When this happens to kids at school after lunch or when you are out to dinner with friends, it can be embarrassing. But it is perfectly normal to have to poop after eating.
Meals high in fat or oversized (like a holiday meal) can speed up your digestive tract. For some, coffee is a poop instigator. The fancy name for having to poop after you eat is gastrocolic reflex which controls the movement of your digestive tract. Your stomach stretches after eating, which triggers the gastrocolic reflex to push food out of the colon to make room for the food you just ate. A common misconception is that you are not pooping out the food you just finished, but you are emptying out the remains of what has been digested earlier and is in your colon.
