Picture this: You have decided to lay off the booze for a while. All on your own. No gun touched your temple, not even a little. No money left your wallet to pay someone because they bet on you not being able to go through with it. You decided this all on your own. All for your own good.

For almost two weeks, you braved the withdrawal symptoms like a champ. You know, lethargy, sugar cravings, crazy hunger pangs… Heck, you even accepted the slight weight gain that you were witnessing  (helplessly) occur around your waistline like a champ. And like a champ you vowed to work it all off. What is a challenge? You are badass and you know it!

Then about 3 weeks later, you went to bed on a Sunday. Stuffed and fresh. Everything was ok. I mean, you are now used to this ‘no booze’ lifestyle. Everything has even gone back to normal. You are healthier, you are thinking clearly and going out to the pub on a Friday to cause damage to your liver and wallet does not even cross your mind. And then on Monday morning you wake up needing coffee, wondering why your housemate is banging doors, wanting the neighbor’s kid to stop wailing and fighting the urge to grab a stapler and staple the edges of the curtains so that no light whatsoever gets into your bedroom, because you are HUNGOVER!!

You know how brutal hangovers are… You feel like you’ve been run over by a bus, then a train. Any peep of light feels like someone is shining a floodlight directly in your face. And there’s always something weighing about 50lbs on your head, it could be a 6-year-old boy. (Why does he always choose to stand on your head?) Oh gosh! And your breath? Your own breath smells like you may have sipped a little from the sewage!  And you look and feel like this guy below, and you’re a woman!

 

Now you understand why it is a very strange thing, when you go to bed sober and wake up with symptoms that usually make you rethink your life choices. When you wake up feeling like this and you didn’t engage in any alcohol drinking  the previous day, don’t worry… you’re not sick and you’re not dying and you definitely do not have to go and see a doctor because you fear you may be the pioneer of a deadly disease. This is what happened to your body and why you are hung over while sober…

You indulged in sugary or salty junk food!

The hangover symptoms you are experiencing is due to your gut trying to break down fat and sodium.

The thing is, it can take up to 12 hours for your gut to break down fat and at this point, it is also important to note that large amounts of salt causes your gastrointestinal tract to draw water out of your body. This results in dehydration which then makes you get headaches and feelings of lethargy.

So what’s the cure for this junk food-induced hangover?

It’s simple, drink some water.  Don’t chug it, just drink it!

Also, next time after indulging in fatty, salty food… make sure to drink plenty of water at least an hour before you go to bed. This water will help keep you hydrated and will further aid in digestion even while you sleep.

Also, assume you have that other kind of hangover and obey your body. Take a nap. This will help rest and relax your gut. You will wake up feeling so much better!