Here are the 5 things I do to support my health after indulgent eating so I can get my healthy eating habits back on track, and enjoy “cheat meals” without guilt.

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This post is sponsored by Seed

During the holidays many of us (myself included) eat a few more meals that are rich and indulgent. If you’re someone who struggles with their weight, this can be a tricky time to navigate.

In the past, I would stress about the meal before, way over indulge on the day of, and then mentally beat myself up afterwards and feel guilt. Often over restricting the days after, or the opposite and kept on indulging afterward.

Or I’ve avoided the meals all together, making excuses of why I can’t go just so I don’t have to be the odd person out who is only eating the salad at Thanksgiving or holiday dinner parties.

Neither of these approaches ever served me well. Either robbing me of joy, or causing me to perpetuate the indulgent eating.

But when you know better, you do better.

I’m finally at a place in my health journey where I can enjoy the get together, enjoy the indulgent food, then get right back on track the next day.

Seed symbiotic and a glass of water with a christmas tree in the background

5 Things I Do Now

  1. Drink lots of water. Staying hydrated is going to help you a lot with digestion and feeling better after eating indulgent foods. I try and drink 8 glasses a day, and avoid any sweetened drinks.
  2. Pack in the veggies. My instinct used to be to restrict as much food as possible after indulgent eating. But that can lead to an unhealthy eating pattern or binging and restricting. Now, I focus more on packing in as many veggies as I can. Especially dark leafy greens like spinach + kale. Some favorite ways to get them in is in a frittata for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and a brothy soup for dinner.
  3. Take a probiotic. Taking a probiotic is such a simple way to support my gut health and aide in digesting all the indulgent food I just ate. I take a probiotic every day along with my vitamins and supplements. This way my microbiome is getting the bacteria it needs. Not all probiotics are created equal. The best probiotic I’ve found is Seed (you can use my affiliate code TASTESLOVELY for 15% off). Seed’s DS-01â„¢ Daily Synbiotic is a probiotic AND prebiotic. The outer prebiotic capsule protects the inner probiotic capsule from stomach acid, digestive enzymes, and bile salts for 100% survivability to your colon, where your body is able to reap the real benefits. The proprietary inner probiotic capsule has 24 strains of clinically-and-scientifically-studied bacteria that supports health regularity, ease of bloating, skin health, heart health (and so much more). There is truly no other probiotic on the market!
  4. Get in some enjoyable movement. Rather than punishing yourself with a strenuous workout to burn off the calories and carbs, instead get in some movement that brings you joy. Go for a nice walk outside, a bike ride with your family, or maybe your workout is a good cleaning to your house which will also bring you joy as you’re surrounded by a clean space. Movement also aides a ton in digestion and circulation, and releases endorphins which will reduce pain, stress and add to your good mood.
  5. Have a grateful mindset. The biggest takeaway that I’ve learned is to reflect back on an indulgent meal with gratitude, not guilt. I used to feel so guilty about all the yummy food I ate, and then mentally beat myself up for allowing myself to have it. Which really just ruined the whole experience, made me feel guilty for doing it, and didn’t make the indulgent meal feel “worth it” in the end. Or worse, I’d feel so guilty that I would spiral into eating indulgent meal after indulgent meal and perpetuate the negative process. Thinking “well, I ate bad last night, so the week is ruined. I’ll just eat whatever I want until Monday.” Now, I instead think of how grateful I am to have enjoyed such delicious food. This puts me in a healthy mindset to enjoy what I ate without guilt, knowing that I’ll get right back to my health goals after. And I do!

 

Thanks to Seed for sponsoring this post