Bloating after eating?

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Does anyone else experience this? No matter what I eat, normal portion or small portions throughout the day, I get bloated in my lower abdomen area. Not only does it make me look heavier, but I feel heavier too. I find it difficult to lose weight.. I did the Insanity program (intense cardio 6x a week) and I didn't get much of a result or weight loss (less than 2lb..), now I'm back to heavy weights and cardio and I still don't see change - even though I eat relatively healthy with a cheat meal weekly to keep my sanity. II also don't have normal/frequent bowel movements.. I have tried metamucil, psyllum husk, senocot w. stool softner and even a prescribed medication that didn't help much (tmi, sorry). This is extremely discouraging for me because I work hard yet I don't see results... and I have tried increasing calories before to see if anything would change.. I normally eat 1300-1600.


I have a doctors appointment booked in January to try and get to the bottom of it and I'm just wanting to see if any one can relate.. and if you've been diagnosed for anything similar please post it!

Replies

  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    1300 is pretty low for someone doing intense workouts. Depends what degree of bloating - the food has to go somewhere and it will naturally move down the intestines, absorb loads of water then lose the water before being eliminated. If you are not regular then the system will back up - are you tracking your fibre and healthy fats intake? What does relatively healthy mean - any sugars or white refined carbs, plenty of oily fish, nine portions of fruits and veggies? Could you be dehydrated? Have you tried a probiotic bacteria supplement?
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
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    You might be intolerant and/or allergic to some food ingredient (think lactose or gluten). Your doctor appointment should help. If the lack of weight loss is purely due to bloating, then the good news is...once that is under control, you should drop weight because you will have lost fat by eating healthy and exercising and it was just hidden by bloat (water retention) weight. Make sure you take measurements to track your progress.
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
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    Ask your doctor.

    Try an elimination diet like Whole30.

    Eliminate the foods that tend to be triggers for people (lactose, grains, soy, etc). Then follow Whole30's advice for introducing them back in one at a time. You will find out if any of them are the source of your bloat (or cause any other intolerance issues). I'm guessing lactose intolerance or gluten, as an above poster said. Those are the 2 most common culprits. I can eat cheese, yogurt, cream, but if I drink any significant amount of milk or drink a protein shake that isn't casein-free, I get horrible bloating and stomach upset. Same with wheat... I never realized I had an issue with wheat until I eliminated it. Now when I eat a significant amount of it I see the bloat for a couple of days after. Very noticeable and frustrating.