FitSugar

Do You Skip Yoga Class If You're Gassy?

FitSugar — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 03:47:46 PDT

How's this for TMI? A friend sent me a text last week saying she was skipping out on our regular yoga date. She was a little embarrassed but admitted that she was feeling, "well, uh, gassy." For those of you who practice yoga, it's easy to understand why she felt like staying home. Passing gas during yoga class is not the most comfortable subject to talk about - or experience firsthand! Fitted yoga clothes, a quiet room, and poses that twist around your digestive area? It can be the perfect recipe for passing along an unwelcome gift to the people around you. I mean, yoga is all about letting go, right? But what do you do in this sort of situation: accept that your innards might get a workout too or stay home and avoid possible embarrassment?

You Asked: Beans Make Me Gassy

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:30:00 PDT

Dear FitSugar,
I read this site religiously and love it. I took your advice of incorporating more beans into my vegetarian diet so I got all my amino acids, but it's causing a bit of a gas problem. Is it okay to take something over the counter? Are there other ways to deal with it? Let me know! Thanks!!
- Gassy Cassie

This is a great question! Just so you know beans have this effect on everyone! If you're not used to eating a ton of beans (or foods containing lots of fiber), it's going to take your body a little while to adjust. Start incorporating beans into your diet a little at a time. Try sprinkling a tablespoon or two over salad or on your pasta. Use soymilk in your cereal or mix some tofu in your vegetable stir fry. Slowly introducing beans into your diet will give your body a chance to warm up.

Also try mixing your beans with other foods. This will help to tone down the gaseous effects of the beans (don't just eat them alone). Try eating beans with rice, hummus with pita, or vegetable soup that contains beans. After a few weeks of these smaller amounts, your body will get used to your bean intake, and they'll become easier to digest.

Also, if you are soaking and cooking your own dry beans, instead of canned, be sure to dump out the water after they're done cooking and rinse the beans thoroughly. Soaking and cooking bean water can cause major flatulence. The same goes with the canned beans. Use a strainer to get rid of the extra water the beans are soaking in, and rinse them with water before using.

Some people take Beano, an over-the-counter pill that contains enzymes to help your body digest beans and other high fiber foods. I'm not saying it will cure your gas, but it may help.

FIt's Tips: I wouldn't worry about the gas too much, since everyone farts. Just start off eating small amounts of beans at a time, and you'll be ready for spicy black bean soup in no time!

Source

Foods That Can Make You Look Pregnant

Shape — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:29:06 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Over the weekend, I saw a photo of a female celebrity (who is in a relationship with a male celeb) leaving a café with the caption, "Baby bump?" and I had to refrain myself from shouting out loud, "Come on, can't a girl eat without the world thinking she's having a baby?!"

The truth is having a perfectly flat stomach all the time just isn't normal. After you eat or drink, food and liquids naturally expand your stomach and intestines, so at least a little "bump" is inevitable every single day. So if you regularly get stalked by paparazzi or you have family members who are anxiously awaiting news of a new addition, here's the lowdown on when you might get mistaken for being pregnant:

See which foods may make you look pregnant after the break!

Husband Lives on Wife's Breast Milk. Why? Because It's Delicious.

Yahoo Shine — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:32:20 PDT

We're happy to present this article from one of our favorite sites, Yahoo! Shine:

Man can not live on bread alone. Breast milk, maybe. A blogger named Curtis is going to find out, as he embarks on a diet consisting only of his wife's breast milk.

"Much more hungry yesterday, 104 ounces consumed, roughly 3120 calories," he writes on his blog Don't Have a Cow Curtis, where he and his wife, Kate, are tracking his daily diet. (Update: Curtis's site has been taken down.) Curtis came up with the unique meal plan after the birth of his child nine months ago left his wife with an excess of frozen breast milk. They tried donating their stock but milk-bank regulations and shipping fees prevented it. Besides, Curtis actually likes breast milk.

"I see nothing disgusting or wrong with drinking my own species milk (especially that of my wife), it is nothing more than a healthy meal," he writes. He also says it's a handy digestive aid and is much easier on his stomach than cow's milk. But how does it taste?

