6 Surprising Things That Happen to Your Body After You Overeat

We all know the long-term effects of overeating, such as weight gain, diabetes, and shorter lifespan. However, do you know what happens to your body immediately after overeating?

It’s okay to occasionally overeat during the holidays and special occasions. But doing it every other day can add inches to your waistline and ruin your health. If you struggle with overeating, I encourage you to talk to a therapist or a doctor who deals eating disorders. You may also want to use these tricks to overcome overeating.

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU OVEREAT

1. Blood sugar levels skyrocket.

Most people assume that only carbs raise blood sugar levels. The truth is all foods raises your blood sugar. However, processed and simple carbs cause the highest spikes. When we overeat, our blood sugar levels rise. This forces the body to produce lots of insulin in order to transfer the blood sugar into the liver, muscles and fat cells.

If you overeat regularly, your blood sugar levels will always be elevated, which can increase risk of diabetes. Additionally, your cells may become less responsive to insulin, which may also cause diabetes. 

2. Metabolism rises.

This is a good thing, right? Not really. The increase in metabolism from overeating doesn’t aid weight loss. Your metabolism will only increase in an attempt to burn off the excess calories you’ve consumed. It will drop back to normal soon after the food is digested.

3. Belly gets bloated.

We swallow air as we eat food, and the more food we eat, the more air we swallow. Once this air gets into the digestive tract, it forces the stomach to expand, which makes us feel bloated. Many people who overeat also drink carbonated drinks and this worsens the bloating.

4. Overeating may trigger heartburn.

When we overeat, the esophagus (the tube that passes food from the mouth into the stomach) doesn’t close. As a result, stomach juices and food can move up your esophagus and cause heartburn.

Note that foods that take longer to digest – such as potato chips and other fried foods – are more likely to cause heartburn.

5. Nausea kicks in.

You may start to feel nauseous after overeating. When you overeat, the body produces more leptin (the satiety hormone) than normal, and this may leave you feeling nauseated.

It’s worth mentioning that overeating regularly can cause leptin resistance, which makes it harder to recognize when you’re full.

6. Your organs are overworked.

Our organs have to work harder than normal when we overeat. The pancreas has to produce more insulin, the liver has to process more glucose, and the stomach has to produce extra digestive enzymes.

Overworking these organs can cause tiredness and fatigue. This is one of the reasons we feel sleepy after overeating.