If I was living in a country with widespread use of public transport, I would be guaranteed a seat on my way back from work. The thing is: on most days, I wake up with a flat stomach. But by the late afternoon, I bloat so badly that I start looking pregnant again.
As I am a type A personality, I decided I cannot carry on like this. I had to find ways to reduce bloating and get a flat stomach. In this post, I am sharing everything I learnt to be effective by experimenting with myself.
Word of caution though:
- Reducing bloating and getting a flat stomach is not a destination. It is a continuous journey. You cannot follow for a week the tips in this post and be guaranteed a six pack for the rest of eternity. The good news is: there is nothing complicated in the 7 ways to reduce bloating suggested here.
- If nothing helps to relieve bloating and/or it is paired with other symptoms, I would recommend seeing a specialist just to be on the safe side
Let’s start with 3 very possible reasons that cause you to get bloated:
1. Being an aggressive and/or distracted eater
I feel this one impacts moms the most. As we are always multitasking and struggling to find time for our own wellbeing.
Tell me you are a mom without telling me you are a mom if you eat:
- standing while cooking/ doing the dishes
- while running around trying to also feed a toddler
- while doing life admin (i.e. reading school emails, booking doctor’s appointments)
- while mindlessly watching TV in the evening because you feel brain damaged from the tiring day
While the only solution may seem to wait for your kids to grow up ;), if you are an aggressive/ distracted eater, you will continue being this way regardless of circumstances.
I did only one single change to my eating in the past few weeks – I started chewing deliberately and slowly at my food. I know it sounds too simple to even write it, but it helped me hugely to reduce bloating.
2. Consuming foods that upset your stomach
Next time you get bloated, take a moment to register what you ate. If you do it for a week, I bet you will see a pattern.
My main offenders are raw veggies, cheese and chickpeas.
I cook my veggies whenever possible and try to avoid the rest of the foods that cause me to bloat badly.
3. Fuzzy drinks
I love sparkling water. As I rarely drink anything else than water, sparkling water is my fancy drink. But when I started paying attention, I realized that combined with my very fast eating, it causes me to bloat terribly.
If you tend to consume a lot of fuzzy drinks, avoiding them as much as you can will help you reduce bloating.
What else can I do to reduce bloating and get a flat stomach?
4. Deep core activation exercises
If you have upset stomach, exercises on their own will not help you reduce bloating.
However, if you follow the rest of the tips in this article and your stomach feels better, adding deep core activation exercises to your routine will be a great addition for a flat looking stomach.
Check this video for my favorite exercises which I try to do at least once a week:
5. Consuming gut friendly foods
The 3 main groups of foods that make my body feel light and my stomach flat are: fibers, prebiotics and probiotics.
Some examples of what I eat on daily basis in each group:
Probiotics: Kefir, yoghurt, apple vinegar
Prebiotics: Berries, cocoa, asparagus, bananas, dark chocolate
Fibers: veggies, chia seeds, legumes
If you don’t consumer enough fiber right now, you need to start slow otherwise it will have the opposite effect on your bloating in the beginning.
6. Balancing blood sugar fluctuations
You can get the full lowdown from this post: What happened to my low blood sugar problem and is Jessie Inchauspe’s book “Glucose Revolution” worth reading?
7. Taking supplements
I am not a fan of using supplements as the first solution to problems. As someone wisely put it: You cannot out supplement a bad diet.
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