A lot of people relate bloating with water retention and that’s not true.
By definition bloating is the discomfort and the swelling of your belly region.
But it doesn’t just happen because of water. Water is part of it but, it’s water, it’s solid and gas.
It could be because of one of those three reasons that you actually feel bloated and we’re going to tackle every single one of those and explain how to get rid of bloating based on those specific reasons.
#1 Get rid of water retention.
Water retention happens because your body is holding on to water that’s what that is.
Now ironically not drinking water is what can cause water retention so you want to make sure to drink a lot of water.
If you don’t drink water your body as a defense mechanism will hold on to water and you will see that reciprocated in your body in your stomach area even though your arm it’ll just hold on to it.
It’ll be between the cells, it will be within the glycogen and it can definitely cause bloating.
#2 Reduce sodium intake.
Sodium can cause bloating from water retention.
So you want to reduce your sodium intake as much as you can.
There are certain salts that you can take that can kind of act like a negative and a positive so that when it goes into your body it doesn’t cause water retention.
Because sodium is kind of the main culprit, water washes it out.
It can make you urinate with sodium out of your body so that it eliminates the bloating based on that water retention.
Sodium can cause it and not drinking enough water can cause water retention.
Also, does that affect your scale? Yes, it does. Water retention affects your scale. So if you want to wash out the water you want to drink more water and also eliminate more salts.
#3 Watch your carb intake.
What carbs can do is add bloating to you because it can also be a compounding effect through the glycogen storage.
Carbs can create glycogen all over your body. Because glycogen loves to hold on to the water it’s going to hold on to water in your body and create more bloating.
You can find glycogen inside the muscle tissues and tend to inflate with water.
You minimize carb intake and increase your protein intake and you actually be eliminating one of the culprits for increasing bloating. You’ll be taking protein that has nutrients that actually promote against bloating.
#4 Eat fruits that contain water.
If you’re not a person that wants to drink so much water to release water you can also drink foods that contain a lot of water. Fruits like grapefruit and watermelon.
Things like that have a lot of water in it.
It can act as your water substitute if you’re just so inclined not to drink water.
So that’s an alternative to flush out the sodium and flush out the water that’s being held in your body.
#5 Alcohol and meditation makes you bloated.
Yes, alcohol does create dehydration, and dehydration creates water retention.
So yes if you drink a lot of alcohol you may increase bloating based on dehydration.
If you take certain medications, unfortunately, that can increase water retention based on what type of medication it is and how it affects your body.
#6 Solids.
Solids are basically food this is a very simple one.
All it is is if you eat so much food, then your body your stomach will expand. It will expand to accommodate all that food.
This is very very common in people that do intermittent fasting because you are eating big amounts for a short period of time.
Now that doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with it. You will be bloated for a little bit of time as your body begins to digest and break down that food in your stomach.
But once that process is complete the bloating will stop. That is a scenario where the bloating is much much more short-term than the water retention scenario.
The water retention can last a while if you don’t snap the water retention with the solids.
All it is is if you eat so much your body will expand to accommodate the food. Once it goes halfway through the digesting process then your body will return back to normal.
#7 Eating high fiber food.
You can eat a lot of foods that are high in fiber.
Foods that are high in fiber have their benefits but high fiber food can also produce a lot of gas in your stomach.
When you consume it, try to eliminate some of the high-fiber foods so that you can eliminate some of that gas or just understand that’s what’s creating the bloating.
Fiber foods do create gas in your stomach and that can create the bloating sensation that you’re experiencing.
#8 Swallowing air and gases.
Now you’re probably thinking to yourself you always swallow air what are you talking about. You have two different intake pipes in your throat.
There’s one for air and then there’s one for actually digesting food.
The one for air is usually shut unless you’re breathing that’s how some people get food stuck in their windpipe if they breathe at the same time they’re swallowing and they breathe in the food into the wrong pipe which is the windpipe.
You have two. You have the normal one that goes through your throat into your stomach and then you have the one that’s just for air and goes into your lungs.
Now how do you swallow air?
Well, there are moments where you can create a scenario where you’re consuming food and also breathing in at the same time. For example when you drink out of a straw.
When you drink out of a straw you’re consuming the liquid but you’re also breathing in to pull that liquid from the bottom of the straw into your mouth.
In this scenario, you may actually take in some air into your belly area, and if you do this for a long time if you multiply with other things, for example, drinking soda.
Have you ever noticed when you drink soda out of a straw that you became much more bloated than normal?
That’s because not only are you drinking soda with a straw and you’re creating that potential for air to go into your belly you’re also taking in a carbonated drink and once that carbon dioxide hits your stomach it releases.
So it’s actually carbon. That fizziness is actually the carbon dioxide and then its air pockets and then when it goes into your stomach that’s when it releases.
So if you’re doubling it up then you’re adding more air to your stomach and that will cause bloating. Over time it will reduce but if you keep on adding to it you’ll never get rid of the bloating.
#9 Drink a cup of hot water with lemon every morning when you wake up.
Not only it is going to wake you up it’s also going to wake up your stomach and it’s also great to drink it during or after a meal.
The lemon contains a ton of vitamin C and due to the sourness, it helps to produce saliva which will aid in the digestion process.
#10 Avoid drinking coffee milk, soy for breakfast.
Switch it to almond milk which doesn’t actually contain any dairy or yogurt with probiotics and not the ones with a lot of sugar and corn syrup.
All that stuff the probiotics and the yogurt is good for bacteria that helps your stomach feel better and digest food better.
#11 Meditation and sleep.
A lot of the time bloating can be caused by anxiety and stress.
Meditation helps with not only blood circulation but it also helps to clear the mind and you’ll find it can also assist in managing your stress.
Anxiety meditating for just 15 to 20 minutes a day will not only calm your mind your stomach but also your heart and of course, you could always take a nap and rest your body.
When you’re sleeping your body goes into rejuvenation mode so it will help you fight against the causes that make you feel bloated.
A lot of times when you overeat you go into a food coma and all you want to do is sleep right.
Find out if the bloating is long-term or short-term.
The longer-term culprit in bloating is water retention and sodium. Those are the things that hold on for a longer period of time. It can create a longer period of bloating.
Shorter timeframe bloating is solid foods that you actually intake and air that you can actually take it to your body.
But those two things understand that it might be a case where it is what it is are you going to just not drink out of a straw anymore, are you just not gonna eat a lot of foods especially if you’re doing intermittent fasting but those two things quickly come out of your body.
There isn’t really anything to remedy it. It remedies itself by just going away.
Things, like burping and passing gas, will actually allow you to take out all that excess air that you have in your body and simply just digesting the food will release the solids that are in your stomach.
The one that you have much more control over however is the water retention line the one that everybody talks about
