Recovering from Summer-Time Eating

Summer-time is showing signs of exiting; children are returning to school and summer final sales are in progress tipping us off that it’s time to recover from summer-time eating.

When the glow of vacation fades we may notice a few things have changed. All those patio parties and umbrella drinks may have left their mark in the way of bloat or even a couple of pounds on the belly.

Here’s some questions to ask yourself. During the hot days of summer …

• Have you been visiting the drive thru or getting take out more than usual?
• Can you remember the last time you used your oven?
• Have you been MIA from your exercise classes?

I get it. Summertime is made for diversions from everyday living. However, like most diversions, they must come to an end.

September, sandwiched between summer and autumn, provides the chance to dial in some of the less than stellar habits we embraced over those lazy days of summer. Jump-start the autumn season by selecting 2 or 3 of the tips below. You’ll see how easy it is to recover from summer-time eating.

1. Recover from summer-time eating by returning to normal eating times/routines

Summer days with extended day-light hours along with varied schedules to attend summer-time events, interrupts usual eating times and/or routines. Re-establishing times for meals, snacks, and sleep normalizes the body’s circadian rhythm. This in turn helps hormones and neurotransmitters, including those involved in appetite and weight.

The hormone insulin is sensitive to erratic eating times or skipping of meals. Insulin stability is the cornerstone for preventing the condition of insulin resistance with one byproduct of fat storage.

Start by getting back to nutrition basics with breakfast. It’s time to move away from a high carb continental styled breakfast offered at hotels and pancake houses.

Restock your fridge with plain Greek Yogurt, fresh berries of all kinds, and fiber-rich flax or chia seeds to top off your parfait. A green-based smoothie is an easy and quick vehicle for providing hydration, protein, healthy fats, and greens to start your day.

2. Put the Breaks on Alcohol

Summer-time eating often includes more wine and cocktails than usual. It’s time to recover and put on the breaks. In spite of mixed media messages, the final analysis of studies shows that the dubious effects of alcohol outnumbers the benefit of taste and temporary relaxation response. The amount of wine consumed is one factor that moves the glass from providing a heart benefit to one that ups your risk of breast, stomach, and esophageal cancer.

Alcohol is not one of the five food groups but it does provide calories. Alcohol provides almost double the amount of calories per gram compared to carbs (surprise!).

Plus the calories from alcohol are broken down differently than carbs, protein and fats. Alcohol calories are stored quickly as fat versus used for fuel. That’s why a few months of an extra glass or two of wine easily shows up on the waist.

Alcohol is one of the original toxins known to the human body, especially the liver. From a bloated body to elevated triglycerides to a fatty liver, all come with with too much alcohol of any form. Even after a few glasses of Chardonnay you can wake up with difficult to zip up pants, tight rings, or swollen eyes.

Here’s some foods that break down the toxins from alcohol and combat morning after bloat:

Start your day (or dinner) with an egg and veggie omelet. Eggs, besides providing high valuable protein provide the amino acid cysteine. Cysteine helps in the breakdown of the toxins from alcohol ushering the toxins out when you pee.

Green veggies like spinach and kale provides nutrients that help to reduce bloat too. Go lightly on the foods that contain mostly fat, like coconut oil, bacon, or cheese. Fat slows the passage of food from the stomach into the small intestine, leading to feelings of bloat.

3. Adopt the new mantra: Home is my favorite place to eat!

Several research studies have confirmed what we suspected – dining out results in consuming lots more calories (over 250 more than home-cooked meals) with overall less nutrients provided by those calories. To avoid last minute drive thru meals or supermarket take out, consider home-delivery total meal service to kick-start your return to home cooking.

If home-delivered meal kits doesn’t work for you, select a day, like Sunday, to take 5-10 minutes to plan your meals for the upcoming week. Planning out even 3-4 days of meals will place you back on track to healthier eating and reduce food waste.

Having a meal planning block? Try a meal planning site/app to break through the block. One of my favorites is Pepperplate.

4. Go on a Sugar Fast  

It’s so easy to fall back into the clutches of the sugar monster.  Summer-time eating and vacation time provides opportunities to indulge almost as much as the December holiday season. Luckily, a week or two fasting from sugar can cleanse your palette while shrinking bloat.

Taste buds have a high turnover rate with about 14 days for new buds to blossom. A quick way to tame the sugar monster is to clear the house of obvious temptations. Place yourself on a sugar fast -steer clear of foods with added sugars and focus on fruits as the natural source of sweetness (berries, apples, even bananas).

You can go fly solo and start your day with a home-made green smoothie and make your meals veggie-centric. Or you can join a group, like my 21-Day Clean Your Plate program, to receive meal plans, recipes, guidelines and weekly support.

5. Make friends with the scale.

Ask people their blood pressure or cholesterol numbers and many can tell you. Too often when I ask women what they weigh, they don’t know and they don’t want to know. Summer-time eating can “feel light” yet we can easily over consume calories through over-served salad dressings, sweetened beverages, condiments, high-fat processed meats and the previously mentioned alcohol containing drinks.

I say get over it! Weight is just another number on your health dashboard along with cholesterol and glucose. These numbers give us information – the information we need to make plans for action. Weighing yourself at least once a month provides feedback on many levels.

Don’t forget about your waist. The size of the waist is a powerful indicator of health and risk for certain diseases. Strong research prompted the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute declare that the size of a person’s waist as a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes and/or heart disease.

Warning: For women, a waist size greater than 35 inches and for men a waist size of greater than 40 inches provides a far more accurate way to predict a heart patient’s chances of dying at an early age from a heart attack or other causes. The link between waist size and reduced heart function was independent of a person’s total body weight and Body Mass Index.

Your waist size is also correlated with insulin resistance – a condition that is precursor to developing type 2 diabetes.  My clinical experience shows an elevated insulin level goes hand in hand with a 35 inch waist for women. All this information from one number. Are you ready to find out yours? Click here to learn how to accurately measure your waist.

Final thoughts …

Take away the best parts from your vacation

Vacations give us a time to step back from our daily routines (including food choices) and try on new foods, activities, and scenery. Sometimes we re-introduce foods and activities we forgot or introduce new foods and activities that we discover we really like.

As this summer comes to a close, ask yourself:

• Did you discover a stress relieving activity while on vacation?
• Did you re-discover something you love that soothes your soul?
• Did you try a new food with a healthy profile and liked it?

My final thought is that summertime-eating and vacation breaks are good for us. Enjoying the foods that make up summer-time eating are something to look forward to as the season begins. Trying new things and visiting new places can make us re-appreciate things back home. That maybe why it always feels so good to be back in our own bed and cooking in our own kitchen.

Recovering from the high energy vibes of summer-time is why autumn was created.  Autumn is the month for warming foods and going inward as we prepare for the nesting of the winter months. Can’t wait for this change of season!

Bonnie Roill is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and Hormone Support Coach working exclusively with women to heal their gut so that they can enjoy food again and every day life. Visit www.B3Nutrition.com  to receive your free download guide.