Bloating

theoriginaljayne

I often notice that after a meal – even a small or normal-sized meal – I am really, really bloated. Of course, when I complain about needing to unbutton my jeans after a 500-calorie dinner, no one believes me (which is understandable). So here is the hard evidence.

Before dinner, my waist was 24.5 inches and my lower abdomen was 28 inches. My stomach was flat when I looked in the mirror.

Dinner consisted of minestrone soup with two small slices of homemade French bread. For dessert, I had an apple, four strawberries, a cup of plain Greek yogurt, and a square of 72% dark chocolate. A little later, I had three mini dark chocolate eggs (each is less than half of the size of my thumb). All in all, dinner was about seven hundred calories. Granted, the sodium and carbohydrate contents of this meal were on the high side, but my daily totals are still fairly low (1675 mg sodium, 119 g carbs).

(Oh, and for the record: my carbohydrate count is usually between 120 and 150 grams per day, and sodium is normally between 800-1500 mg. I drink six to twelve cups of water a day. I eat "clean," as some like to put it; the dark chocolate eggs are as unhealthy as my food gets. A "treat" for me is fresh fruit and yogurt.)

But anyway, two hours later, I am 26.5 inches around the waist and 32.5 inches around my lower abdomen. I could now model maternity clothing.

I'm pretty darn sure that this is not normal.

I have no idea what's causing me to expand so ridiculously after eating, but it causes a lot of food-related anxiety and I really, really hate it. Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be the cause of this?

Teapotdomescam

Do you have any indigestion problems or acid reflux? I get bloated a lot due to past stomach issues

ALH1981

food allergy ??? gluten/dairy???

btw thats probabely just digestion from your meal - i wouldn't worry too much you will be back to 'normal' tomorrow.

If you are really concerned, see the doctor?

theoriginaljayne

Do you have any indigestion problems or acid reflux? I get bloated a lot due to past stomach issues

I've never really had indigestion problems. Acid reflux disease does run in my family, but I rarely experience it – only when I'm very stressed do I need to break out the ranitidine. That could still be contributing to it, though...

WVHeather

I would talk to your doctor. You may have something going on that can be easily taken care of. I have a problem with bloating as well, but it's not that severe and if I drink a lot of water it's gone the next morning. Good luck to you. I hope everything is okay.

Teapotdomescam

Do you have any indigestion problems or acid reflux? I get bloated a lot due to past stomach issues

I've never really had indigestion problems. Acid reflux disease does run in my family, but I rarely experience it – only when I'm very stressed do I need to break out the ranitidine. That could still be contributing to it, though...

Yeah it could definitely be a contributing factor! Even if you get it sometimes, it might be hiding somewhere in there every now and then. I remember I had to see a doctor about this and they told me that the gas inside is what causes it. My problem was too much snacking apparently? hahah

theoriginaljayne

food allergy ??? gluten/dairy???

btw thats probabely just digestion from your meal - i wouldn't worry too much you will be back to 'normal' tomorrow.

If you are really concerned, see the doctor?

No food allergies that I"m aware of, other than shellfish, and I don't eat that anyway because I don't want to die.

On the other hand, I've never tried to completely give up gluten or dairy. If I was going to experiment, for how long would I need to cut them out of my diet to tell if it makes any difference?

theoriginaljayne

Yeah it could definitely be a contributing factor! Even if you get it sometimes, it might be hiding somewhere in there every now and then. I remember I had to see a doctor about this and they told me that the gas inside is what causes it. My problem was too much snacking apparently? hahah

Haha, I do intermittent fasting often, so maybe my problem is not ENOUGH snacking!

prism6

Try cutting back on the breads[gluten] and see if that helps. I am having that trouble tonight as I had rice[the only thing different] and I have tried to steer away from rices and pastas and bread when I can...

aryastark8

Normally you stop eating wheat/diary for 2 weeks to see if you are feeling better. If you are not sure even after that, you introduce them again for a couple of weeks, and maybe stop them again later. This is called elimination diet - a good way to figure out what triggers your symptoms.

prism6

I just looked on line for what my issue could be and it said basically the asparagus and carrots I ate. try looking up different foods you ate to see what it says about bloating...

