How to Survive a Cheat Meal

Who doesn’t like a good cheat meal?  What’s your food of choice?  Is it ice cream, cake, cookies, brownies, pizza, chips, fast food – you name it.  With the Holidays upon us, there will be lots to choose from.  The purpose of this article is to help you survive and overcome that ‘cruddy-knotted’ feeling you get in your gut after the splurge.

The first rule for surviving your little splurge is to enjoy your indulgence!  That’s the easy part.  Enjoy it, it’s your reward.  Don’t feel guilty.  The second rule is to try and lessen the negative impact on your tummy, so you don’t get all Knotted-up and twisted Inside – if you know what I mean.

The two things you want to have on-hand are Digestive Enzymes and Fiber.  In short, the enzymes help break the food down in your tummy – the fiber helps get it out of your body.

 

DIGESTIVE ENZYMES DO WHAT

More than likely your sinful choice is made with some type of processed white flour, white sugar or other foods that may not only irritate and inflame your Gut – they are probably also void of any enzymes themselves.  So, the digestive enzymes are going to help your digestive system breakdown whatever it is you splurged on.  This will help a lot of people, simply for the fact so many people struggle with producing their own digestive juices (enzymes and acids).

Digestive enzymes are simply supplying your digestive system with the necessary digestive juices that your body isn’t.  Why you’re not making all those digestive juices is another story, but suffice it to say, when you are eating a cheat meal – the extra support can be very, very helpful.

The basic goal of the digestive enzymes with a cheat meal is to lessen the potential bloating, gas, cramps and possible diarrhea.  If I had a choice, I’d rather have a little tummy ache from my ice cream splurge than a great, big bad tummy ache.  Do you follow-me?

Don’t be afraid to swallow an extra capsule/tablet or two.

Be careful about using digestive enzymes that also have betaine hydrochloride (HCL), which I recommend a lot of the time – if you are eating protein. 

However, if your typical cheat meal is loaded with carbs and fats and not any real protein, the HCL could irritate your tummy.  Don’t worry, a glass or two of water will help dilute the acid.  I usually have 2 or 3 different types of digestive enzymes on hand.  One is a bottle of enzymes that are ONLY enzymes and a second bottle of enzymes that includes HCL, for when I eat a protein rich meal.  The third bottle are chewable, which I use with my kids and myself when I’m eating on the go, on the run, in the car.

 

FIBER MOVES IT OUT

Whether you like your fiber in capsule or powder form.  Think of fiber like our railroad system.  The railroad carts simply transport the stuff from A to B.  If you don’t have any railroad carts to move the sludge, waste material and broken down food particles through your digestive tract, specifically your large intestine.  It is simply going to rot and putrefy inside of you.  How long do you want that Crud rotting and putrefying inside of you?

In case you didn’t realize it, the stomach and small intestine is where your digest and absorb all the nutrients from your food.  Your large intestine is basically the sewer system of your body.  It’s job is to move that garbage out of your body, which is where fiber and water come into play.

Normal, healthy, well-functioning elimination system moves things in and out of the body in about 24 hours.  Unfortunately, most Americans take anywhere from 2-4 days for that to happen.  Yes, constipation is a big problem associated with lack of fiber in your food, which is why supplementing is important, as is drinking enough water.