Healthy Reads presents: the best tips on how to feel less bloated during the holiday season!
Many people associate the holiday season with time well spent with their families, shopping sprees to surprise their loved ones with amazing gifts, and lots of tasty and delicious foods. Unfortunately, as good as those desserts and meals can be, they might make you feel bloated, lethargic, and overall uncomfortable.
According to researchers, a typical Thanksgiving dinner is packed with as many as 3,000 calories. That’s more than the recommended calorie intake for an individual for a simple but festive dinner.
And things can get even more out of control since Christmas comes next and there are hot chocolates, marshmallows, s’mores, desserts, steaks, and lots of tasty foods at every corner.
If you want to feel less bloated during the holiday season and avoid cramps, nausea, and indigestion, we’re here to help you. Get ready to discover the best tips on how to enjoy the festive season to the fullest, have the most amazing time with your loved ones, and avoid gaining unnecessary pounds! Here’s how to feel less bloated:
1. Don’t save your calories
Many people think that if they want to feel less bloated during the holiday season, they skip a few meals so they can make room for a fancy party or a special meal. Don’t do that, because it’s actually worse for your belly.
One of the smart tips to avoid feeling uncomfortable is to eat regularly throughout the day. Doing that will nourish your body with the nutrients it needs, and you won’t feel tempted to overeat.
Besides that, don’t forget to take your time when you eat, because doing it too quickly will trick your brain into thinking that you’re not full and you need more food to feel satisfied.
Eat the things you crave and don’t feel guilty about them, but if you want to feel less bloated at the end of the day, make sure you add healthy and delicious food to your plate, such as greens, veggies, fruit, fiber, and water, and try not to overdo it with salt, added sugar, and fat. Just like with everything else in life, moderation is key, especially during the holiday season.
2. Get your Zzzs in
Another way to feel less bloated during the holiday season is to get your Zzzs in. Partying too much and eating too much will make you feel tired and possibly grumpy, so if you want to feel less bloated and good the entire festive season, don’t forget to rest.
Sleeping will recharge your batteries, make you feel refreshed and rejuvenated, and it will also lower your stress levels, so don’t neglect it.
When you don’t sleep enough, your body will try to cope with the change, and it will trick your brain into thinking that you need more food to sustain yourself. So you’ll eat more and reach for greasy and salty things, and that’s not going to help your stomach feel any better.
So if you don’t want bloating, stomach pain, inflammation, food sensitivities, or changes to the gut microbiome, get those Zzzs in. You need it!
3. Get moving
Another fantastic way to feel less bloated is to move your body throughout the day. If you had a wonderful meal that was full of delicious but heavy things, and you maybe even indulged in a little dessert, don’t feel bad. Just get out of the house and move!
Take your friends and family members with you and go for a quick stroll in the neighborhood. Climb some stairs, do a few squats in nature, or simply walk around the city for a few hours, take some pictures, grab a coffee, and that’s it.
Whether you hit the gym, try an at-home workout routine on YouTube, do a few stretches, or go for a walk around the park, your digestive system will do its job better, and you’ll burn plenty of calories.
If you want to feel less bloated and would love to do a few exercises while watching TV or chatting with your family members, I recommend you invest in a pair of light weights, because it’s easy to use them and do a few bicep curls, lateral raises, lunges, squats, and even ab workouts with them. Check them out here!
4. Add leafy greens
If you want to feel less bloated and still enjoy those delicious holiday treats, make sure you add leafy greens to your plate. Veggies like bok choy, spinach, asparagus, kale, and chard are low in calories, contain plenty of water, and are packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Besides helping you feel fuller and less bloated, they’re also a great aid for your skin, as high-quality nutrients can help it have a better texture. You’ll be glowing from the inside out.
Consuming veggies regularly is a fantastic way to add fiber to your diet, but make sure you gradually increase your fiber intake so that you get all those amazing health benefits.
If you’re not used to eating fiber and all of a sudden your body gets lots of it, it won’t know how to react, and you’ll feel even more bloated. Don’t forget that if you eat plenty of fiber, you have to drink water too, so that you keep bloating and constipation at bay.
Cruciferous veggies, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, kale, turnips, arugula, and Brussels sprouts, can cause more gas too, so the best way to get all those health benefits and feel good afterward is to eat them cooked rather than raw.
If you crave a tasty and fresh salad to make you feel less bloated and you want to add raw kale, make sure you wash it well, then massage it with olive oil and lemon so it’s easier on your stomach. This is going to help you not feel gassy after eating it, and it will be easier to chew too.
5. Pay attention to drinks
While alcoholic drinks make holiday celebrations more enjoyable, don’t overdo it, especially after eating heavy meals. Your stomach is already swollen from all those tasty foods, and indulging in too many drinks can cause even more pain and discomfort.
Given the fact that alcohol is an inflammatory substance that can easily cause water retention and slow digestion, it will leave you feeling drowsy.
Don’t forget to drink plenty of water to balance all those liquids out, or go for mocktails made with sparkling water and 100% juice to have a healthier alternative that will make you feel less bloated. The best part about this is that you won’t have a headache the next day.
6. Water and tea
As we’ve already said throughout this article, drinking water is one of the most important things you need to do if you want to feel less bloated during the holiday season.
Water will help you flush out toxins, give you energy, improve the quality of your skin, and help you feel fuller between those festive meals, so you won’t be consuming too many calories.
If you don’t like to drink plain water, you can add berries, cucumbers, ginger, lemons, and mint leaves to it. It will taste refreshing and sweet, and it is a great natural detox drink.
You could also drink chamomile, peppermint, lemon balm, wormwood, ginger, fennel, gentian root, and Angelica root to flush out toxins and feel wonderful all day long. Read the recommended serving size on each packet, so you don’t drink too much tea, and don’t forget to have fun during the holiday season!
Do you have any other tips on how to feel less bloated during the holiday season? Leave them in the comments below! If you’d like to read something else from Healthy Reads, here’s an amazing article for you to check out next: 6 Useful Tips for Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis
