Belly Bloat Cause #: Snacking On Protein Bars
“These bars often contain whey-protein concentrate or milk protein concentrate, which causes bloating in people who have trouble digesting lactose,” Freuman says. Others are made with soy protein concentrate, which can be gas-inducing because it’s a bean product and contains indigestible, fermentable carbs in addition to protein.
The belly bloat Rx: Look for bars with proteins that are typically easier to tolerate, like nut or rice proteins or whey protein isolate , which contains a higher percentage of pure protein and less lactose than other forms. “You may pay a little more, but it’s worth it,” Freuman says.
/6take An Epsom Salt Bath
Epsom is a powerful ingredient that can help deflate your lugging, bloating belly in a jiffy. The salt contains a strong dose of magnesium, which helps pull out the excess water content from the body and further help prevent the problem of water retention. Doing this activity can cut down the problem of bloating in an easy way. However, take precautions to avoid the problem of dehydration.
Pineapple Is My Favorite Way To Reverse A Bloated Belly
When it comes to bloating, pineapples shine. Theyre a rich source of bromelain, an enzyme that helps support protein digestion and soothe the digestive tract.
The core of the pineapple has the highest concentration of bromelain, so be sure your pineapple is ripe, which will soften the core. Or, use chunks of the core to make a smoothie or fresh juice.
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Reduce Water Retention: Get Rid Of Bloating With These Tips
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Do you struggle with annoying water retention? Well show you how to shed unnecessary water weight quickly!
Editors note: Are you a competitive athlete? Do you need to dehydrate your body quickly and over the short term in order to reach a certain weight? on Chapter 6 in the table of contents below and find out how athletes prepare for competitions!
You Dont Drink Enough Water
Ironically, drinking a lot of water helps prevent water retention. If you are even slightly dehydrated, your body will hold onto water versus shed it, Palinski-Wade says. Adequate hydration can help to promote water weight loss. Murphy says this is almost like an insurance policy to protect against dangerous levels of dehydration. Drinking water does help to flush out a persons system, she says. By replenishing the water within our body daily, it can help ensure the proper flow of blood and lymph . Murphy says to drink about one ounce per kilogram of body weightor take your weight in pounds, divide by two, and drink that many ounces of water per day. If you dont like the taste of water, try upping your intake of hydrating foods, like cucumber, watermelon, celery, cantaloupe, and broth-based soupsthen, take a look at these 13 genius tricks for staying hydrated.
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Choose Your Fruits And Veggies Wisely
Pretty much everything in the produce aisle is fair game health-wiseobviously whatever you find there will probably be better for you than the wares in the frozen food section. But certain fruits and vegetables can still make you feel as plumped up as pufferfish. Fruit like cherries, peaches, grapes, and mangoes can bloat you even though they have also have plenty of awesome nutritional benefits. “These fruits are healthy, but they naturally have a lot of sugar or sugar alcohols,” says Langer. When you’re trying to shrink down to your usual size, stock up on fruits like blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, and oranges, which have less sugar content. They also happen to be packed with water, which can help with the debloating action.
As for vegetables, cruciferous ones like brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower are loaded with raffinose, the same compound that produces gassiness when you eat beans, says Langer. What is gas but air trapped inside you, inflating you way more than you’d like and popping up at the least convenient moments? To get your vegetable fix while avoiding any potential troublemakers, nix the cruciferous ones and aim for veggies that have high water content, like cucumber and zucchini.
What Are The Symptoms Of Water Retention
There are many symptoms of water retention, but the swelling of your body parts, particularly ankles, feet and hands, and feeling stiff and ache are common ones. See below for more symptoms.
- Bloated stomach
- When pressed the skin may hold the indent for a few seconds
Swollen ankles, hands and feet can be symptoms of water retention
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Eat Several Small Meals
To keep your metabolism revving throughout the day, focus on small, protein- and fiber-packed snacks or small meals every 3 to 4 hours. You will not only burn more calories eating a series of smaller meals, but also avoid the afternoon crash and end of the workday slump.
Eat This! Tip: Use your smartphone or computer to remind you of these intervals. Some go-to healthy snack ideas include:
- Apple with peanut butter
Eat More Fiber And Avoid Refined Flour
Foods made with white flour like white bread, white pasta, and white rice are relatively low in fiber and may cause you to get a little, uh, backed up. Instead, opt for whole-grain varieties. A simple switch from white bread to whole wheat or from white rice to brown will keep things moving along smoothly.
High fiber foods that are free of indigestible fibers mentioned before include:
- Whole grain bread
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Why Do You Get A Bloated Stomach
Bloat sneaks up on you in surprising ways, depending on what you eat, certain habits you have, and even specific medical conditions. For example, bloating can be a result of digestive distress from eating certain foods , eating habits that cause you to take in more air, and even certain conditions such as a weak heart or being pregnant can all contribute to water retention.
