Eating comes with such unique patterns for each of us, but maybe you’ve observed this one too: If I eat a light dinner, perhaps some yogurt and cereal, I feel normal after waking up in the morning. Not full, not hungry. But if I eat a big meal, my stomach feels empty upon waking. It’s growling, even. How can this be?
Logic says after a filling dinner my calories should be covered, right? So why would my body be complaining? I don’t know the “proper” explanation, of which I’m sure there are many, but my theory is simple enough: Small meal, small digestive effort. After a feast, however, the stomach must kick digestion into high gear to churn through all the food.
Once that machine is up and running, it keeps going. Like a train, it’s hard to stop it when in motion. Digestion overperforms, absorbs all food, then keeps digesting away. But now, it’s out of material! Where is more stuff to digest? That’s when your stomach sends you “I’m hungry” signals, even if, from a caloric perspective, you don’t need any food.
In other words, digestion comes with a lag, and if you don’t account for it, you might feel there’s something wrong with you. Actually, you’re fine. Lag is natural. It’s part of countless processes.
Take stepping on the scale. Weight, too, comes with a lag. I often get lighter after one of those heavy meals, even if I don’t feel it. Meanwhile, a day of dieting might send the scale right up. Add an extra day or two, however, and my weight trends back in the expected direction given the past few days’ eating habits.
Even if you’ve been working hard towards a big goal for years, it might simply have a long lag. Unlike in eating, however, you can’t always suss out the lag’s exact timing. Sometimes, the lag is simply a pattern you must live with, even if you don’t fully understand it. This can be frustrating, but it can also be a source of hope: If all you’re doing is waiting for the lag to clear, it’s almost always too soon to give up.
Look for the lag. Try to determine it where you can. But even where you can’t, account for it. Most likely, something beautiful is happening. You’ll just have to wait and see a bit longer. Embrace the lag.
