How To Reduce Bloating + Foods That Cause Gas And Bloating

Have you ever felt like you have a balloon trapped in your belly?

Have you felt like you are going to explode, right after having a meal?

Have you ever found yourself googling “how to reduce bloating?”

If you answered yes to at least one, you experienced bloating.

Welcome aboard with the rest of us experiencing bloating every now and then – spoiler alert: it’s not a happy place.

The truth is, everybody bloats differently, but there’s one thing that stands for all of us – bloating is normal to a certain degree and we all bloat.

Even perfectly healthy girls, fit girls, and athletes are dealing with bloating on a daily basis and they’re starting to be more and more open about it and sharing their stories.

I bloat too.
Even though I eat healthy all the time and follow the Radiate Program daily, yet I bloat on a daily basis.

That’s why today we’re talking all about what causes bloating and gas, which are the foods that cause gas and bloating, and finally how the heck can we get rid of bloating fast and definite?!

Frustrated and tired of experiencing it myself, I did a research on every single thing about bloating and you’re just about to get all of your bloating questions ANSWERED.

Let’s get started right away!

The Video

I explain it all in detail in the video over on my YouTube channel, so you can check it out there too.

What The Heck Is Bloating?

Bloating is a condition that happens when your gastrointestinal tract is filled with air or gas.

Basically, if you feel like you have a balloon trapped inside your belly, chances are you’re bloated.

But how does bloating happen?!

Food travels from your mouth to your belly, into your small intestine and finally into the large intestine.

Your large intestine is where the food gets broken down by bacteria.
The bacteria releases gas to break down the food.

It also needs extra water in order to push through the food.
This combo of gas and extra water is what leads to bloated belly.

That’s the main reason we feel like tubes filled with air – because of, well, DIGESTION.

And what’s even more frustrating is that most of the time I have no idea what I did wrong to get bloated.

Even fit girls and athletes are dealing with it on a daily basis and they can’t do anything about it.

The truth is, bloating can happen for a number of different reasons, that don’t include food, such as water retention, hormones, and stress… and we’ll get to all of them in just a few seconds.

With so much info nowadays, and so many girls dealing with this same problem, we now know plenty of ways to fix it when it happens and prevent it from happening in the first place.

We’re diving in right away!

The Difference Between Bloating and Belly Fat

I was so confused when I first started bloating.

Especially at the beginning, it was super hard for me to distinguish the difference between belly fat and bloating.

I honestly thought that I had belly fat, and was struggling to figure out what am I doing wrong in terms of my diet
Spoiler alert: it was bloating.

And although there is a huge difference between these two, it can be pretty hard to determine which one you have.

That’s why I made a list for you with the ways you can determine whether you have belly fat, or you are bloated.

Here it is:

Why Do We Bloat?

What Causes Bloating And Gas

To determine how to reduce bloating, we have to learn what causes gas and bloating in the first place.

As I mentioned before, bloating can happen for a number of reasons.

Here are the most common reasons we bloat.

Eating Too Fast

We’re all in hurry, I know, and we are all hungry AF sometimes and we just can’t help ourselves from wolfing down our meals.

However, eating too fast can cause bloating.

And trapped air isn’t the only trigger here.
When we eat too fast we’re not chewing thoroughly and that leads to bigger pieces of food just sitting inside your gut waiting to be digested.

Not to mention that eating too fast can cause overheating, which is another reason why we may experience bloating in the first place.

Eating Salty Food

Bloating isn’t always caused because of gas – it can be caused because of water retention.

And unfortunately, water retention is even harder to alleviate than gas.

Eating salty or sodium-rich foods is the reason your body retains water in the first place.

This means that foods packed with sodium will cause your body to retain fluid, predominantly around your abdomen, and leave us feeling like a balloon ready to explode. 

Eating Highly Processed Foods

Starting from sweets and all sorts of unhealthy desserts such as cakes, donuts, and ice cream, to fast foods that are filled with fats such as burgers, pizzas, chips…

They can all cause bloating and gas.

Not only they’re bad for our health and fitness overall, but they cause water retention and bloating.

*** Check out my meal plan, and start eating healthy today! ***

Alcohol and Bubbly Drinks

Starting from alcohol to any kind of soda and carbonated drinks can cause bloating.

Those same bubbles that give soda that bubbly sensation also causes your stomach to swell.

Even sparkling water… After I stopped drinking alcohol a few years ago, I started drinking sparkling water on a daily basis.

It caused me to experience bloating on a daily basis.

But, Eating Healthy Foods Too

Even healthy food can cause bloating, especially foods such as:

• Beans and lentils.
• Asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and other vegetables.
• Fructose, a natural sugar found in artichokes, onions, pears, wheat, and some soft drinks.

Even though these foods are extremely good for our health,  they can cause bloating.

Everybody is different, and what causes me to bloat, may be good to go for you.

Make sure to learn about the foods that cause you to have gas and bloating and avoid them.

They may vary from one person to another, so find your trigger foods.

Food Intolerance

You may experience bloating as a warning sign of food intolerance, such as Coeliac disease caused by intolerance of gluten.

This reaction to gluten used to be mainly ­diagnosed in children, but it’s now known that it can be triggered later in life.

Also, lactose intolerance can be another reason.

To make sure this is not what causes bloating and gas, talk to your doctor.

@danaemercer

Blame It On The Hormones

This is the reason I bloat each month and I can’t do anything about it – ovulation and menstrual cycle.

I hate it.

Bloating generally is a monthly occurrence for me and always follows a certain pattern, once when I ovulate and once just a few days before I get my cycle.

And I’m certainly not alone – women all around the world who are menstruating know all about bloat.

This happens because fluctuating hormones promote fluid retention, so as the estrogen levels rise and the uterus lining thickens, the belly holds onto the liquid.

Bloated Stomach Relief SOS

How To Reduce Bloating Fast

Here’s the good news:

There are so many effective remedies that can help you get rid of bloating fast.

Here are some of the most effective fast bloated stomach reliefs:

Drink A Glass Of Hot Water

Water itself helps in keeping your digestive system moving.

So, whenever I feel like I’m going to have bloat, I just refill my water bottle with water and make sure to empty it in the next 30 minutes.

Hot water helps digestion even more, so if you’re in pain or need to get rid of bloating fast try having a glass of hot water instead.

Check out my Morning Rituals to learn more about the healthy habits that keep me fit.

Have a Cup Of Herbal Tea

Peppermint tea is the one that works best for me.

Peppermint is proven to help relieve digestive symptoms, such as gas, bloating and indigestion.
It relaxes your digestive system and can ease pain.
It also prevents smooth muscles from contracting, which could relieve spasms in your gut. 

Chamomile tea has also been proven to be an effective bloated stomach relief.

Just make sure you have your cup of tea unsweetened.

Have Some Ginger

Adding ginger to your everyday diet is a good thing when it comes to speeding up digestion.

Ginger can also be of immediate help too when it comes to bloating and gas too.

Shred it, squeeze a few drops of lemon and have it whenever you want to get rid of bloating fast.

Include Probiotics In Daily Diet

If you’re having any trouble with your intestine, probiotics may help.

Probiotics are made out of strains of bacteria that actually help your gut flora stay healthy.

They also help restore your gut flora balance and help get your bloating under control.

However, again it differs from one person to another.

While it may be working for some, it may do nothing for other people.

The good thing about probiotics however, is that there are not really side effects of taking it, so it could be worth the try.

Take a Walk

Or a jog.

I know it’s hard to do this with all that gas trapped inside your belly, not to mention the possibility that your bloating is painful.

However, taking a walk or having any kind of physical activity, even hitting the gym is probably one of the most effective ways to reduce bloating immediately.

Taking a brisk walk for at least 20-30 minutes or jogging is by my experience a helpful way to reduce bloating and gas.

Stretch

Yoga is so effective when it comes to bloating, especially poses and stretches like child pose that helps you open things up a little bit.

They feel really comfortable and relieving.

