One of the reasons you may not see definition in your stomach – despite putting in all the work at the gym and eating healthier – is due to bloating.
Not only does this abnormal gas swelling make it difficult for you to fit into your little LBD (Little Black Dress), it can also be a painful experience. Ouch!
Gassiness and bloating is often a result of a poor diet and bad habits. Here are 7 common reasons why you may be regularly experiencing this discomfort:
- Eating too much, too quickly.
- Drinking loads of soda and other carbonated beverages.
- Chewing gum regularly which leads you to take in excess air.
- Not watching your sodium intake.
- Eating bloat-inducing foods such as beans, Brussels sprouts and dairy.
- Drinking through a straw as it forces you to suck in extra air.
- Increase in the progesterone hormone (particularly right before your period and during pregnancy).
There are many ways to reduce this gassy feeling but today’s focus is how to do so through what you drink.
As they say, prevention is better than cure so try and adopt the following drinks into your diet to curb constipation and bloating.
Cheers to a flatter tummy, ladies and gents!
Load up on green tea
Green tea is one of the healthiest beverages you’ll find on the planet as it has so many benefits. One of which happens to be reducing constipation. Because it’s a digestive stimulant, it helps reduce intestinal gas and constipation partly due to its a laxative effect. Not to mention aiding in weight loss!
And if you’re not a fan of green tea, try peppermint. It’s said to relax your intestine muscles and help with gas and bloating.
Drink your chia seeds
This superfood has become incredibly popular in recent years and for good reason. It’s packed with loads of nutrients and, in fact, a single serving has more calcium than a glass of milk and as many antioxidants as blueberries.
Chia seeds are also great for digestion and a good way to down them would be to add some seeds to your water (another element that helps with constipation as well weight loss so yay!)
Make sure to drink about 2litres per day and it should help get things flowing in your system and reduce your bloated feeling.
Go green… Smoothie-style
Women need about 25g serving of fiber per day so a green smoothie is a perfect way to load up on this. A nice go-to recipe would be one frozen banana, a little bit of mango, some water and loads of spinach and/or kale.
Fun fact: the potassium in the banana and mango is said to be a great way to flush out excess liquid out of your system and hopefully reduce bloating!
For good measure, try throwing in a teaspoon of chia seeds into the mix and voila. Super delicious and helps keeps things moving in your system so as to reduce that bloated feeling.
Source: Lifestyle Magazine
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