The dreaded belly bloat. Your stomach aches, feels full, tight, and sometimes even painful and swollen. You've probably experienced it at some point.
Often referred to as a "trouble area," your body's midsection takes the brunt of what you eat and drink each day.
It grumbles when you neglect it, aches when you overfeed it, and bloats, sometimes for what seems like no reason at all.
Belly bloat may seem like a mystery or something you're doomed to manage for a lifetime, until you learn these 7 simple tips to prevent bloat so you can enjoy more feel good days!
7 Ways To Banish Belly Bloat:
Stay hydrated.
The Institute of Medicine suggests 13 cups a day for men and 9 cups daily for women. Water helps flush out toxins, keep things moving (if you know what I mean) aiding us in both digestion and absorption, and helps to regulate our body temperature.
When we are properly hydrated we just plain feel better!
Skip the salt.
Salt is a common waistline saboteur... not to mention a huge contributor to belly bloat! Salt in the foods you eat and beverages you drink can cause you to retain fluid, making you feel puffy, bloated and downright uncomfortable. The recommended daily amount of sodium is just 1,500 mg, yet most Americans consume nearly double that! each day
Skip the salt and try some herbs and spices instead. Scan food labels of convenience foods and notice the salt per serving size and look for lower added salt options. Curious how much salt you might be getting? Try tracking your dietary intakes for 24 hours in a free dietary tracker such as MyFitnessPal - the results are often quite eye opening!
Increase your fiber.
Fruits and veggies are not only a great source of essential vitamins and minerals but dietary fiber too! Fiber promotes healthy regularity, gut health, lowers cholesterol, controls blood sugar, and helps you maintain a healthy waistline.
How much fiber do you need? The daily recommendation for adults ages 50 and younger is 38g for men and 25g for women, for adults 51 and older these decrease slightly to 30 and 21 respectively.
Stay away from the bubbles.
Sodas, seltzers and other bubbly beverages trap carbonation in your belly, causing that puffy and bloated feeling. Limiting the amount of these types of beverages can also save you on added sugars, salt and other chemical additives and preservatives that may show up on your waistline. Try swapping the bubbly stuff for good old water with some fresh sliced citrus. Not only will you support healthy hydration, but many of those fruits and veggies provide de-bloating properties too!
Slow it down.
If you're eating in such a hurry that you scarf down your food barely even tasting it, that's bad news for your belly. Not only does your brain and belly struggle to keep up with how much you're eating, which means you're also more prone to overeats, while gulping down a bunch of air too. Translation: uncomfortable belly bloat.
Practice slowing down and thoroughly chewing your food. Tricks like setting your fork down between bites and taking a sip of water with your meal will not only help you reduce your risk of choking, support healthy digestion and aid in nutrient absorption, you'll also increase meal satisfaction, reinforce more mindful eating habits and truly enjoy the sights, smells and flavors of your food.
Keep it simple.
As a general rule, the more processed a food something is, the more likely you're going to feel (and see) the effects of it on your body. Foods that offer natural probiotics, such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha can help keep your digestive system in check, and in turn keep the belly bloat at bay.
Enjoying potassium rich foods, like almonds, bananas, kiwi and avocado, can help reduce (and even prevent) bloating by balancing electrolytes and minimizing painful water retention.
Experiencing a bit of tummy upset and bloat? Try sipping on peppermint or ginger tea or add some sliced cucumber, lemon and fresh mint to your water. These ingredients have been shown to help settle the stomach and relieve belly bloat!
Get moving.
Exercise: it really does get everything moving. When you feel puffy and bloated the last thing you may feel like doing is getting up and exercising, but that's when you're body often needs it most!
And you don't need to jump into a high intensity workout to reap the benefits. Just a light walk around the block can do wonders for relieving bloat and inflammation.
Bottom line - if you're noticing that your belly has been feeling achey, swollen, or just downright uncomfortable it may be time to stop and take stock of your daily routine. When we take a moment to reflect on our daily habits we are often able to see some contributing patterns. Gobbling up lunch in a hurry? Consuming a fair amount of carbonated drinks? Skimping on water? Too many foods high in salt? Once you have determined a few underlying patterns you can use that information to make some meaningful dietary tweaks and empower more happy belly days! If you have made healthy swaps and can't seem to ditch the symptoms, it may be time to see your doctor to out rule any contributing health conditions.
Are you tired of starting over every Monday, hopping from diet to diet, wondering if you'll ever get it "right" so that you can lose the weight and become the best version of you? I’ve got you friend! Come join me inside my FREE women’s-only Facebook community: Eat Better with Coach Mindy. It's for busy women like you who are ready to lose weight, gain energy, get healthy and fit -- without restrictive diets or punishing food rules.
