Carb belly? Is it for real?

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jteammom
jteammom Posts: 173
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been reading articles that say that a bloated belly can be caused by too many carbs. Is it really as simple as that? If so, how long after lowering carb intake might one see a change in this nasty phenomenon? I LOVE my carbs, but if by being more careful with them I will not experience the discomfort of bloating and the ugly appearance of this "thick" waist, I might be convinced to lay off the bread and pasta. Has anyone tried cutting carbs for this reason?

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  • acobrien5
    acobrien5 Posts: 10 Member
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    Too many carbs can totally equal the buddah belly. Before you cut too many out - I would wonder if you are drinking your 8 glasses of water a day? Water helps so so so much with the belly.
  • RZO42488
    RZO42488 Posts: 64
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    Cutting carbs will help slightly, but a decent daily amount of carbs is good for the body and gives it energy. Personally I would monitor your Sodium. Sodium maintains water weight and keeps excess fat storage the body does not expend in daily activities. I usually try to eat more Protein than Carbs...........
  • Dancinhiphop4life
    Dancinhiphop4life Posts: 62
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    I have read in many articles that if you wanna lose belly fat then lower your carbs and up your protein. i never really heard it for bloated bellys tho. if you feel bloated then you should try it for a couple of days and see if it starts to feel better
  • RZO42488
    RZO42488 Posts: 64
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    Too many carbs can totally equal the buddah belly. Before you cut too many out - I would wonder if you are drinking your 8 glasses of water a day? Water helps so so so much with the belly.

    I agree water is a huge part of a persons diet...........it helps flush the body. I usually drink around 12-15 cups a day.
  • SunLovin1
    SunLovin1 Posts: 682 Member
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    Cutting carbs will help slightly, but a decent daily amount of carbs is good for the body and gives it energy. Personally I would monitor your Sodium. Sodium maintains water weight and keeps excess fat storage the body does not expend in daily activities. I usually try to eat more Protein than Carbs...........

    This. And getting rid of carbonated drinks helps too.
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
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    Also take a look at what type of carbs you are eating. Stay away from the simple processed carbs, and get most of your carbs from veggies instead of grains.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    Cutting carbs will help slightly, but a decent daily amount of carbs is good for the body and gives it energy. Personally I would monitor your Sodium. Sodium maintains water weight and keeps excess fat storage the body does not expend in daily activities. I usually try to eat more Protein than Carbs...........

    Agree. Instead of cutting out carbs try cutting out bread and flours. My carbs are at 40% (protein at 35%) but I get most of my carbs through fruits and fibrous veggies. I like my morning oatmeal and some brown rice with dinner every so often.

    Where we store fat on our body (and how it comes off) has more to do with genetics and our ancestry than anything else. It will probably be the last to go.

    Best way to burn off belly fat. Weight lifting! Increasing muscle mass increases your metabolism and you burn more fat through normal daily activity and even sleeping. I use the body fat calipers. I don't use a body fat chart or anything. I just pinch a couple of spots on my belly. Since I started heavy weight lifting the spot beside my belly button has gone from 20mm to 16mm. I can't see the difference but it's there.
  • randi50
    randi50 Posts: 112
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    Iam sure since starting this I have decreased my carbs, but I have also upped my water a lot. I think my healthy carbs and extra water have helped tremendously. After the first week there was a major difference.
  • Hotbottom
    Hotbottom Posts: 168 Member
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    Try it, it won't harm you and yes it does work. If I eat loads of carbs I bloat like a puffa fish and can get jiggely saddle bags overnight. In the beginning to give them up is hard as your body craves the sugar they produce, but after a few days... you find you will eat lighter and not have the suger high and lows, through the days... ( a welcome relief!!!)
    Check what blood type you are though. I'm o and they are not good with eating grain carbs, but A's work really well with them...
    Hope this helps.
    Also make sure you are eating lots of hard fruits and veg like apples and carrots to make up for the lost fibre or you might have trouble pooping :)
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TPAdaptation.html
  • Wimpey
    Wimpey Posts: 64 Member
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    Bloating could be due to a variety of reasons... why do carbs get so much bad press?
    You could be intollerant to some tipe of foods high in carb (there are many different types of carbs) but not to the whole category.
    As an endurance athlete 65% + of my cals come from carbs... this does not result in a bloated belly.

