Last Updated on July 29, 2021
If you eat when you are hungry, the brain may fail to send the signal that you are already full in time for you to stop. So there you may be, hungrily stuffing your face- especially when the food is hot, fresh and delicious.
10 minutes later, you feel overwhelmed as the food you have just expanded in your tummy. You may feel just like a beached whale- uncomfortable, stuffed… and lousy.
Often most people would try to sit down or sleep it off. But if you are tempted to do that, you must summon up every ounce of willpower that you can not to do it. Because once you start to sit down and rest or lie down after a heavy meal, it easily becomes a lifelong habit that gets virtually impossible to kick. That’s life- often we find it hard to develop and stick to good habits… but bad habits, easy come…. hard to go.
Get up, do something….anything
To be honest with you, I was very accustomed of feeling like a beached whale myself each time after a full meal. In fact, I must have even looked like one during the days when I was about 30 pounds heavier than now. I tell from my own experience and those of folks I know that once resting after a full meal becomes a habit- kicking it would be like going against the grain of your life.
Then when I travelled last year, I stayed with different hosts. In Thailand, the thing I noticed is that most Thai people seemed to have no problem remaining slim. Most Thai ladies seemed to have no problem keeping their figure after marriage and childbirth. And what I noticed is that they get straight to work after meals- no lingering around and chit chatting much. They gets the plates washed, sweep and mop the floor or wash the clothes.
After a while, I started to emulate their ways as well. Immediately after I finished eating, I would pick up the broom to sweep and then mop… else, I would scrub the toilet (it’s strange, but I actually don’t resent scrubbing toilets). At first, it was like an uphill battle- my entire body felt as if it was weight of lead. But I can never just sit there and receive hospitality from others- so at last the willpower won.
If there is no floor to sweep, mop or toilets to scrub, I would then take long walks after the meal. And I was also taught to breathe always breathe deeply after meals, especially heavy meals. This helps our body to digest the food.
I find that this method truly works- you feel much better getting up on your feet then to sit there and wait for the 9 months pregnant feeling to go off. That is why I truly suggest that you give it a try.
Yesterday, I had bread for dinner.. with tuna. Because I love tuna and have not eaten tuna sandwich for sometime, I overate my portion as I did not feel full. Then, few minutes later, the bread sort of expanded in my stomach and that feeling is uncomfortable. I went and scrub my bathroom with soap. After about just 10 minutes of doing that, not only my bathroom is cleaner, but the bloated feeling was gone.
Therefore, the next time you have a large meal, get up and some household chores- it will make you feel much better 😉
