Too much of a good thing. Why you feel so lousy after a huge holiday meal

2,000 cal.                                                                                                 700 cal.
Pecan pie; Egg nog; Sweet potatoes with marshmallows            Salad with romaine, carrots, croutons;
and pecans; Cornbread stuffing; Cranberry sauce;                       Broccoli with 1 pat butter;
Mini croissant; Green bean casserole; Mashed potatoes            Baked chicken breast; Brown rice;
with gravy; Baked ham; Red wine.                                                    White wine.

You know you’re full. Close to bursting, actually. You never would have piled your plate like that on a regular day, and you certainly wouldn’t finish it off.

But it’s the holidays, and it would be rude not to try every dish, and it all tastes so good, and some of it is healthful, and what the heck — pass the pie!

Research has proved what we already know: Our brains can easily override our bodies' signals to stop eating, even when we know the consequences will be unpleasant.

We’re not even talking about obesity, heart disease, diabetes or effects of long-term, habitual overeating. This is about the short-term awfulness that can follow a high-fat, high-calorie holiday free-for-all.

Survey says

More than 2,000 MyFitnessPal users told us how they approached holiday eating. Here’s what they said:

What is your food philosophy during the holidays?

I allow myself a few treats1,669 I stick to my routine 254

 I splurge 229

What is your biggest holiday splurge?

Snacks 711 Drinks 251

Entrees and sides 614 Desserts 531

Do you exercise more during the holidays to work off the extra calories?

 Yes, I burn it all! 217

Some, 1,388 No, I take a break, 504

There is no such thing as an average dinner, said registered dietitian Jennifer McDaniel of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, but a varied meal of 600 to 800 calories fits nicely into the 2,000-calorie daily diet referenced on nutrition labels.

But a holiday dinner can easily approach or exceed 2,000 calories by itself, especially if you dig into the appetizers before dinner and wash it all down with a couple of glasses of wine. (One estimate put a typical holiday dinner as high as 4,500 calories, but that would be extremely difficult for most stomachs to stomach.)

Even nutrition-conscious dieters tend to give themselves a pass at the end of the year. In a November survey of MyFitnessPal app users that was done for The Post, 88 percent said they plan to relax their food rules at least a little during the holidays, and 10 percent said they planned to chuck the rules entirely.

How the foodfest sits with you depends on your genes, your body composition, your system’s response to certain hormones and your regular eating and exercise habits, said McDaniel.

For instance, regular exercisers who work out 12 or fewer hours before a big meal fare better than others. Their bodies tend to have a more sensitive insulin response, allowing them to more efficiently process the excess carbs, and a more robust circulatory system to weather the influx of fat circulating in blood. What can you do after the deed is done? Don’t lie down, or many of these problems may be exacerbated. Helping to clean up the post-dinner mess would be a 170-calorie-per-hour head start on recovering from the feast.

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I ate all that. Now what?

One ridiculous meal won’t make you fat, but it can make you — and those around you — uncomfortable. Here’s what happens.

WINDED

An overstuffed stomach can push up into the diaphragm, which encroaches into the lungs’ territory. They can’t fully expand, and you get short of breath.

GREEN

Nausea may kick in if you’re eating fast and not chewing thoroughly. Extra food, especially greasy or unfamiliar dishes, can upset the stomach, releasing chemicals that trigger nausea or even diarrhea.

DROWSY

The avalanche of food sends the digestive system into overdrive, slowing other functions. Insulin and other hormones are released to break up the carbs. Blood sugar spikes, then plummets.

HEART-UNHEALTHY

The digestive system hogs more than its share of blood, making your heart work harder. Triglycerides stick to blood vessel walls. The function of cells and blood vessels declines and heart-attack risk increases.

BLOATED AND GASSY

As you scarf food and drinks (especially fizzy beverages), you swallow excess air. In addition, gut bacteria produce extra gas as they break down sugars and starches. It’s gotta come out somehow.

CHILLY

Blood rushing to the digestive system abandons less critical areas such as other muscles and skin, so some people feel cold.

TEMPORARILY HEAVY

How much did that food weigh? Two pounds? Three? The sheer weight of what you just shoveled in can make you feel sluggish, especially if you don’t eat that much very often.

PERMANENTLY HEAVY

After the first 750 calories or so, your body begins to store a larger percentage of food as fat. A 2000 study found that the average adult gains a pound during each holiday season, and many never lose it.

From Washington Post