Feeling bloated all the time

keuka5
keuka5 Posts: 8
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been kinda watching what I've been eating and I heard from my classmates that eating more protein is helpful in losing weight. So I've been consuming a bit more which fills me up. (High protein oatmeal. Protein Cheerios. Protein bars) but then I eat kinda blah for dinner. I waitress so if I dnt eat at dinner time I'll either eat later or not at all. If I'm not hungry I wnt eat. I've been drinking more water and cutting back on the coffee.
But i feel bloated all the time. I have been exercising (I calculated my exercising with my total calories. That's y I dnt log in my exercise) and now I'm slowing down on the exercise yet again. Ik it's only been about a week and a half but I feel gross even after I exercise.
Any suggestions on my bloating issues? Thanx

Replies

  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Are you eating things that are high in fiber--beans, edamame, fiber bars? I see protein bars on your list. Many of those contain some kind of fiber. Chicory root is used sometimes and can cause you to feel bloated. Also, sugar alcohols. Watch out for those, they can cause gastrointestinal distress. I get it with edamame and some kinds of beans. Try eliminating the bars and eat something else, like a cheese stick or lunch meat, to see if that helps.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Eating at a deficit makes you lose weight. Eating more protein helps muscle mass and helps you keep fuller longer.
  • keuka5
    keuka5 Posts: 8
    I like to feel fuller longer so I dnt pick at food. I also eat Greek yogurt with protein granola. I'll try the cheese sticks. Thanks! Any other suggestions?
  • rand486
    rand486 Posts: 270 Member
    keuka5 wrote: »
    I've been kinda watching what I've been eating and I heard from my classmates that eating more protein is helpful in losing weight.

    I've noticed many people seem to take an "Additive" attitude towards food. "What can I add to my diet to make me healthier?" - Super foods, more protein, more healthy fats, more juices, whatever...

    If you are looking to lose weight, you do not add anything to your diet. You need to cut stuff out.

    Eating high protein is good, but you need to remove something else (and more importantly, calories!) from your diet to lose weight.
    keuka5 wrote: »
    I have been exercising (I calculated my exercising with my total calories. That's y I dnt log in my exercise) and now I'm slowing down on the exercise yet again.

    No. Go back, calculate as if you aren't exercising, and eat that amount of calories.

    Exercise should be viewed as extra calories burned, not part of your daily allowable intake. Further, MFP drastically over-estimates calories burned, so I wouldn't log it at all, personally.

    Or if you do, don't eat back the exercise calories, or minimize how much you do. Don't eat back more than half the exercise calories, at worst case scenario.
  • amandarunning
    amandarunning Posts: 306 Member
    Some protein powders and bars can have a terrible effect on my stomach causing bloating and wind...phew the wind! Not sure why some do and some don't but they could be the problem so perhaps eliminate all but one, see what the effect is and experiment by elimination/addition to find which one is causing you issues?
  • rand486
    rand486 Posts: 270 Member
    amandarunning wrote: »
    Some protein powders and bars can have a terrible effect on my stomach causing bloating and wind...phew the wind!

    I forgot about this! It's true - some people do not handle dairy, and therefore whey or casein protein powder doesn't sit well with them.

    Alternatively, if you're getting too much protein (more than 1g/lean lb of bodyweight), you can get the protein farts as well. I've been told (though I have no scientific source) that the excess protein effectively ferments in the digestive system.

    So how much protein are you getting, OP? If it's more than ~130g/day, you may be having too much (I'd need to know your weight and body comp to guess a more realistic number, I'm just approximating)
  • keuka5
    keuka5 Posts: 8
    So I should re calculate my calories and add in the exercise I've been trying to do? I just got weighed today and I dnt weigh myself each week (some ppl tell me I should) so as of today I am 5'3" 203 lbs. after I had my son milk was an issue. It's not so much now tho (he is 8) but I dnt drink it as much as I did. Just with my oatmeal and cereal. I calculated my weight and exercise on a diff website before I restarted mfp. To help me lose weight
  • AlisonH729
    AlisonH729 Posts: 558 Member
    edited January 2015
    You said you are a server. Are you eating the restaurant food for dinner? Often? My first thought was sodium.

    Chew gum? Drink diet soda? The artificial sweeteners & bubbles are also culprits.
  • keuka5
    keuka5 Posts: 8
    No diet anything for me. Rarely chew gum. Yes unfortunately I eat dinner there when working. Pizza place too. Usually by the time I get a slice I have a bite then dnt eat the rest bc I'm not hungry
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    keuka5 wrote: »
    I've been kinda watching what I've been eating and I heard from my classmates that eating more protein is helpful in losing weight. So I've been consuming a bit more which fills me up. (High protein oatmeal. Protein Cheerios. Protein bars) but then I eat kinda blah for dinner. I waitress so if I dnt eat at dinner time I'll either eat later or not at all. If I'm not hungry I wnt eat. I've been drinking more water and cutting back on the coffee.
    But i feel bloated all the time. I have been exercising (I calculated my exercising with my total calories. That's y I dnt log in my exercise) and now I'm slowing down on the exercise yet again. Ik it's only been about a week and a half but I feel gross even after I exercise.
    Any suggestions on my bloating issues? Thanx

    How is your fiber intake? I also felt bloated until I upped it slightly (from fruits since fiber supplements made me feel worse).

    Also, do you watch sodium? Depending on brands, protein bars can be really high in sodium. Same with prepackaged type foods. For me, if I go over 1500 mg of sodium I bloat like a parade balloon for 3 days lol. The worst is in my fingers. Cutting down on my sodium has eliminated the problem.
  • keuka5
    keuka5 Posts: 8
    I dnt pay attention to my fiber intake...but I will keep an eye on it as well. The protein bars are nature valley. Plus I dnt add any salt to any I my foods. I'm trying to slowly add veggies to my meals as well
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    keuka5 wrote: »
    I dnt pay attention to my fiber intake...but I will keep an eye on it as well. The protein bars are nature valley. Plus I dnt add any salt to any I my foods. I'm trying to slowly add veggies to my meals as well

    Sodium doesn't just come from added salt in meals. Many prepackaged items are high in sodium.
  • kellicci
    kellicci Posts: 409 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    keuka5 wrote: »
    I dnt pay attention to my fiber intake...but I will keep an eye on it as well. The protein bars are nature valley. Plus I dnt add any salt to any I my foods. I'm trying to slowly add veggies to my meals as well

    Sodium doesn't just come from added salt in meals. Many prepackaged items are high in sodium.

    Yep. It sounds like everything you eat is pre-packaged and even though they are labeled as healthy they often have more sodium (as preservatives). You need to work more non-processed food into your diet. Try cooking one healthy meal a week and portioning it out to reheat. I do this and save a couple serving in the freezer. After a few weeks it's like having a freezer full of frozen dinners but they are healthy home cooked meals. I defrost and warm them up either for lunch or dinner it's just as fast and easy as pre-packaged meals except that one day a week when I spend time cooking a new meal.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Also- be mindful of the type of meats you buy/read sodium content. I have seen plain chicken have tons of sodium due to the way it is packaged.
  • charmcity10
    charmcity10 Posts: 9 Member
    I used to have the same problem. Eating at a deficit, working out, but still always feeling incredibly bloated and gross. I recently cut out dairy and most refined carbs/gluten and have felt soooo much better for the past few weeks.
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