Banish Bloating + Portion Size
Banish the Bloat
Fill Up On Fiber
Bloating can be caused by digestive issues. Fiber is a great way to support digestive function and it keeps you feeling satiated. Fiber may cause bloating initially, so add it slowly at first to let your body adjust.
Wet Your Wistle
When you feel like you are retaining water, sometimes the instinct is to stop drinking liquids. But the best way to flush your body out is to hydrate. Avoid sugary drinks or caffeine and try to drink 8 glasses of pure water daily. Once your body has restored equilibrium, you’ll start to release the excess fluid. Consuming natural diuretics, such as asparagus, parsley, and celery, will help to gently rid you of water weight.
Food Alert
Bloating could be a reaction to a food intolerance. Keep a food log and note what you are eating when you experience bloating. Common culprits are gluten and dairy. Your healthcare professional can also help you to get a food allergy test to determine what foods cause reactions in your body.
Natural Remedies
Some foods and spices are natural digestion aids. Try ginger, mint, chamomile, fennel seeds, turmeric, or lemon to soothe your tummy, before or after meals. Eating potassium rich foods helps to regulate the fluid balance in your body, keeping you from retaining water. Try bananas, cantaloupe, and spinach. Finally, try a good quality probiotic supplement to promote healthy digestion.
Eat Smart
There are simple things you can do while eating to improve digestion, such as eating slowly and chewing thoroughly. Also eat smaller meals, and drink beverages at room temperature.
Work It Out
Take a 15-20 minute walk after a big meal to assist digestion. Try gentle yoga poses, such as child’s pose, wind removing pose, and seated twists to reduce bloating. Abdominal exercises can stimulate the removal of gas, helping to reduce bloating.
Portion Sense
Many food advertisements promote products by telling you the foods are under 100, 200, 300, etc calories. But when you take a box of cereal home, are you only eating a 1/2 cup serving? How about just 5 crackers? We often consume more calories than we realize, by not paying attention to portions.
Read the Label
Check the nutrition facts before you purchase or before you serve yourself. The serving size that the manufacturer lists can be surprisingly small. That’s often because they want to tout their product as having as few calories as possible.
Dole out a single portion
We’ve said it before: don’t snack straight out of the bag. If you’re treating yourself to chips, take out the 10-12 in a serving and close up the bag.
Get measuring
If you really want to know what an ounce of cheese is, get a kitchen scale. Measuring cups and spoons are a great way to control your portions. We’re often so used to glasses and cups being large, that we don’t realize what an actual 1 cup serving looks like.