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You can avoid food comas this holiday season by exercising and having a plan before holiday get-togethers, loading up on veggies, and enjoying treats mindfully. These tips help prevent post-meal fatigue and keep you feeling good after the feast.Holiday meals are meant to be joyful occasions. But that joy can fade fast when you end up slumped over on the couch, stuffed, ready for an unplanned nap.\u00a0<\/span>Fortunately, you can still enjoy the foods you love without falling victim to the dreaded holiday \u201cfood coma.\u201d<\/span>Here are seven holiday nutrition tips to help you savor every bite without suffering later, according to metabolic researcher and Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Oklahoma State University, <\/span>Sam Emerson, PhD<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Emerson\u2019s research shows that exercising before a big holiday meal helps your body handle the feast more efficiently\u2013even if you workout hours before dinner.<\/span>\u201cYou could exercise in the morning, eat a really large meal that evening, and still see benefits from your earlier exercise in terms of how your body processes the meal, which is pretty incredible,\u201d Emerson says.<\/span>Studies confirm working out within roughly the previous day (12-18 hours before eating) can actually:<\/span><\/p>\n And you don\u2019t need to run a marathon to get results. If your feast is at night, consider:<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re likely to feel better later, even if you indulge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When you\u2019re sitting at a table full of nostalgic favorites, it\u2019s easy to keep piling \u201cjust a little more\u201d onto your plate. But this often leads straight into overeating and food coma.<\/span>According to Emerson, \u201cEating food that is not nutritious is commonly part of celebrating, but it can become problematic if we make no effort to <\/span>curb the splurging<\/span><\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe need to go in with a plan for how active we\u2019re going to be, how much we\u2019re going to eat, and whether we\u2019ll allow ourselves dessert,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span>A little planning upfront can help prevent that familiar \u201cI blew it, so I might as well keep eating\u201d mindset from taking over.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThat way, you can know later to not eat a second piece of pie because you already ate the one piece of pie you were going to have,\u201d Emerson adds.<\/span><\/p>\n When rich foods are front-and-center on your plate, you might get weighed down quickly. Loading up on non-starchy vegetables\u2013like salad or sauteed Brussels sprouts\u2013first can help you pace yourself and feel more satisfied.<\/span>High-fiber veggies help slow the rise in blood sugar and promote a steadier release of energy, which means less intense fatigue after the meal. Plus, they help you eat less.<\/span>Emerson says if you fill your plate with vegetables first, you could cut your total calorie intake by up to 10 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s not just dessert that triggers holiday fatigue. Many beloved staples are surprisingly calorie-dense and can send your system into recovery mode quickly:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you drink two cups [of eggnog], that\u2019s nearly 1,000 calories, which is about half a moderately active person\u2019s recommended intake for the whole day,\u201d Emerson warns.<\/span>So stick to one smaller portion of the high-calorie foods you love most, and skip the rest.<\/span><\/p>\n Your body\u2019s fullness signals can take 10 to 20 minutes to reach your brain. That means if you go back for seconds too quickly, you may end up eating far more than you need.<\/span>Before grabbing another serving, take a breather. You might:<\/span><\/p>\n Good news, dessert lovers: you don\u2019t have to skip your favorite course entirely. Emerson encourages moderation, and a little knowledge can help guide your choices.\u00a0<\/span>Certain desserts pack more calories than others, potentially contributing to post-meal fatigue, as well as <\/span>weight gain<\/span><\/a>. Of the traditional holiday pies:<\/span><\/p>\n Serve yourself a piece of sweet potato or pumpkin for a lighter option. Or, if pecan pie is your favorite, enjoy it\u2013just do it mindfully.\u00a0<\/span>Sometimes half a slice is all it takes to satisfy your sweet tooth.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you leave sweets out where you\u2019ll walk past them several times a day, no matter how hard you try, you\u2019re going to grab that brownie every now and then,\u201d Emerson cautions.<\/span>And every time you snack, you\u2019re giving your body another blood sugar spike, which can leave you feeling more sluggish as the day goes on.<\/span>Put treats away between meals so your body has time to process one round before the next starts.<\/span><\/p>\n Traditional, indulgent dishes are part of the holiday fun\u2013but you don\u2019t have to end the day feeling fatigued.<\/span>By fitting in a workout, making a plan, starting with veggies, pausing between helpings, and choosing dessert mindfully, you can enjoy your favorites without slipping into a food coma.<\/span>\u201cOverall, I recommend trying to focus on being with family and friends,\u201d Emerson says.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cEating is a part of the holidays, but if we aim to make it more about enjoying time with people and less about eating a lot, that can help us make more beneficial decisions for our health.\u201d<\/span>Dig into your favorites intentionally, soak up the memories, and skip the part where you melt into the couch.<\/span><\/p>\n References:<\/span>Postprandial lipemic and inflammatory responses to high-fat meals: a review of the roles of acute and chronic exercise<\/span><\/a>A Single Bout of Premeal Resistance Exercise Improves Postprandial Glucose Metabolism in Obese Men with Prediabetes \u2013 PMC<\/span><\/a>Exercising Tactically for Taming Postmeal Glucose Surges \u2013 PMC<\/span><\/a>The effect of moderate intensity exercise in the postprandial period on the inflammatory response to a high-fat meal: an experimental study \u2013 PMC<\/span><\/a>The ironic effects of dietary restraint in situations that undermine self-regulation \u2013 PMC<\/span><\/a>Eating vegetables first: the use of portion size to increase vegetable intake in preschool children1 \u2013 PMC<\/span><\/a>Effect of nutrient composition in a mixed meal on the postprandial glycemic response in healthy people: a preliminary study \u2013 PMC<\/span><\/a>Calories & Fat in Popular Holiday Dishes<\/span><\/a>Glycemic Index (GI) or Glycemic Load (GL) and Dietary Interventions for Optimizing Postprandial Hyperglycemia in Patients with T2 Diabetes: A Review \u2013 PMC<\/span><\/a>Does slower eating rate reduce food intake? Results of an empirical test | Request PDF<\/span><\/a>Effect of snack-food proximity on intake in general population samples with higher and lower cognitive resource \u2013 PMC<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You can avoid food comas this holiday season by exercising and having a plan before holiday get-togethers, loading up on veggies, and enjoying treats mindfully. These tips help prevent post-meal fatigue and keep you feeling good after the feast.Holiday meals are meant to be joyful occasions. But that joy can fade fast when you end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":342307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11764],"tags":[11395,165857,3982,2074,1298],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-342306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-medicine","tag-avoid","tag-coma","tag-doctor","tag-food","tag-season"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to avoid food coma this holiday season<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Grab a pre-meal workout<\/span><\/h3>\n
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2. Go in with a plan<\/span><\/h3>\n
3. Start with vegetables<\/span><\/h3>\n
4. Limit heavier dishes<\/span><\/h3>\n
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5. Give your body time to register that it\u2019s full<\/span><\/h3>\n
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6. Choose dessert wisely<\/span><\/h3>\n
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7. Keep treats out of sight between meals<\/span><\/h3>\n
Final thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n
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