You Asked: My Vegetarian Diet Is Making Me Gassy

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:47:51 PDT

Dear Fit,
I am trying the vegetarian lifestyle and have finally given up bacon and hamburgers and went meat-free. I have a family history of obesity, heart disease, and cancer, and have read that a diet rich in fruits and veggies can play a huge role in prevention. I've been loading up on the green veggies, beans, fruits, and tofu. My taste buds don't really miss meat, but it hasn't even been a week and I'm having some, well, unpleasant side effects. I'm unbelievably bloated and gassy all the time, and am close to giving up on my veggie quest. Is it possible that my body is trying to tell me that a vegetarian diet isn't right for me, or is there a way to go about this so that I'm not feeling so inflated?
- Puffed Up

First of all, I applaud you for taking your health into your own hands and going meat-free. Your body is greatly benefiting from consuming less saturated fat and more plant-based proteins. I'm actually not surprised that you're experiencing such embarrassing and uncomfortable side effects, but that doesn't mean you can't become a vegetarian. To hear my suggestions

read more. From your diet description, you're doing everything right with your food choices, but there's such a thing as too much, too soon. Vegetarian foods are very high in fiber, and if your digestive system isn't used to that, it translates to gas and maybe even diarrhea. So my advice is to slowly ease into this diet. Be a flexitarian for a while. Consume your old diet that includes meat, and gradually increase your fruit, vegetable, legume, and whole grain intake as you fade out the meat. At first, eat small portions of foods that are especially gas-producing such as broccoli, beans, green peppers, apples, and high fiber cereals. Slowly increase the portion size over time and the gassiness should begin to dissipate. Making the switch to a vegetarian lifestyle overnight is a shock to your system, so all you need to do is move forward slowly, listen to your body, and you'll be meat-free (and less bloated) within a few weeks.

5 Lazy Ways to Flatten Your Belly

Prevention — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:07:11 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

How to get flatter abs without starving or sweating — fast
By Diana Kelly

Who doesn't want a flat belly, stat? Yet hours of crunches, cardio, and superstrict dieting aren’t realistic — or a whole lot of fun — for many of us. Luckily, it is possible to flatten your belly and look slimmer almost immediately.

"Your stomach is the one part of your body that reacts quickly to dietary changes — good and bad. If you want to look thinner fast, avoid gassy veggies, chewing gum, salt, carbonated beverages, and any foods with sugar alcohols," says Erin Palinski, RD and certified personal trainer. These foods will lead to water retention and bloating, she explains. If you normally eat three larger meals a day, Palinski recommends cutting those portions in half and eating smaller meals every two to three hours. Want more instant fixes for a flatter belly? Here are five ways you can feel trimmer and slimmer in your belly — in some cases, nearly overnight.

Print It: Foods that Flatten Your Belly Shopping List

Stand up straight
Standing up taller can make you look 5 pounds slimmer, says Deborah L. Mullen, a certified strength and conditioning specialist in San Luis Obispo, CA. How can you make it a habit? Try Pilates. According to a 6-month pilot study of 18 chronic back pain sufferers, Pilates is one of the best ways to improve posture and strengthen your ab and back muscles.

Jessica Cassity, Prevention's senior fitness editor and a certified Pilates instructor, suggests two moves you can actually do while you're still in bed that will set you straight for the day:

• Belly Ins: Draw belly to spine. Slowly, flattening lower back to bed by using your core (not your butt or legs), press belly down on an exhale, release on an inhale. Do 10 times.

• Roll and Reach: Sit upright with legs bent and pressed together, feet flat on the bed. Reach forward over knees, palms down. Slowly, roll halfway down, then twist right. Reach right fingertips to the low back diagonal (if you’re facing the foot of your bed, you’ll reach toward to top right corner), while stretching left fingertips forward. Twist back to center, bringing right arm front and rolling up to sit. Repeat to left for one rep. Do eight reps.

Try These Pilate Moves for a Flatter Belly

Dress in belly-flattening fashions
The right outfit can pull off a multitude of belly-flattening miracles. Meg Goldman (meggoldman.com), a New York City stylist who dresses women of all shapes and sizes — including curvy Weight Watchers success stories — shares her best belly-flattening tips.

To learn Meg's tips and more keep reading.

Dietitians Dish: Bloating Foods

Guest Writer — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:00:49 PDT

The following post was written by the registered dietitians of C & J Nutrition, Stephanie Clarke and Willow Jarosh. We turned to them for their expert advice to answer a FitSugar reader's question.