It’s also going to increase circulation in the torso, and therefore, the organs that are working to digest.

As we mentioned before, water retention is a big cause of bloat, but if it’s just a buildup of air, stretching can help release it.

Especially poses like the child pose and happy baby pose – try them out!

How To Reduce Bloating On The Long Run

Fast fix-ups will help you get rid of bloating in the moment, but won’t prevent bloating from happening in the future.

If you want to solve bloating for good and prevent it from happening in the future, you’ll need to work on your eating habits and your lifestyle. 

Let’s get started!

Focus On Eating Healthy

Focusing on eating healthy foods can help you get rid of bloating on the long run.

In fact, having a healthy diet, loaded with fibers, healthy carbs, proteins and healthy fats is what your gut needs to function properly.

There so much we still don’t know about bloating and gas, so an elimination diet may work, but is not the smartest way to go.

Instead focus on just eating healthy foods.

If you want to clean your diet and start eating healthy, head on to my meal plan NOW!

Avoid Highly Processed & Sugary Foods

As I said before simply switching to a healthier diet won’t solve the bloating problem.

Avoiding fast food, sweets and all kinds of junks loaded with sodium, sugars, and bad fats.

Learn Which Foods Cause Bloating For You

Even the healthiest foods can cause bloating, so make sure to spot the foods that cause bloating and gas for you.

As I said earlier, lot of vegetables and fruits will cause bloating for most of us.

Especially extremely healthy foods such as beans and lentils, even vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower will cause gas in the intestine and result with bloating.

Try avoiding these foods, be careful when consuming them, and change them with alternatives such as spinach, cucumbers, lettuce, sweet potatoes and zucchini.

Fiber can help bloating, but too much fiber can be the reason we bloat too.

Also, wheat, barley and rye – even though you may not be intolerant to gluten, your digestive system may experience troubles breaking down these grains.

Reduce Alcohol and Carbonated Drinks

They tend to cause all sorts of problems to your body including digesting issues and will result with the “beer belly”.

They contain both gas (carbon dioxide) and fermentable carbs, two well-known causes of bloating.

Also sugar itself is not health and digestion-friendly food, so avoiding it is a win-win for both your health and your bloating.

Exercise And Stretch

Exercise will help you maintain a healthy life, fasten your metabolism and get rid of bloating.

On days that I do the Radiate program my bloating is so much better.

You can try it out yourself, I just posted the first day on YouTube, so head on to check it out:

Try it out and see if you like it or not.

You can sign up for my full workout program here!

Even If You Do Everything Right, You Still May Experience Bloating

You’re Not Alone

No you’re not!

We’re all together on that same struggle bus.

How to reduce bloating, may be a tough question for many girls out there.

And even if you do everything right, you still may experience bloating.

AND THAT’S TOTALLY OKAY.

I know it’s not that helpful just knowing you’re not alone, but go ahead and meet all these girls out there experiencing bloating on a daily basis too.

They may found something that works for them and may as well work for you.

Here’re just a few of them…

Jelly Devote is a fit chick and a real inspiration.

She always makes me feel better with her honest posts about bloating.

Also Rachael Back she talked about the holiday bloat and feeling quilt afterward.

And Christina Basil, that had the courage to post this photo of her being bloated AF.

Share This With Your Friends!

Girl, you’re most certainly not alone on your bloating journey.

You can’t even imagine how many girls out there, even your close friends and family, deal with this same problem on a daily basis.

Most of them haven’t even detected the problem yet and have no idea how to reduce bloating.

So, make sure to share this article with them, to help them detect their bloating problem and finally manage to keep it under control.

And last, but not least, STOP feeling insecure, stop feeling vulnerable, ugly and fat.

What you are feeling is normal. This is how being a human feels like.

Don’t let society or anyone else make you feel you need to look a certain way to be beautiful, because you are beautiful inside and out.
You just have to find your balance.

Till next time babes.
xo,

If you like my article ‘How To Reduce Bloating + Foods That Cause Gas And Bloating’ don’t forget to share them with your friends!