Women can also retain water while they’re menstruating. Those who have irritable bowel syndrome can also experience uncomfortable bouts of bloating after eating foods that contain FODMAPS or during moments of stress.
How To Banish Bloat & Water Retention
Water retention occurs when fluid is held in the body, rather than being released as urine. Water retention can make you feel bloated and can occur in the legs, abdomen, ankles, breasts, fingers and even underneath the eyes. Water retention can occur during pregnancy, a woman’s menstrual period, as a result of diet, or for seemingly no reason at all. In most cases, changes in diet and exercise can help reduce water retention. If you feel extremely bloated and you’re not sure why, consult a doctor, as your water retention could be the cause of an underlying health condition 1.
Cut down on your salt intake. When you consume salt, the body will retain more water to try and dilute it, suggests “The Doctors Book of Home Remedies.” Eliminate high-sodium foods from your diet, like chips, soy sauce and canned soups 1.
Go for a walk. Exercise can help reduce water retention in your ankles and legs, says Susan Lark, M.D., author of “The Premenstrual Syndrome Self-Help Book.” Although you may not feel like it, getting those legs moving, by biking, running or walking, can help eliminate bloating 1.
Take your vitamins. You need to consume 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day and 200 to 400 milligrams of magnesium a day to help reduce symptoms of water retention. Dr. Lark recommends taking 250 milligrams of vitamin B6 a day to help reduce premenstrual bloating and water retention.
Tips
Warnings
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Shedding Water Weight For Competitions
Unlike those fighting abnormal water retention, athletes such as bodybuilders and martial artists, whose competitions are divided into different weight classes, use different techniques to try to lose a few hundred grams, sometimes even kilos, in a very short time.
While your body breaks down fat very slowly, it can lose one kilo of water relatively quickly. But you should be aware that this weight loss isnt for keeps, and that it usually shows up again on the scale just oneday later.
In order to shed water weight, many martial artists like to work out in special sweat suits and a little extra clothing. After theyre done training, they head to the sauna. Before a competition they have almost nothing to eat and only a little water to drink, if any.
Bodybuilders usually approach shedding water weight in a very systematic way. They follow a precise diet plan that tells them exactly how much protein, carbs, fat, and water they can consume. With these plans they manage to maintain maximum muscle volume, while bringing their water retention to a minimum.
Important reminder: These methods for shedding water weight are only very short-term solutions to reducing your weight and water retention.
Reduce Your Stress Levels
Another reason to lock yourself in the bathroom and run a bubble bath: excess stress can cause water retention, according to Jacobson. She explains that when you’re stressed out, your adrenal glands secrete more aldosterone hormone, which tells your body to hold onto fluid.
To reduce the stress in your life , Sepel prescribes 10 to 20 minutes a day of being in a stress-free zone. Whatever that means to you, make it happen. It could mean playing with your dog in the park, stocking up on clean beauty staples at Anthropologie, meditating…whatever gets you in your zen zone. Something else that will majorly help, according to Jacobson: Getting enough sleep.
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How Not To Get Rid Of Water Weight
Since water retention is a common concern, you’ll see many different methods advertised to lose water weight. Unfortunately, not all of them are safe and most of them are not effective.
Most treatments to get rid of water claim to have “diuretic” properties. Diuretics help your body get rid of excess water by increasing urine volume. As a result, you;feel like you need to go to the bathroom more frequently when you take a diuretic.
Some medical professionals have raised concerns about the use of diuretics to lose water weight. These pills are often misused for quick weight loss by athletes and dieters. In severe cases, misuse can lead to injury or death.
How To Reduce Water Retention: 18 Ways To Get Rid Of Water Retention
Feeling sluggish, stiff and bloated?;These are some of the dreaded symptoms associated with water retention. It can ruin your mood on a good day, making you feel uncomfortable and irritable, while swollen ankles or fingers mean you may not be able to accessorise with your favourite shoes or rings.
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It’s an annoying condition, but thankfully there are simple steps you can take to reduce that horrible bloating feeling – be it adapting your diet, exercising more, taking supplements or simply resting when water retention is at its worst. Don’t be tempted to reach for a detox tea – there are so many natural ways to solve the problem.;
Heres what causes water retention and, more importantly, how you can get rid of it.
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Easy Ways To Lose Water Weight
The human body contains around 60% water, which plays a key role in all aspects of life.
Yet, many people worry about water weight. This especially applies to professional athletes and bodybuilders who wish to meet a weight category or improve their appearance.
Excess water retention, also known as edema, is a different issue. Though its usually harmless, it may be a side effect of serious medical conditions, such as heart, liver or kidney disease .
