Bloated belly

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chrishamilton894
chrishamilton894 Posts: 63 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all, I’ve lost around 6 inches of my waist but my belly still looks bloated at times. Will reducing my carbs help me to avoid a bloated belly? Cheers 👍

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  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Do you mean bloat from gas or do you still have a fat layer? 6 inches is amazing progress, BTW. For me, I stay away from soda, they make me gassy and if I want my six pack to show I need to reduce my body fat. I have a two pack, I am not sure I want to work that hard for the other four.

    Here is an excellent thread.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    It's hard to know what you mean by bloated, but if you are saying that you still have noticble belly fat, the only way to reduce that is to continue fat loss. You can't pick and choose where your body loses it from, and unfortunately for many people, the stomach is the last to go. Going low carb will not help you with that anymore than having a calorie deficit through other means.

    One thing I have noticed about my belly and weight loss which may be helpful for you: I've lost almost 35 pounds (235 to 201) and my pant size has dropped from 38 to 34. I definitely have lost a lot of belly fat, but sometimes I still feel line I have that big belly I used to. And part of that I think is because my waist is smaller, my remaing belly still hangs over my waist. So if I've lost 4 inches on my stomach, and 4 on my waist, my waist to stomach differential is still the same. That I why I notice my belly from the lower part more than the upper part.

    Like for you, I imagine that will start to adjust for me as I get more towards my goal. When I am 25-30 pounds down, I don't expect to have a six pack, but I should have enough less stomach fat that my stomach is closer to my waist. So just keep up with the progress, and it will get there.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    Everyone has water weight fluctuation and occasional bloating. If you're having bloating symptoms other than being unhappy with your appearance, you could be a bit constipated or have other digestive upset. Some people wind up intentionally or unintentionally increasing their fiber dramatically or introducing new foods when they start losing weight, and those things can lead to various digestive issues.

    Certain veggies also tend to cause more gas than others. Beans are the one most people know about, but cruciferous vegetables like cabbage or broccoli can also do it.

    Sugar alcohols can cause gas or other digestive problems in some people. These substances are common in some protein bars/powders, low calorie ice creams, sugar free gum, and other foods.

    Additionally, if you recently had a bigger meal than usual, that can cause a bloated feeling. Depending on your body and usual diet, eating more carbs and/or sodium than usual might cause temporary water weight gain. And if you're exercising more or differently than usual, you could be holding onto water weight as part of the normal muscle repair process.

    However, if you think you look bloated but aren't having any symptoms, you could have the very common problem of perceiving your body differently from how it actually looks. A lot of us who are in maintenance still have trouble seeing ourselves at our lower weights. It can help to look at old pictures or put on old clothes to see how far you've come.

    Reducing carbs usually causes people to drop some water weight in the short term, but it does not do anything special for fat loss, and the water weight will come back when you return to your usual carb intake.

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