How to Avoid the Thanksgiving Bloat

Take small sample servings to reduce feelings of bloat during Thanksgiving.

Although the Thanksgiving holiday is centered around family and food festivities, it doesn't mean you have to wear a pair of stretchy or maternity pants for the occasion. While it is exciting to try all of the varieties of foods on the dinner table, the post-Thanksgiving bloat can make you wonder why you ever attempted that third helping of turkey or the second piece of pumpkin pie. Learning how to manage your food intake on Thanksgiving can reduce the bloating feeling you get afterwards, so that your overall experience is more comfortable.

Instructions

1. Stay nourished the day of Thanksgiving, leading up to the big dinner feast. If you avoid eating throughout the day -- in effort to save room for the dinner -- you will be overly hungry when you sit down to eat, and will be unable to pace yourself well. Your eyes will become bigger than your stomach and the chances of feeling bloated later on only increase. Eat small meals throughout the day.

2. Take small servings of the food on the table. Imagine what someone would give you on your plate as a "sample," and gauge your servings accordingly. When you take large servings, chances are you will eat -- or try to eat -- everything that's on the plate. To minimize this possibility, use small serving utensils to spoon the food onto your dishes, that way you can try a little bit of everything.

3. Pace yourself as you eat. Eat slowly and chew your food well. You do not have to shovel food into your mouth, and finishing your plate is not a race. Additionally, when you eat slowly you feel satiated quicker, so you may realize that you are full before overeating.

4. Stop eating when you start to feel full. Do not push through the full-feeling just so that you can eat everything in sight. If you feel full, but there are still foods on the table that you want to try, save a piece for later or the next day. Give your belly a break so that you do not bloat up.

5. Get some physical activity. Take a walk with family and friends after dinner, do some stretches and be active. If you sit around and let the food accumulate in your stomach, you might feel more bloated than if you do something physical to burn off the bloat. However, you don't want to overdo the physical activity right after a heavy meal, or else you could get nauseous.

Tips & Warnings

• Drink lots of water with your Thanksgiving meal. Water helps you feel fuller so that you do not overeat.

References

• USA Today; Study Suggests Eating Slowly Translates to Eating Less; Nanci Hellmich; November 2006
• Health Castle; Healthy Holiday Eating Tips for Thanksgiving; Gloria Tsang, RD; November 2007