Learning how to prevent food coma is a great skill to have. And in this article, you are going to learn about why food comas happen, and what you can do about it.
We have all been there. We eat a massive meal, and next thing you know, we are sluggish and not feeling so great. If we are lucky, we are at home and can lay down for a bit as we recover from the feeling.
If this is something that you do not want to experience again, keep reading.
Why food comas happen in the first place
Food comas have fairly simple mechanics when it comes to why they happen. You eat a ton of calories, your body is overwhelmed, and all of your energy goes towards digestion.
From there, you become lazy and feel like you need to lay down. This is the food coma in its simplest form.
But maybe it happens when you eat a specific food. Since everyone’s body works differently, there might be certain foods that specifically make you more prone to food comas.
It is up to you to decide whether you are overeating or if it is specific foods that make you go into a food coma easier.
Mostly, food comas happen when you overeat. So try to think about how many calories that you are eating. Maybe download an app like MyFitnessPal to see how many calories you are eating in a specific setting.
For example, every time I go to Chipotle and eat a burrito, I end up in a food coma. I always wondered why. But it turns out, a steak burrito from Chipotle is 910 calories. But when you add in chips and guac, the total becomes close to 1,700 calories.
When I discovered that, I realized that I was eating way too much for one sitting. And with just a little bit of homework on your end, you can figure that out too.
And don’t be fooled by the size of the dish that you are eating. There are plenty of deceptively high calorie meals and condiments that you might not realize. Any oil based sauce is notoriously high in fat. And don’t get me started with mayo.
It is up to you to see how many calories you are eating in one sitting. Just don’t go overboard.
How to prevent food coma
We now know the causes of food coma. But how do we prevent a food coma? The answer is simple. Eat less calories per meal.
Now, this might be very difficult for someone who is trying to put on muscle or gain size in general.
If your goal is to build muscle, you are going to need to eat at a caloric surplus. Which means you have to eat a ton of food. Conventional wisdom would tell you that you need to eat a few big meals.
I can tell you from experience that eating big meals is not the answer. It will leave you in food coma after food coma, and keep you exhausted if you are susceptible to that type of thing.
Why not try eating a bunch of smaller meals throughout the day? For example, if you ate 3 meals per day at 1000 calories per meal, why not try eating 6 meals per day at 500 calories per meal?
I know that it can be difficult. In fact, I struggled a lot with this early in my journey. So much so, that I had to figure out another solution. Which is why I created a 1000 calorie protein shake recipe.
I can understand if you are thinking that this goes against everything that I was just talking about. Not so fast! It turns out, protein shakes don’t give me a food coma. I always wondered why.
But then I realized that a protein shake is essentially partially digested if you want to think of it that way. Your body does not have to work as hard to digest calories that are already in liquid form.
So if you are struggling with eating enough calories and food comas, try eating smaller meals or adding a high calorie protein shake to your diet.
What about exercise?
When most people think of exercise, they think of a 1 hour visit to the gym, working out hard, and then it’s done. But evidence suggests that if you workout consistently, you burn more calories throughout the day.
This means that even if you only worked out 4-5 days per week, you would still be burning more calories than average on your days off, and in between workouts.
This phenomenon is impressive, but it makes sense from a biological perspective. Our bodies are always adapting to our habits. And if working out is one of our habits, our body needs to adapt to consuming extra calories to repair our bodies quicker.
Could this be one of the keys to learning how to prevent a food coma? Most likely. And you should really learn how to make exercise a habit if it is not already in your life.
Exercise is one of the main keys to a more balanced life. And I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t started yet.
If you are looking to get a solid routine going, download our app All Workouts: Personal Trainer (iOS | Google Play). We have FREE workout plans, and also HIIT workouts that will blast away fat.
All this to say that exercise can absolutely help you prevent a food coma.
Main Point: How to prevent food coma
If you have made it this far, you now understand how to prevent a food coma. The first step is learning how many calories are in each meal that you are eating. It might be difficult at first, but it will be well worth your time investment.
Remember my example of the Chipotle burrito? Well there are countless other meals out there that have the same or more calories. So make sure that you are paying attention.
Don’t forget, try breaking up your calories into smaller meals throughout the day. And if you can’t do that, try my 1000 calorie protein shake.
Everyone has a different metabolism and ways that their bodies break down calories. So a meal that you eat might not affect your best friend. That is why it is so important to understand your body. Really pay attention to your body, the calories consumed, and your activity levels.
If you want to continue to eat the same that you currently do, the best thing that you can do is start exercising on a regular schedule. Decide if you want to lose weight or if you want to build muscle, and choose a workout plan from our app that fits your goals.
Your body wants to burn calories, so give it a reason to step up on the calorie burn. Exercising is really one of the best ways to do that. Are you scared of going to the gym for the first time? You will be surprised at how inviting the gym is.
This is not like the movies. Everyone in the gym is there to improve themselves. You might find many new friends and helpful people there.
At the end of the day, preventing a food coma is possible. You just have to try new things and understand your body.
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