Hi,
I am dealing with some serious bloating issues and it isn't pretty - especially since it's Summer and I plan to hang out in a bikini as much as possible. Can you tell me what foods cause bloating that I should be avoiding? Also, are there any foods out there that alleviate bloating? Thanks!
- Puffy Tummy

When dealing with bloating you need to approach the problems from a couple of different angles to find the source of the problems and figure out what is causing the bloating. A common cause we see with our clients is eating too much, too fast. The remedy for this is to slow down and be more conscious both before and during eating. Don't let yourself get famished between meals - because then you'll want to eat a ton of the first thing you see, quickly. Have a snack in between meals so that you're hungry but still able to make wise portion decisions and slow down at meals. In other words, try eating smaller amounts more often.

If your bloating is PMS-related, skip sodas/carbonated water/etc., as the same bubbles that give carbonated drinks their fizz can enter our digestive tract and cause bloating. Also go easy on salty foods/snacks - too much salt causes our bodies to hold onto water, leading to that puffy feeling of fluid retention. Finally, don't skimp on protein and your meals and snacks. Protein can actually help pull excess water out of your body (especially handy during water-retention prone PMS time).

Keep reading for a few more tips and foods to avoid.

Whoopi Goldberg Gets Gassy With Dr. Oz

FitSugar — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:47:01 PDT

Dr. Oz couldn't leave The View today without dispensing some helpful diet tips. He talked about a fiber tablet that he thinks everyone should take before meals that will help to curtail the amount of food your body will want to eat during the meal. The only drawback to the pill is that it may leave a person feeling gassy. Whoopi had no problem with this side effect and let everyone in the studio know about it.

How to Prevent Bridal Bloat

Michele Foley — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:49:49 PDT

The last thing anyone wants to deal with on the day of a big event - like your wedding! - is being uncomfortably bloated. While the best way to a flat belly is through cardio and ab work, feeling bloated is a whole other beast. Here are some tips to banish the bloat on your big day.

Eat the right kinds of foods. Certain foods like whole grains and pineapple actually help ease bloating because they keep the digestive system on track. It's also important to stay hydrated. When dehydrated, your body retains fluids, which is a surefire way to get a little belly bump.
Stay away from certain foods. While pineapple might banish that balloon belly, there are a host of foods that do just the opposite. Before the big day, try to limit your intake of foods that cause bloating. These are foods that cause the body to feel too full and/or gassy like beans, broccoli, pears, and cabbage. Salty and fatty foods are also big culprits, and so are carbonated beverages.
Eat slowly and chew your food. Often the reason we feel bloated is that we're swallowing air while we eat. A surefire sign that you're eating too fast is if you get the hiccups. Slow down and take time to really chew your food. You'll feel fuller sooner, swallow less air, and make things easier on your digestive system.

If you've done all of the above but are still feeling out of sorts, you can always take a cue from Eric Damon - the costume designer for Gossip Girl. Whenever the girls on set are feeling bloated, he puts them in Spanx. Keep in mind that when your wedding day arrives - Spanx or no Spanx - you'll be the most beautiful woman in the room.

Quick Waist-Slimmers: No Spanx Needed!

Self — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 04:27:07 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Self here on FitSugar!

Instead of reaching for shapewear when your sexy new date night dress doesn't fit, try a few of these tummy toning tips from celebrity trainer and fitness advisor for USANA Health Sciences, Kathy Kaehler.

Drink Plenty of H2O: Skip the soda and the wine. Opt for water, water, and more water instead. Drinking water flushes the system and helps flatten out your mid-section.
Tone Up: A fantastic exercise to do on a daily basis is the plank. Hold it for at least one minute or build up to that. It works the core muscles from top to bottom and inside out. A super strong core keeps that belly pulled in and tight.
Limit the Gassy Foods: When you want to slim down that belly to fit into clothes for a big night out, keep the veggies at bay hours before you dress. That will limit the gas and reduce the bloat.
Kick up the Cardio: Walk, walk, walk! I have all my clients, including Julia Roberts, walk. Whether you are outside or on a treadmill, walking is a great way to trim up the body, keep you at your ideal weight, and, because you use most of your muscles, add more lean body weight (which burns more calories and helps you stay lean!).

Keep reading to find out what exercise you should be doing to tone your core!