Bloating?

Fittie4Eternity

This topic isn't particularly related to General Diet and weight loss, but I assumed it might be connected to some form of dietary requirements, so put it in this section

I have been noticing a real problem with bloating recently - it happens when I eat effectively anything and it's sometimes so bad that I could genuinely pass for being pregnant. I'm not overweight or underweight. I'm 5'4 and weigh around 110 pounds, but haven't weighed myself in a while in an attempt to focus on measurements instead of weight - I've had body image issues in the past. I don't know what to do. I've tried cutting out carbs and that seemed to help a bit, but in general the bloating is consistent and makes me feel very uncomfortable - my clothes feel too tight and my stomach feels stretched. The amount of food I eat has very little effect on how bloated I get - it doesn't matter if I have a tiny bowel of pasta or a huge plate of chicken and salad, etc, I always get extremely bloated.

I'm contemplating speaking to my doctor about this to see if there is any real underlying issue - but in the meanwhile is there any advice that any can offer as to what it might be, or how to prevent it? I don't mind if it's from a past personal experience or not, any help or tips would be very much appreciated!

Thanks xxx

Chrisparadise579

Hey great job overcoming your body image issues, that can be so hard! I had issues as well and after some work Ive never been happier. As for the bloating, it could be a number of things. Dont bother cutting carbs it will have little to no effect on your bloating. Typically though bloating is very common when starting a diet, your body is adjusting to the new types of food you are eating and it will go away after some time. it could also be either too little or too much fiber, for a woman of your size you want to try for 25-40g of fiber per day, itll help fat loss as well

Arliah

I had the same problem, and it turned out to be an allergy to soy. I thought it might be milk or wheat or something, so I went and got another allergy test done. Soy came back positive, so I cut out everything that contains soy (including stuff with soybean oil and soy lecithin, which is in SO many things you wouldn't even believe it), but that helped tremendously. My stomach feels so much better, hardly any bloating and uncomfortable other conditions that come with it (I had constant diarrhea for months and couldn't figure out why ... again, the soy was the problem).
Maybe for you there's some allergy or intolerance involved, too. Allergies are easy to diagnose, intolerances a little harder b/c they won't show up on an allergy test, you would have to eliminate some food/ingredient and see if it makes a difference. But talk to your doctor, he/she should know all of that stuff.
These days, I can have the occasional piece of chocolate that contains soy (for example), but if I overdo it, then the bloating comes back.

The other thing was fiber. I am aiming for 25-30g these days (mostly insoluble, but some soluble as well), and it has made a difference, too.

Good luck figuring it out. I may take a while, but you will feel better in the end.