    Using this fab site you can acutally monitor what type of foods you ingest against when you seem to suffer the most of this condition and hopefully start to get a picture of what could be the culprit?
    Try avoiding some foods grups one a the time for a short period of time and see if there is a difference.
    Alternative your doctor could send you for a food intollerance test or allergic test? Or a nutritionist could help too?

    Best of luck and keep up the good work!
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    I have been reading articles that say that a bloated belly can be caused by too many carbs.

    It's not carbs as such but water retention. The clue's in the name carboHYDRATE (in other words, a hydrate of carbon which contains water) You store excess water around the abdomen giving a bloated look. Get rid of the water get rid of the bloat...

    Now you can do this by restricting carbs or simply drinking more water. I prefer the latter.

    Alternatively, you could go out and get completely wasted. Alcohol is a diuretic and flushes water from the system. Of course, you want to be careful that you then don't start hoovering up any food in sight because you are tipsy though...

    The leaner you get the more noticeable the effect can be. I am fairly lean. I got quite drunk last Friday night and the next day I could see a clear difference especially around my abs.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I definitely swell up when I eat bread. I haven't noticed with other carbs.
  • RZO42488
    RZO42488 Posts: 64
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    I definitely swell up when I eat bread. I haven't noticed with other carbs.

    Why do you think they call it the "bread basket"................ :-)
  • jteammom
    jteammom Posts: 173
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    Thanks for all the comments. My head is swimming! I think I get enough fiber and water, but let me see if I have this straight:

    I need to drink more water, eat more fiber, cut carbs, stay away from processed grains, go for the veggies, lift weights, check if I have a food allergy, and get drunk more often. At least one of those is easy!
  • lmk224
    lmk224 Posts: 41 Member
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    I have a gluten intolerance and everytime I eat bread, pasta, cakes, anything with wheat flour I get super bloated and gain a few lbs of water, after a day or two after with no gluten it is all gone. My carbs are set at 50% and my tummy stays flat now just avoiding gluten :) I eat loads of potatoes, sweet potato, and different forms of rice instead, along with the veg I have picked for that particular meal. I also get bloated with iceberg lettuce, egg and possibly prawns all though more and more I think that's because I eat them with mayonnaise:blushing: ! definately worth finding out if it is something in particular making you bloated, a lot of people have a problem with dairy products too.
  • moxleymama6
    moxleymama6 Posts: 537 Member
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    I definitely swell up when I eat bread. I haven't noticed with other carbs.

    I agree!! I eat carbs in fruit, veggies, brown rice, oatmeal, etc. and I'm fine. One serving of whole wheat anything and poof! I think with me it's more wheat based carbs that cause bloat.
  • akbass
    akbass Posts: 1 Member
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    Snickers - that Hussman article and website is GREAT!!! I'm making that one of my favorites to go back and read!

    Yesterday I ate SO good until dinner. :(

    I had plain oatmeal w/ stevia, cinnamon and half a banana. And I had scrambled eggs (1 whole egg w/ 3 whites). I missed my mid morning snack. I had an Ezekial 4:9 english muffin with avocado and turkey breast for lunch. For my afternoon snack I had a cup of canteloupe and an ounce of cinnamon almonds. THEN dinner. :( I had some Dreamfields angel hair pasta with spaghetti sauce made with extra lean ground beef and TWO SLICES OF 5 CHEESE GARLIC BREAD!!!!! :( Then I had a cup of 2% milk and 5 golden oreo cookies afterward. The day went downhill very fast when I went home yesterday. I think if I would've JUST had the dreamfields pasta and sauce I wouldn't have done so bad...but the bread and cookies was the straw that broke the camel's back. :(

    I definitely am feeling fat and bloated because of it today. Trying to drink lots of water to flush myself out. It's 10:41 AM and I've had at least 48 ounces of water.

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