Do you find yourself after an amazing meal wishing you could have eaten more? During Thanksgiving did you find yourself missing out on other dishes because your stomach simply couldn’t handle another bite? Believe it or not, there are five simple steps that you can take to allow yourself to eat more than the normal person can consume. These steps are easy and will have you ready for Christmas dinner and all future holidays.

1.) Stretch out those stomach muscles.

Treat eating a big meal like you would running a 5K. You need to prepare your body and warm up your stomach to expand it. The week before a big holiday you should eat three meals a day and serve your self a larger portion than normal. By doing this, you are getting your stomach use to larger servings of food, and so on the day you’ve been waiting for you can have more than enough of every dish.

2.) Wear loose clothing.

This tip may be more on the obvious side but it is still an important one. Men, pull out the gym clothes and ladies put on the stretchy leggings and yoga pants. Jeans and tight shirts will only prevent you from the doing the one thing that really matters, eating. By allowing your stomach to expand outwards without restriction you can maintain a more comfortable position, therefore allowing yourself to eat more.

3.) Don’t starve yourself the day of.

A big mistake that most people do the day of the big meal is not eating all day. This may seem like a good plan as you are making sure your stomach stays empty, when in reality you are ruining your stomach's ability to retain large amounts of food. By not eating all day you are shrinking your stomach, furthermore, you will eat too quickly and fill up with appetizers which will upset your stomach and ruin your appetite. What you want to do is have a good breakfast, this warms up your stomach and gets your metabolism going. Then have a light lunch to keep your metabolism running so by dinner you are still hungry but can eat at a good pace.

4.) Pace yourself correctly.

The speed at which you eat plays a large role in the amount of food you can consume. The slower you eat the quicker you will fill up, this would probably be a good decision when trying to be on a diet, but not during the holidays. This is the time to eat more quickly, you need to be ahead of your stomach and so by eating at a faster pace you can fit more food in before you feel full. It is key not to overdo it on speed, as I said in step three, eating too quickly can cause stomach pains.

5.) Mentally push through.

My motto is, ‘Just because your full doesn’t mean you have to stop eating.” You can always push yourself to have one more plate. The holidays are the time for overeating, workout after, but in that moment allow yourself to go above and beyond. Embrace the food coma you are bound to get and wake up the next day feeling satisfied that you ate all you possibly could. And maybe consider getting a fitness trainer for the week…

Happy Holidays!