Practicing the Post-Pig-Out Plan

Last night I felt like a bottomless pit. I came home from a full day of classes and volunteering desperately searching for a way to quell my hunger. I made a sandwich and carrots thinking it would be enough to satisfy me. Negative. About an hour later I found myself digging into a bowl of fruit and yogurt, munching on almonds, and eating nearly everything in sight like there was no tomorrow. I realized that there was a tomorrow when I woke up this morning wondering why in the world I ate so much last night. I started off with healthy foods, but a few bites of the chocolate cake that was sitting on my kitchen counter and a leftover cupcake made also it's way into my mouth. This unhealthy indulgence combined with the shear amount of food I ate last night caused me to feel less than stelar about myself when I awoke.

As I was internet surfing today I came across this article that surprisingly made me feel a bit better about the sudden eating rampage that took place last night. Most of the articles I have read in the past focus on how "not to over indulge" rather than offering tips on what to do if you eat more than you should. This article went against the norm and gave helpful advise on how to make up for a night (or day) of overeating.

What I like most is the layout of the article. It offers encouragement by empowering the reader through easy to follow suggestions on how to get back on track. By giving the reader the power to bring the change themselves, the magazine is offering a way to motivate the reader to change what they have done through their own efforts. They didn't just offer words of encouragement, they gave an action plan. I find this approach much more helpful than simply writing a bunch of nonsensical babble about things like how to "do better next time", and that "it's ok if you ate an entire cake last night". Sometimes, it's not ok. I did not need to eat as much as I did last night, and reading this article helped me see that even though I might have over-indulged a bit I can fix the problem right away.

I usually think that media sources don't really address health issues in a helpful way but in this case the article was very well done. Now excuse me why I try to fix my night of overeating with a workout and a gallon of water.