10 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Overeat

Most babies are cute and cuddly. Food babies — not so much. When you take in more food than your body is used to, your stomach has the ability to stretch and make room for your supersize meal. The bad news? This is what makes you look (and feel) eight months pregnant after a big meal. Once the food passes through your digestive system, your stomach will shrink back to its normal size.

The number one key to stopping stomach distention in its tracks: slow down! Even if you are planning on having a big meal (say, Thanksgiving, for example), take the time to truly savor your food. Chew slowly, put your fork down between bites, and enjoy the special time with friends and loved ones. This will give your brain time to get the message that your stomach is full before your food baby has a chance to take shape.

When you swallow food, you swallow quite a bit of air along with it. This is even more true when you drink bubbly, carbonated beverages with your meal (like your beloved LaCroix). Until that air finds a way out, it can cause your belly to feel uncomfortably full and bloated.

The best way to prevent gas and bloating is, again, to slow down. The more slowly you eat, the less air you will take in. If the damage is already done, Sementelli recommends gentle movement (try yoga or a brisk walk), hydration (to get the bowels moving and lessen bloating), and supplementing with a good probiotic. Certain probiotics (Bifidobacterium infantis, in particular) can actually help to reduce gas production.

Sementelli also urges her clients to remember that "occasional gas and bloating is normal." It does not necessarily mean you did anything wrong or ate something your body can't tolerate. You may have just overdone it a bit.

When you take in more food than your body can handle, your metabolism goes into overdrive as it attempts to burn off some of those extra calories. This can make you feel like you just stepped out of the sauna, even if you've been relaxing on the couch. There isn't much you can do to stop this process once it's started, but it is only temporary, and once the food has been metabolized, your heart rate and body temperature should return to normal. Your best bet is to take a cool shower or lie down until you feel better.

People commonly associate a "food coma" with overeating, but the truth is, eating more than your body needs can actually cause you to lose sleep. Your circadian clock, which controls your sleep cycles, causes certain hormone levels (like sleep and hunger) to rise and fall throughout the day. When you overeat, it can throw this rhythm out of balance, making it difficult for you to fall asleep. On top of that, if you overdid it on carb-rich foods like pasta or pie, you could wake up in the middle of the night when your blood sugar comes crashing back down and your body is screaming for more food.

You can fend this off from the start by not overdoing it too close to bedtime. If it's too late, try to relax and prepare your body for sleep by avoiding screen time, taking a relaxing bath, and making sure your room is 100 percent dark before turning in.

I know bathroom habits can be difficult to discuss, but, as a nutritionist, it's just part of the job. When you overeat, your whole system goes into warp speed to digest the food and move it through the pipes, so to speak. Your body may speed up this process even more, leading to diarrhea and/or frequent trips to the bathroom, if you eat foods that are already irritating to the digestive system. This can be different for everybody, but common offenders are dairy, fiber, and high-fat foods.

Stop diarrhea before it starts by chewing your food well and avoiding foods that you know have caused you problems in the past. If you've already called in to work and spent the morning locked in your bathroom, the most important thing you can do is hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Drink lots of water, and consider adding in broth or coconut water to replace electrolytes. Stick to simple, bland foods until you're feeling like yourself again.

You may find that you're too nauseous to even think about getting out of bed after a bout of overeating. When you fill your stomach faster than your body can communicate to your brain that you're full, it can send your blood sugar skyrocketing, leaving you feeling like you just got hit with a nasty stomach bug.

Try to get some rest and incorporate stomach-settling food and drinks like dry toast, ginger tea, and bananas. You can also sniff some peppermint, ginger, or lemon essential oils: each of these has been shown to help relieve nausea.

Dizziness is another pesky symptom that can come along with overeating. Your heart rate and metabolism speed up to digest the food you just ate, which can leave you feeling dizzy.

If possible, lie down and rest until the feeling passes. If that isn't an option, drink plenty of fluids and try some light activity (like walking or yoga) to keep things moving.

What's really going on behind the scenes when you overeat, according to Sementelli, is the release of insulin due to there being more glucose (sugar) in the blood than what the body needs. Insulin signals your cells to "store the excess glucose in the liver and release it when your blood sugar is low or when you need more energy between meals or during exercise."

Basically, overindulging can send your blood sugar sky-high while insulin works to store it away, but this also means you'll suffer the subsequent blood sugar crash a few hours later. This is behind some of the symptoms we've already looked at, but it can also cause nervousness, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.

You may feel compelled to reach for a sugary snack to get your blood sugar levels back up to normal, but the best thing you can do to get back on an even keel is to go for something more balanced — try a fresh green salad with lean protein, avocado, and some whole-grain crackers or some toast and eggs.

Next-day fatigue and exhaustion are to be expected when you overeat. You may not have slept well, your blood sugar is coming down off a high, and your body is still working extrahard to regulate your system. Whew!

The worst thing you can do is load up on coffee and doughnuts looking for the jolt of energy you so dearly desire. Sementelli's advice is simply to return to your normal healthy habits. Eat three square meals, drink plenty of water, and go for an energizing walk or light workout.

It seems counter-intuitive, but overeating can actually leave you feeling even more hungry the next day. What gives? Thank lack of sleep and hormone disruption. This can be made worse if you try to restrict your calories following a day of indulgence, thinking you'll "get back on track" by depriving yourself. In my experience, this usually backfires.

The best thing you can do is eat a filling, protein-rich breakfast like sweet potato hash with chicken sausage and sautéed spinach or oatmeal with peanut butter and fruit. From there, make sure you get a healthy lunch and dinner, and snacks if you're hungry. You'll be feeling back on track by tomorrow — promise.