Thinking that you have gained weight even while adhering to your diet and exercise routine can scare anyone! Are you afraid to imagine the thick layer of fat that a small bite of delicious pizza can wrap around your stomach? No, weight gain does not happen overnight! But if you still have that intense fear of gaining weight, your belly bulges. Before a panic attack begins, check for certain signs to rule out bloating. Before you panic, it would be wise to go through this checklist to show if gas and fluid retention is what’s making you look like a blowfish. Bloating is the feeling of discomfort and suffocation that makes the abdomen look swollen, rule this out before you get frustrated. Here’s what you need to know:
1- You ate a carbohydrate
rich meal a few hours ago: Bloating tends to occur after eating heavy, carbohydrate-rich meals. Therefore, if you feel bloated after a hearty lunch or dinner, most likely this is bloating.
2- Your belly appears smaller in the morning
Watch your stomach for a few days, if it appears in a few sizes in the morning and you feel that your stomach is gradually enlarging while eating, then it is bloated. When you wake up with a relatively smaller waistline than the night before, that’s just bloated.
3- Your period is fast approaching:
An increase in the female hormone estrogen and a decrease in progesterone around and during your period can cause your belly to bloat and cause water retention.
4- Just the look of your bloated belly:
If you’ve been walking around like a blowfish, and there are no signs of weight gain anywhere else, gas and fluid retention is causing your belly to bloat temporarily. If your thighs, face, buttocks, and arms look normal, you haven’t gained weight.
5- A hard and taut stomach:
If your stomach is hard and not soft as usual, then it is definitely bloated.
6- Are you dehydrated?
Dehydration and increased sodium intake can cause water retention, and if you’ve recently reduced your water intake and eaten foods high in sodium, your body retains extra water around your belly.
However, if you feel like you have gained weight and are not just bloating, then you can lose all those extra pounds by following the right kind of diet and exercising.
