Let’s be honest, no one likes to walk around being bloated, it’s unattractive and uncomfortable especially when prepping for a show or modelling for a shoot. The main reasons for bloating come down to what you’re eating, how you’re eating and how you’re feeling. These will be reviewed in more detail within this article but let’s start off by understanding what exactly bloating is?
Bloating occurs in your stomach when your gastrointestinal (GI) tract is filled with air or gas. When you are bloated, you feel as if you’ve eaten a big meal and there is no room left in your stomach. Your stomach feels full and tight and can be uncomfortable or painful.
Now that we got that out the way, let’s have a look at the key things you can do to eliminate bloating.
1. Limit foods causing bloating
This one sounds pretty straightforward, simply refrain from eating the foods that cause the problem. But the difficulty lies in that, these foods often taste the best and release dopamine in the brain, causing you to eat more unhealthy foods. Limiting such foods like dairy, sugars, soda, alcohol, refined carbs, artificial sweeteners and junk food, will help to reduce bloating within the body.
2. Eat foods rich in potassium
Sodium intake can greatly increase bloating in the body and water retention. Be sure to include potassium-rich foods into your diet plan such as spinach, nuts, beans, bananas, coconut water and yogurt. Eating these foods regularly will help to balance the sodium levels in your body and also keep the bloating down.
3. Improve your overall diet
The main focus here is to ensure your diet is providing you with the right nutrients and balance to not only improve your body but also your eating habits. Focus your diet around eating clean and unprocessed foods, eat more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, fish and high-fibre foods. Focusing on your diet and eating habits will go a long way in keeping you healthy and preventing you from eating unhealthy foods which lead to bloating.
You could also include protein supplements to increase your protein intake to aid in muscle repair and growth. Also, protein is excellent for satiation meaning, you feel fuller for longer. Less hunger means less snacking on unhealthy, salty or sugary snacks. Remember to use high-quality supplements such as steelsupplements.com and avoid low-quality imitations that will eventually do more harm than good.
4. Increase your water consumption
Staying hydrated throughout the day will help keep your digestive system running like clockwork. Water aids in digestion and speeds up your metabolism. A good rule of thumb is to drink a minimum of eight to ten glasses of water a day to ensure you stay hydrated throughout the day.
5. Add cardio to your schedule
Adding more cardiovascular activity in your week is a sure way to prevent or eliminate bloating. This is due to the loss of salts within the body through sweating which in turn helps to reduce the amount of water retention and bloating in the body.
An easy way to add more activity to your weekly schedule is to use a variety of low-impact cardio such as a brisk walk, cycling, stair-master or cross-trainer. These activities will help kick start the reduction in bloating and as an added bonus, help you to get your cardio in.
6. Stress Less
If you’re dealing with stress regularly, more than likely your cortisol levels are at an all-time high. This leads to problems in weight gain, water retention, high blood pressure, low energy and bloating.
Reducing stress can be done in a variety of ways such as getting enough sleep, enjoying a refeed day, taking a day off, mindfulness and eating a nutritious diet. Ensure you keep an eye on your stress levels to help reduce cortisol.
7. Sweat it out
If you want absolutely fast results then these measures will help you. The sauna, steam room, Epsom salt baths and exercising in a sweatsuit.
By spending some time in a sauna, filling a bathtub with Epsom salts or working out in a sweatsuit, will reduce bloating very fast. These methods can create dramatic results in a relatively short period of time, so pick one that suits you best.
Conclusion
Bloating can be a real pain especially when you can’t pinpoint the cause. Taking the time out to listen to your body and utilizing the tips above will certainly facilitate the process of eliminating that dreaded and unsightly belly bloat.
