Aerobic exercise after meals

How much and what you eat, how basic your daily exercise is, and the intensity you choose is right. Even moving just after eating is more comfortable than lying down.

Last summer, when I first became obsessed with running, I stepped into a big hole. After eating a large bowl of braised beef noodles with braised eggs at night, I wiped my mouth, put on my running shoes and rushed to the playground to run 5 kilometers. After less than 1 kilometer, I squatted on the roadside and coughed. I was in tears and had acid reflux in my mouth. I thought I had a stomach bug at the time. Later, I asked a team doctor I knew well and found out that gastric emptying is slow due to solid foods high in fat and carbohydrates. It was strange that I had to increase the intensity as soon as I started.

Now, whether in the medical or fitness circles, there are two completely defensible opinions on this matter. Conservative gastroenterologists generally recommend waiting at least 30 minutes to an hour before moving. The basis is also very solid: Under normal circumstances, the stomach needs 2-3 hours of blood supply support to digest solid food. If you suddenly do high-intensity exercise, a large amount of blood will flow to the skeletal muscles, and the gastrointestinal blood supply will drop by more than 70%. Mild indigestion, gas, and acid reflux can easily lead to chronic gastrointestinal diseases in the long run. This statement is originally intended for ordinary people who usually do not exercise much and always like to eat until they are full. There is no problem at all.

But people who often come into contact with endurance athletes must have seen another scene that is completely opposite: many marathon runners are still chewing energy gels and drinking sports drinks 10 minutes before the race. During the run, they also stuff bananas and swallow salt pills at aid stations, and they have not seen gastroptosis. The essence is that long-term training has made their bodies adapt to the distribution of blood supply during exercise, and they consume small-molecule carbohydrates that are easy to digest, and the gastric emptying speed is fast, which basically does not cause any burden on the gastrointestinal tract.

Uncle Wang, the security guard downstairs in my company, is even more interesting. He wipes his mouth after lunch and walks around the parking lot every day. He has been walking for almost ten years. The last time he had a physical examination at work, his blood sugar was more stable than many young people born in 1995. He never waited for the "half-hour prime time". He walked slowly and stopped to chat with acquaintances he met. He never said he had an upset stomach. Last week, a young girl who just joined the company believed the saying on the Internet that "walking immediately after a meal will cause gastroptosis". After eating, she was paralyzed at her workstation for 40 minutes. When she got up, her waist was sore, and it was not as comfortable as walking around twice before.

If you really want to practice it, there is no need to memorize the online time standards at all, just be sure of your own status. If you have just finished eating hot pot, barbecue, or snail noodles, which are high in oil and spicy, and you are still full, then don’t say anything and just sit down and watch short videos for half an hour. Don’t try to do Pamela or run intervals, otherwise you will be the only one who vomits in the middle and is embarrassed. If you just had a half-full home-cooked meal, or a light snack such as a salad or an egg sandwich that is easy to digest, then you can move as much as you want after the meal, walk slowly, stand against the wall, or even ride a slow-speed shared bicycle to buy an iced Americano.

If you have the habit of exercising more than three times a week and want to do moderate-intensity aerobics, such as jogging, aerobics, climbing, etc., then wait 15 to 20 minutes until the food in your stomach is almost digested before starting. Lower the intensity for the first 5 minutes and slowly warm up, and there will basically be no problem. Now I sometimes eat an apple and a protein bar after get off work, and then go to the gym to climb a 40-minute hill after a 10-minute break. I have never been short of breath, and my fat-burning efficiency is not much worse than training on an empty stomach.

By the way, to dispel rumors, there is currently no clinical evidence to prove that mild postprandial activities can cause gastroptosis. Gastroptosis is more related to the innate anatomy and abdominal wall muscle relaxation, and it really has nothing to do with the two thousand steps you take after meals.

To put it bluntly, the purpose of exercise is to make yourself comfortable. There is no need to force yourself to move just to make up for the claim that "fat burning is more efficient after meals", and there is no need to stick to the rigid rule of "you must wait for one hour". You can do it however you feel comfortable. If you don't feel uncomfortable and can persevere, it is better than any professional standard.