speak to the host of the meal in advance. It will prevent you from asking about the ingredient in whisper while holding the serving dish. If you are not sure about some food, don't turn one awkward dinner into a lifetime ban of the food.

Our article about daily habits and digestive patterns can help you think of what else might be going on around meals. It can help you to ask more appropriate questions and not just blame the last thing you remembered eating.

At the table, give yourself an option to choose

A little bit of everything becomes a lot on one plate. Start with an amount that feels manageable and keep in mind that you can always return for more. Take the time to taste the dish you have been waiting all year long to try. Enjoyment will have a better chance if the meal allows you to appreciate it.

When another helping arrives, try saying: “That was lovely. I am fine for now.” You can always ask to take some food home. It is nice to appreciate the host's efforts without putting pressure on yourself to prove how grateful you are.

If you need an alternative dish for safety, discuss it with the host before the dinner. Knowing what you can safely eat will allow you to participate in the conversation instead of spending the entire evening worrying about the plate.

NIDDK’s guidance on eating and gas symptoms recommends eating more slowly, eating smaller meals and decreasing swallowed air. Carbonated beverages and some sugar-free products can also contribute to symptoms. Notice the habits familiar to you instead of trying to limit yourself in everything at once.

For drinks, choose something you are comfortable drinking. If you always have problems with bubbles, still water will fit the occasion better. Don't drink more water than you usually do and don't try to wash a large meal with a large amount of water.

Share the hosting to be able to eat

Imagine the host sitting down and taking only two bites, remembering that the spoon is missing. Someone asks for a drink and the plate is left untouched again. Give another adult the drink or serving duties before dinner. A chance to eat without interruption is a great kindness, especially for the person who prepared the food.

In many Indian homes, an extra helping is offered almost as soon as the previous helping is taken. This generosity is sincere. So is the answer from the guest. Asking once and accepting it allows guests with different appetites to be comfortable at the table and not negotiate every bite.

For meals which go beyond the occasion, Anand Patel’s Wellness Kitchen collects 61 recipes with familiar ingredients and practical cooking guidelines. Find dishes you would enjoy having at home in your ordinary life. Dinner can be enjoyable without becoming an event.

After dinner, adjust to how you really feel

After that, loosen the belt and choose the position that feels better. Take a short walk if you feel like it. Go outside for the fresh air or just to enjoy company. The meal doesn't leave you the debt to repay in exercising.

As your appetite returns, stick to your regular eating schedule. Don't punish the following day with fasting or cleanse. Remember that celebrations meals tend to differ from your normal meals in quantity, timing and speed; several things have changed together.

If your bloating continues on regular days, read our article about common causes and patterns of bloating for a larger perspective. A recurring problem deserves more attention than planning how to survive another gathering.

Understand when other kind of help is necessary

Severe pain requires medical care even during a holiday. MedlinePlus explains when abdominal symptoms need urgent care, which includes acute severe pain, tender rigid abdomen and inability to pass stool with vomiting. See your doctor if your symptoms persist or worsen, if there is any blood or black stool, unexplained weight loss or unexpected early fullness.

For the plan that connects meal comfort with shopping and your daily routines, check out the Body Reset Bundle and its Action Plan. I hope the table leaves you with memories other than the quantity of the food: a familiar laughter, a discussion of recipes or just enough time to enjoy being there.

Next article: Our high-protein, high-fiber soups are easy dinner ideas. Choose your familiar favorite to include in your next meal plan.

Warm blessings & longevity to you,

Anand Patel