Teapotdomescam

Yeah it could definitely be a contributing factor! Even if you get it sometimes, it might be hiding somewhere in there every now and then. I remember I had to see a doctor about this and they told me that the gas inside is what causes it. My problem was too much snacking apparently? hahah

Haha, I do intermittent fasting often, so maybe my problem is not ENOUGH snacking!

OMG THAT TOO!! I used to do that and that's how I got so much gas accumulated in the first place. I don't remember the exact explanation but then when one tries to eat again, the stomach is already full of gas and so it just becomes bloated for a while. Oh gosh, I wish I had a smarter explanation but trust me, I suffer from this almost every single day *sigh*

theoriginaljayne

Sorry for all of the stupid questions, but should I eliminate dairy and gluten at the same time, or one after the other?
(Regarding today – if I've got an intolerance of some sort to dairy, the culprit is clearly the Greek yogurt, and if it's gluten, it would be the bread or the minestrone.)

And teapotdomescam – I really hope that the IF isn't causing it; the whole reason I do IF is so I don't have to deal with the aftereffects of eating until I'm home for the rest of the evening. If I eat breakfast, I swell up just as badly, which calls for an oversized sweater for the entire day (which is going to look really awkward in the summer).

pinkita

I went through this a couple of months ago, and I figured out that it was my very high fiber consumption (like 70+ grams a day). I thought I was ok with that much fiber since it didn't cause my abdominal pain or diarrhea, but I felt bloated constantly. I took Gas-X a couple times which helped a lot, but I reduced my fiber to about 50grams and I haven't had any issues since.

aryastark8

Sorry for all of the stupid questions, but should I eliminate dairy and gluten at the same time, or one after the other?
(Regarding today – if I've got an intolerance of some sort to dairy, the culprit is clearly the Greek yogurt, and if it's gluten, it would be the bread or the minestrone.)

And teapotdomescam – I really hope that the IF isn't causing it; the whole reason I do IF is so I don't have to deal with the aftereffects of eating until I'm home for the rest of the evening. If I eat breakfast, I swell up just as badly, which calls for an oversized sweater for the entire day (which is going to look really awkward in the summer).

Eliminate both. Wait 2 weeks to see if you are consistently feeling better. If you do, add just one of them for a little while to see if this is the trigger. You may also want to google "elimination diet".

ALH1981

food allergy ??? gluten/dairy???

btw thats probabely just digestion from your meal - i wouldn't worry too much you will be back to 'normal' tomorrow.

If you are really concerned, see the doctor?

No food allergies that I"m aware of, other than shellfish, and I don't eat that anyway because I don't want to die.

On the other hand, I've never tried to completely give up gluten or dairy. If I was going to experiment, for how long would I need to cut them out of my diet to tell if it makes any difference?

you can get medically tested for gluten intolerance through a blood test - however i would also suggest going to see a doctor who will guide you through a supervised elimination diet...

smith616

Hmm, have you ever heard of candida? Could be that you have a little too much of this yeast in your digestive system...even people who eat well often have an overgrowth of this. It is notorious for causing bloating, especially right after meals. Maybe you shoud consult an herbalist, or consider taking yeast cleanse supplements.

rainbowbow

Something that has SIGNIFICANTLY helped me is digestive enzymes. I take the "NOW super enzymes". Maybe something to look into?

theoriginaljayne

Thank you for all of your replies, everyone. I will definitely be checking out your suggestions. Hopefully I will figure this out!

andieb75

Ok I totally get you, pretty much everything bloats me. Probiotics are a must. But I just started eating a bit of carraway seeds. Apparently it was suggested on Dr Oz, I didn't know that till I went to Whole Foods and they told me. But chewing on some after a meal is very helpful. Also I drink a tea to help w digestion. Find one with fennel, carraway, peppermint and chamomile. It has made a big difference for me so far!

minkakross

while I would always recommend checking with your doctor here are some reasons I've found that I can feel bloated... certain fresh veg just don't like me. Lima beans hate me most. drinking with my meal. greasy pizza. Last year I went through a stage where I had stomach trouble and bloating almost every meal, turned out it was the way my body was telling me I had diabetes and my blood sugar was too high. So what I'm saying is could be anything, could be nothing, could be something serious, but you should try a few things and if you can't find a trigger don't wait too long to go see a doctor.