We all have those days when we eat a little bit more than we should. At least some of us do. Maybe it’s that time of the month and your appetite is off the charts. Maybe you’re a stress eater and you’re dealing with elevated stress levels. Maybe you’re feeling blue because your boyfriend flirted with your best friend (in your face) at the birthday party you put so much love into throwing for him. So you’ve been comforting yourself with food all day. And you’ve consumed a 14 FL OZ tub or Haagen‑Dazs Rum Raisin Ice Cream, 8 oreo cookies, 3 large chocolate chip cookies AND (sigh) half the left over cake from the birthday party.
How do you recover from overeating so you can still fit in your jeans tomorrow?
First of all, 1 day of over indulgence probably won’t cause you to legitimately gain weight. It’s purported that in order to gain 1 pound you have to consume 3500 more calories than you usually do over a period of time. How much time? Probably after 3 consecutive days of going overboard you will begin to feel the difference. After all, a 1 pound weight gain isn’t enough to discernibly change the way your clothes fit. But by the time you’ve gained 3 pounds, your skinny jeans might begin to feel tighter.
It’s possible if you’re bloated in the stomach for you start to feel the difference after your first day of overindulgence; but it will be because you are bloated. It’s also possible that you can get on a scale and weigh up to 3 pounds more the same day of your overindulgence. But again, it will be because of the bloating and heaviness from your full stomach etc.
Go out and play a spirited game of tennis
If it’s still day time and if you have access to a tennis court and access to someone you can play with, go out and put in an hour or two on the tennis court. Tennis is fun to play. Even if you aren’t particular good at it, as long as you have the ability to get the racket on the ball and get the ball over the net, you’re good enough to get the physical benefit out of playing tennis. You just have to make sure that you’re moving instead of just standing in one spot. Run after the ball. Pretend you’re a top ranked women’s tennis player. Serena Williams? Maria Sharapova? Ana Ivanovic? Whichever WTA player you admire, pretend that is who you are. Or better yet pretend that is who you’re playing and you have the skill to match her level. It’s about getting a good workout without feeling the torture of “working out”. You’re out there to have fun. So have fun. And in the process, burn up to 1000 calories.
From livestrong – the exact number of calories you’ll burn during a two-hour singles tennis game depends on your current weight, gender and the amount of intensity you put into your match play. The American Dietetic Association estimates recreational players can burn 600 to 1,320 calories per two-hour singles sessions while competitive players can burn between 768 to 1,728 calories. (livestrong)
Go for a run on the beach
You’ll probably not want to be wearing jeans and a turtleneck sweater, but a run on the beach can be calming and effective for burning off some of those calories from your cookies, cake and ice cream. If you’re not accessible to a beach then by all means go running in the park or on the track field at the local college if there is one. Any place where you’re safe from traffic or other impediments and dangers will do. Bring along some music for distraction.
How many calories you burn running will depend on your weight, how many miles you ran and how long it took you to run those miles. As an alternative to going out running you can just jump on your treadmill if you have one. If your treadmill is setup near a television turn on a 2 hour movie and stay on the treadmill for the duration of the film.
Turn on some music and dance or freestyle exercise in your living room
Dancing is one of the easiest and most fun ways to burn calories. If you hate exercising, dancing is a good alternative to doing nothing. You could also freestyle exercise to music which simply means you do your own off-the-top-of-your-head workout for at least 1 hour, preferably 2.
Not interested in dancing and can’t come up with your own workout routine?
Do 10 sets each of the following
- 20 jumping jacks
- 10 push-ups
- 10 plank jumps
- 10 squats
- 10 jab hook combinations
- 10 alternating front kicks
- 10 alternating side kicks
- 10 jab hook combinations
- 10 burpees
- 20 situps
At approximately 3 minutes and 30 seconds per set, 10 sets should take you just over 30 minutes. You will have done at the end:
- 200 jumping jacks
- 100 push-ups
- 100 plank jumps
- 100 squats
- 200 jab hook combinations
- 100 alternating front kicks
- 100 alternating side kicks
- 100 burpees
- 200 situps
Any of these methods should be good for helping you to recover from your over indulgence so that you are able to still fit in your jeans tomorrow.
Have fun working out!