Please help with tips to prevent bloating

tushitatravellogue
tushitatravellogue Posts: 68 Member
edited September 2020 in Health and Weight Loss
I seem to be dealing with lot of bloating issues aftr havin a baby, atleast 4 days a week.

Are there any tips that has worked for you in preventing bloating.

I wake up feeling great, I feel good until I hv lunch too. Around 4pm I start to feel bloated up and by late evening my tummy feels really heavy and uncomfortable.

I have been working on cutting carbs and I don't over eat at lunch. My lunch is usually quinoa, lentils and veggies.
Am a vegetarian and I don't have any diary in the day except buttermilk post lunch.

I have a small snack around 4pm if am hungry.
My activity levels are low, and I try to walk a few steps every couple of hours.

Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,329 Member
    What might cause bloating differs from person to person. Why not write down what you eat each day and at what time you experience how much bloating. Then narrow the problematic food down from there.

    For how long does this problem exist? Might also be hormonal from pregnancy.
  • It's been exactly a year since I had my baby. And I just feel like it's been around on and off for almost 6 months now.

    Aftr you mentioned I realise, there has been some hormonal changes.
    6 months back I started solids for baby and feeding reduced, and couple of months ago I resumed my periods. Surprisingly am not feeling bloated around periods, it was opposite scenario before pregnancy!!!

    I have changed from white rice to quinoa for a week now, to experiment and see if that helps.
    The bloating is always around late noon.

    In general does a high carbs meal cause bloating ?

    Sorry about the lengthy post.. but am starting to get frustrated and want to try any tip that helps..
  • Deviette
    Deviette Posts: 979 Member
    It's been exactly a year since I had my baby. And I just feel like it's been around on and off for almost 6 months now.

    Aftr you mentioned I realise, there has been some hormonal changes.
    6 months back I started solids for baby and feeding reduced, and couple of months ago I resumed my periods. Surprisingly am not feeling bloated around periods, it was opposite scenario before pregnancy!!!

    I have changed from white rice to quinoa for a week now, to experiment and see if that helps.
    The bloating is always around late noon.

    In general does a high carbs meal cause bloating ?


    Sorry about the lengthy post.. but am starting to get frustrated and want to try any tip that helps..

    For bolded:
    It can do it can not. Personally I've never found carbs to be very bloating. Dramatically changing my fibre intake, yes. A sudden large increase in protein, yes.

    You can also try an elimination diet if you really are getting stuck to try an narrow down triggers.
  • Deviette wrote: »
    It's been exactly a year since I had my baby. And I just feel like it's been around on and off for almost 6 months now.

    Aftr you mentioned I realise, there has been some hormonal changes.
    6 months back I started solids for baby and feeding reduced, and couple of months ago I resumed my periods. Surprisingly am not feeling bloated around periods, it was opposite scenario before pregnancy!!!

    I have changed from white rice to quinoa for a week now, to experiment and see if that helps.
    The bloating is always around late noon.

    In general does a high carbs meal cause bloating ?


    Sorry about the lengthy post.. but am starting to get frustrated and want to try any tip that helps..

    For bolded:
    It can do it can not. Personally I've never found carbs to be very bloating. Dramatically changing my fibre intake, yes. A sudden large increase in protein, yes.

    You can also try an elimination diet if you really are getting stuck to try an narrow down triggers.

    That helps!!! I will try and experiment a bit and see if it's the protein (as I eat lot of lentils at lunch) or the fiber causing it. For some reason i was stuck at carbs ...
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    Deviette wrote: »
    It's been exactly a year since I had my baby. And I just feel like it's been around on and off for almost 6 months now.

    Aftr you mentioned I realise, there has been some hormonal changes.
    6 months back I started solids for baby and feeding reduced, and couple of months ago I resumed my periods. Surprisingly am not feeling bloated around periods, it was opposite scenario before pregnancy!!!

    I have changed from white rice to quinoa for a week now, to experiment and see if that helps.
    The bloating is always around late noon.

