If your belly looks puffy despite exercise, it is not necessarily belly fat. It could be belly bloat instead. The most common culprit for bloating is a sluggish digestive system, especially for women over the age of 40. The good news is you can rev up the digestion process and banish belly bloat with some lifestyle and menu tweaking. If you adopt these changes, you can realize a slimmer appearance within a week or two.
Add Fiber
Constipation tends to swell your belly, causing an appearance of belly fat. However, did you know that if you start off your morning with fiber for breakfast, you can get your digestive system moving and keep it that way? Consuming fiber keeps you regular. Be sure to choose both insoluble and soluble fiber together for optimal performance. Insoluble fiber comes from food sources such as bran, nuts, seeds, granola and whole wheat while soluble fiber can be found with psyllium, rice, bananas, oatmeal, and white breads like sourdough.
It is important to consume both types of fiber because they work together to draw water from your colon for better elimination. If you have enough of both fibers, you can banish belly bloat faster.
Add Yogurt with Live Cultures
If you have an imbalance of bacteria in your digestive tract, you will discover that your pants may not zip due to belly bloat. Your digestive system slows down and your belly puffs up. However, if you introduce probiotics, you will correct that imbalance of bacteria. The best resource of probiotics is yogurt with live active cultures of bacteria. Mobility in your intestinal tract improves and not only do you banish constipation but your bloating will shrink. Choose low-fat or fat-free versions of the probiotic yogurt to avoid excess calories from sugar.
Boost Potassium with Food
When your potassium and sodium levels are out of balance, the belly starts to really pooch out. These two minerals control your water weight so when they are not regulated, bloating occurs. Sodium tends to make you retain water, so it is important to increase potassium intake to counteract. The best foods to eat are fruits and vegetables such as bananas, papayas, spinach, oranges and edamame because they have high levels of potassium. A positive side effect of higher potassium levels through food (not supplements) is better heart health.
Increase Fluid Intake
Without adequate fluid intake, all the fiber, probiotics and potassium in the world are not going to help you banish belly bloat. You need plenty of fluids to help your intestines regulate your digestive system. Eight glasses of water and other fluids each day is optimal for helping banish that belly. A healthy combination of water, low-fat milk and low sugar juices are best, although tea, coffee and even hot cocoa counts as well. Avoid alcohol as it can actually dehydrate you.
What to Avoid
There are a few things to avoid as they can cause belly bloat. Excessive sodium can make you retain water, puffing your belly out, despite all other efforts you may put into banishing it. Most people consume twice as much salt as necessary. You should take in no more than 1,500 milligrams in a day. Keep in mind that most processed foods have sodium including chips, TV dinners and lunchmeat.
Sodas, gum and candy are no-no’s if your goal is to reduce a puffy belly. Chewing gum, drinking through a straw, sucking on hard candy and drinking bubbly soda all introduce air into your digestive tract, causing gas which leads to a distended belly. Chew with your mouth closed and avoid carbonated beverages.
Raw fruits and vegetables also can cause belly bloat. While they are healthy, eating too much of them can fill the belly and cause bloating. To avoid this, spread out your fresh vegetable and fruit consumption throughout the day. If you can add the necessary foods and fluids and avoid the bad stuff, you will soon achieve a slimmer appearance and banish belly bloat.
If your belly looks puffy despite exercise, it is not necessarily belly fat. It could be belly bloat instead. The most common culprit for bloating is a sluggish digestive system, especially for women over the age of 40. The good news is you can rev up the digestion process and banish belly bloat with some lifestyle and menu tweaking. If you adopt these changes, you can realize a slimmer appearance within a week or two.
Add Fiber
Constipation tends to swell your belly, causing an appearance of belly fat. However, did you know that if you start off your morning with fiber for breakfast, you can get your digestive system moving and keep it that way? Consuming fiber keeps you regular. Be sure to choose both insoluble and soluble fiber together for optimal performance. Insoluble fiber comes from food sources such as bran, nuts, seeds, granola and whole wheat while soluble fiber can be found with psyllium, rice, bananas, oatmeal, and white breads like sourdough.
It is important to consume both types of fiber because they work together to draw water from your colon for better elimination. If you have enough of both fibers, you can banish belly bloat faster.
Add Yogurt with Live Cultures
If you have an imbalance of bacteria in your digestive tract, you will discover that your pants may not zip due to belly bloat. Your digestive system slows down and your belly puffs up. However, if you introduce probiotics, you will correct that imbalance of bacteria. The best resource of probiotics is yogurt with live active cultures of bacteria. Mobility in your intestinal tract improves and not only do you banish constipation but your bloating will shrink. Choose low-fat or fat-free versions of the probiotic yogurt to avoid excess calories from sugar.
Boost Potassium with Food
When your potassium and sodium levels are out of balance, the belly starts to really pooch out. These two minerals control your water weight so when they are not regulated, bloating occurs. Sodium tends to make you retain water, so it is important to increase potassium intake to counteract. The best foods to eat are fruits and vegetables such as bananas, papayas, spinach, oranges and edamame because they have high levels of potassium. A positive side effect of higher potassium levels through food (not supplements) is better heart health.
Increase Fluid Intake
Without adequate fluid intake, all the fiber, probiotics and potassium in the world are not going to help you banish belly bloat. You need plenty of fluids to help your intestines regulate your digestive system. Eight glasses of water and other fluids each day is optimal for helping banish that belly. A healthy combination of water, low-fat milk and low sugar juices are best, although tea, coffee and even hot cocoa counts as well. Avoid alcohol as it can actually dehydrate you.
What to Avoid
There are a few things to avoid as they can cause belly bloat. Excessive sodium can make you retain water, puffing your belly out, despite all other efforts you may put into banishing it. Most people consume twice as much salt as necessary. You should take in no more than 1,500 milligrams in a day. Keep in mind that most processed foods have sodium including chips, TV dinners and lunchmeat.
Sodas, gum and candy are no-no’s if your goal is to reduce a puffy belly. Chewing gum, drinking through a straw, sucking on hard candy and drinking bubbly soda all introduce air into your digestive tract, causing gas which leads to a distended belly. Chew with your mouth closed and avoid carbonated beverages.
Raw fruits and vegetables also can cause belly bloat. While they are healthy, eating too much of them can fill the belly and cause bloating. To avoid this, spread out your fresh vegetable and fruit consumption throughout the day. If you can add the necessary foods and fluids and avoid the bad stuff, you will soon achieve a slimmer appearance and banish belly bloat.