How to Get Rid of Bloating (Don’t Panic, It’s Normal!)
Does being bloated make you feel ugly? Are you just staring at that little tummy bulge in the mirror, wondering how you can avoid it next time? Well, I am going to tell you a little about how to get rid of bloating once you have it…but rest assured, bloating is NORMAL!
I think a lot of us tend to look at our bloated bellies after a meal and compare that body to some Instagram model's body. We are wondering why it happens to us, and doesn't seem to happen to her. Well, newsflash! It DOES happen to her! That's why looking at the perfect versions of themselves people post on social media can be a bit damaging and unrealistic, because of course people are going to put the best possible pictures of themselves on, and even if they're not using Photoshop, they're taking multiple photos with the best lighting and angles, and are doing it first thing in the morning before they eat and bloat. It's rare that somebody is actually going to put a bloated picture of themselves on Instagram, so no wonder we feel alone in this even though we all experience it!
You may have seen, though, there's been a recent Instagram trend where people will post how they look when bloated, just so everyone will see it's totally normal and unavoidable!
Now, when I say unavoidable, I don't mean there's nothing you can do to make it go away.
If you want to know how to get rid of bloating, you can:
Drink lots of water, which I know sounds counterintuitive. But it works because bloating can be caused by your body retaining fluids, which in turn is caused by too much sodium. So, to get rid of the bloat, flush out the sodium and REBALANCE by drinking water. (However, drinking water really super fast will make you temporarily bloated if you care about that — because you're gulping air. So sip and slow down. Personally, though, I don't really care…)
Speaking of "rebalancing," a balanced gut actually goes a long way toward how to get rid of bloating!! This is because gas/bloating is often caused by digestive issues. Gas builds up in your gut when the ecosystem is unbalanced. For some people, they aren't doing anything "wrong" to cause this; for example, people with IBS have to be careful about eating WHEAT, and really, so does everybody else. Even whole wheat has insoluble fiber that your body has trouble digesting…YAY, a one-way trip to bloated town!! Below is a list of foods containing soluble fibers (no bloating) vs. insoluble fibers (UGH):
Along these same lines, I have one final, easy solution on how to get rid of bloating: consume fermented foods!
Now, unfortunately fermented foods make you TEMPORARILY more bloated because when these foods reach the large intestine, bacteria feed on them, and this process does release gas. However, the root cause of bloating is an unhealthy, unbalanced gut microbiome, and fermented foods have probiotics that will restore the balance. So your gut will be less bloated in the end…and smaller too. Yup, probiotics are scientifically proven to fight obesity.
If this is a subject you want to learn more about — and I know it's a very hot topic right now! — check out my blog post about Fermented Green Tea that I recently discovered.
This stuff is along the same lines as kombucha, sauerkraut, etc., except in my opinion it tastes better , and plus, it's got a pretty cool backstory.