    In general does a high carbs meal cause bloating ?


    Sorry about the lengthy post.. but am starting to get frustrated and want to try any tip that helps..

    For bolded:
    It can do it can not. Personally I've never found carbs to be very bloating. Dramatically changing my fibre intake, yes. A sudden large increase in protein, yes.

    You can also try an elimination diet if you really are getting stuck to try an narrow down triggers.

    That helps!!! I will try and experiment a bit and see if it's the protein (as I eat lot of lentils at lunch) or the fiber causing it. For some reason i was stuck at carbs ...

    It might be the lentils - you don't say how much is "a lot" but they have a lot of fiber (9g fiber/100 g weight). That amount is about a half cup portion, give or take. If this is something you recently started eating regularly, the bloating might resolve as your system gets used to processing the amount of fiber. You could try an experiment - a smaller portion, perhaps - and see how you feel.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 978 Member
    I've had multiple issues over the years and an elimination diet helped narrow it down / clear the side effects. I agree with the suggestion by @yirara to write down everything you eat (and drink) and note what time you ate, how long afterwards the bloating occurs, how severe it is and how long it lasts for. After a couple of weeks, maybe swap things around and have your typical evening meal at lunch time and vice versa - and see if the problem continues and, if so, whether the timing changes. If that makes no difference, look at what you're eating and drinking earlier in the day.

    All sorts of foods can cause bloating but sometimes it may only happen after you've eaten a trigger food for a few consecutive days - for me, dairy products cause havoc if I have cow's milk / cheese etc on a few days running, but once in a while is fine. It could be what you're having for breakfast. It could be what you ate the night before getting 'stuck' in your digestive system. It could be air in your digestive system if you gulp your food down because you're attending to a young child simultaneously.

    How much fibre are you actually eating a day and is it spread across your meals or all contained in your lunch? Are you drinking enough water to help digest your food? Try eating slowly too.
  • peggy_polenta
    peggy_polenta Posts: 308 Member
    lentils...? try taking to some beano b4 eating to see if that helps.
  • Thank you so much for the tips everyone..
    I will start a food log and make notes..
    @Strudders67 yes am guilty of quickly finishing up my meal, will try to eat slower. My water intake also has reduced as I forget about it, specially post lunch .. I will put a reminder on phone ..
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,668 Member
    If it doesn't resolve with a change in diet, you might talk to your gynecologist. Uterine cancer can cause bloating.
  • LunaTheFatCat
    LunaTheFatCat Posts: 237 Member
    Maxxitt wrote: »

    It might be the lentils - you don't say how much is "a lot" but they have a lot of fiber (9g fiber/100 g weight). That amount is about a half cup portion, give or take. If this is something you recently started eating regularly, the bloating might resolve as your system gets used to processing the amount of fiber. You could try an experiment - a smaller portion, perhaps - and see how you feel.

    In addition, if you use the dried lentils, make sure to rinse them thoroughly beforehand. I had the same issue with bloating/gas and simply rinsing them did the trick.
  • @LunaTheFatCat Thank you I will try this trick..

    meanwhile I gave a break to lentils and I had a bloating free day.. I guess I need to reintroduce it in small portion and help my tummy adapt !!!
  • IronIsMyTherapy
    IronIsMyTherapy Posts: 482 Member
    Drink water to avoid retaining water. Counterintuitive, I know.
  • knotmel
    knotmel Posts: 80 Member
    This may not apply to you, but I get painfully bloated when I chew sugarfree gum (I think it’s the sugar alcohols). It took me forever to realize it, because I wasn’t thinking of it as something I ate (because I didn’t eat it). But quitting gum made a huge difference.
  • knotmel wrote: »
    This may not apply to you, but I get painfully bloated when I chew sugarfree gum (I think it’s the sugar alcohols). It took me forever to realize it, because I wasn’t thinking of it as something I ate (because I didn’t eat it). But quitting gum made a huge difference.

    usually am chewing gum when am traveling so it's good to know this tip ..