Women may also experience water retention during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle and during pregnancy.
This article is for healthy people and athletes who wish to reduce their water weight. If you have a serious edema swelling of your feet or arms consult your doctor.
Here are 13 ways to reduce excess water weight fast and safely.
Eat Less Salt And Potassium
A recent study indicates excessive sodium consumption can cause gastrointestinal bloating. Potassium-rich foods, like ripe bananas, help counteract effects of excessive sodium consumption because potassium regulates fluid balance in the body. The typical American diet can be very high in sodium, even some seemingly healthy foods can have high amounts of sodium!
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Don’t Gorge On The Salt
That’s correct, eating foods such as french fries, potato chips, and various other foods loaded with unnecessary amounts of sodium, will cause you to retain water. The body only needs between 2000-2500mg of sodium a day to complete its metabolic functions.
If you go way over that mark, you are indulging in a mineral which the American population has been using in excess for quite some time now, creating many health problems and concerns. Keep your sodium moderate, and replace excess salt with spices such as garlic, ginger, fresh vegetables, black pepper, chives, cilantro, Ms. Dash, hot sauce, or anything else your taste buds desire.
When To See A Doctor
Water weight is rarely a cause for medical concern, although, in some cases, it can be a symptom of a more serious underlying condition.
Severe or serious water retention may include a tight appearance of the skin and skin that keeps a dimple when it is pressed. This is called pitted edema.
Fluid retention that occurs alongside coughing and shortness of breath, especially while lying down, may be a sign of fluid in the lungs or heart failure. This requires urgent medical attention.
Even if the water retention is not severe, it is always best to consult a doctor if a person is worried about their symptoms.
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Keep Mum While You’re Chewing
Sometimes the culprit isn’t what you eat, but how you eat. “When you talk while you eat or eat too fast, you’re getting a lot of air in your digestive tract along with your food,” says Langer. Instead of chatting away as you chow down, make a conscious effort to eat slowly , and only talk in between bites.
Use Cucumber To Magically Wipe Away Your Bloat
In the beauty world, cucumbers are often used to help reduce puffiness around your eyes. They do the same thing for your belly when consumed, thanks to a synergistic combination of nutrients, including caffeic acid , vitamin C, silica, and water.
Some nutrients are found in the skin, while others are in the flesh. To get the full benefits, its important to consume both parts. Consider slowly snacking on fresh cucumber slices. Cucumbers can also be juiced or added to smoothies.
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Is Alcohol Bloating Preventable
If youve been drinking alcohol, you should drink water to quickly get rid of bloating in your face and stomach.
In fact, drinking water before, during, and after drinking alcohol can help prevent its inflammatory effects on the body. If youre feeling bloated while drinking alcohol, switch over to drinking water.
Ways To Lose Water Weight Immediately
1. Drink more water
It might be a little difficult to believe but drinking more water can actually help you shed water weight. When you are dehydrated, it makes the body hold on to extra water in order to make up for the lack of incoming water. Water improves functioning of kidneys and allows extra water and sodium to be flushed out of the system. At least 8 to 10 glasses of water are important to maintain your hydration levels.
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2. Reduce intake of salt
Too much salt or sodium in your diet may be contributing to water retention. Sodium to water ratio needs to be balanced in the body to function properly. Higher sodium will make body hold on to water. So, give up consumption of processed, packaged and junk foods. Add less salt to your meals and eat foods rich in potassium. Potassium negates effect of sodium in the body. Leafy greens, bananas and avocados are all examples of foods rich in potassium.
3. Consume fewer carbs
If your diet includes more carbs, your body will end up storing extra water. When you eat more carbs, energy gets stored as glycogen molecules in case it is not used. Every gm of glycogen comes with 3 gms of water and thus it is important to keep your carb intake limited. Switch to healthy sources of carb like pulses, fresh fruits and vegetables. Practice portion control and it will take you a long way in terms preventing water weight gain.
4. Exercise
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Other Considerations And Next Steps
Thyroid hormone replacement medication is highly effective in reversing the symptoms of hypothyroidism. According to the American Thyroid Association, weight gain associated with hypothyroidism is typically about 5 to 10 pounds most of which is water weight. This weight is usually lost with thyroid hormone replacement therapy.
See your doctor if you experience any signs or symptoms that might signal hypothyroidism. In addition to weight gain and bloating, these could include:
- Feeling cold
Who Knew Dehydration Would Trigger Your Bloat
Dehydration forces your body to retain water and swell. And its a common phenomenon. In fact, it is estimated that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Whats worse is that sometimes getting rid of excess water can be more difficult than releasing gas. Dehydration can even cause your face to bloat. No, thank you!;
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