Have you ever come out of a weekend or a vacation after indulging in sweets, salty food, and even alcohol and feel gross? Or have just felt like you’ve been in a slump recently and need to get back on track? Yep, me too. Very often actually.
Now, I’m not an expert (or trained) in digestive health, whatsoever, but over the years I have been able to learn a couple tips and tricks that have helped me when I am feeling bloated after indulging a little too much.
The tips that I’m sharing in this post are exactly what I did to lose the bloat around my body in just a couple of weeks.
Trust me, I know that I don’t necessarily think that I looked “bad“, but I knew that there were some areas that could use some adjustments in my lifestyle. You might also not be able to see a noticeable difference between the two pictures. But, I’ve actually been able to lose 6+ inches around my body in just 2 months. I even lost about 3 inches around my body in one week by implementing the tips I’m sharing in this post.
This post is absolutely perfect for you if you are like me & constantly find yourself going downhill after you indulge and can’t seem to get yourself back on track, for good. Trust me, we’ve all been there and it’s an incredibly frustrating path to be on.
After years of trial & error and struggling to figure out what will help me, I’ve finally discovered some really helpful tips and secrets that have ultimately helped me stop the seemingly never ending cycle.
Let me let you in on some of those secrets that have helped me!
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
I talk about this a lot, but only because I think it’s really important. I have a long track record of getting really mad at myself for having slip ups and indulging “too much”.
But, let me ask you, has beating yourself up actually helped you get back on track? Or did it put you even further downhill?
For me, beating myself up always pushes me further away from my goal. Inner dialogue is so so SOOO important! Did I mention it’s REALLY important??? What you tell yourself becomes your reality.
So, if you slip up over the weekend, if you eat too many sweet treats around the holidays, or if you just indulged because you just felt like it, give yourself some grace here. Life is about enjoying yourself and your time on earth. There’s nothing wrong with a little indulgence.
Tell yourself that you deserved the indulgence and you are ready to get back to your goals! Trust me, nothing productive comes from beating yourself up.
In the pictures I shared above, I had spent the last couple months indulging in Halloween candy and Christmas cookies. Honestly, it made me happy in the moment and I thoroughly enjoyed everything that I indulged in. I let myself enjoy it & when it was all over, I was ready to get back on track.
The simple shift in my mindset and how I approached the situation has been the key to making sure I stay on track. The slip ups in the past have been due mainly to me beating myself up and getting mad for indulging and just enjoying life. Letting the past be in the past and continuing to move forward has been a major key to being able to stay consistent in this lifestyle.
Drink LOTS of water
I hired a wellness & fitness coach a couple years ago and I still remember to this day how much she preaches: DO NOT fall for the “cleanse tea” scam. There is no secret (& not to mention- expen$ive) cleanses. The companies that talk about how they have the secret cleanse to help you lose all this weight, is absolutely f a l s e .
Seriously, good to know!
The best cleanse there is? Our good ole pal H2O. Drinking lots of water is incredibly important as it is, but increasing your water intake when you are feeling bloated will help flush everything out! I try to get in around 100 oz- 1 gallon of water per day. Have you ever tracked how many ounces of water you are drinking per day? When I first started tracking this, I realized that I was only getting around 40 ounces of water per day.
Simply just increasing your water intake will show some major benefits- just be prepared to head to the bathroom A LOT. When I first started increasing my water intake, I was in the bathroom like every half an hour, but let me tell you, it is so worth it!
I now make sure that I drink 16oz-24oz of water right when I get up because when you think about it, your body is in deprivation for how many hours you were asleep. So, you need to make sure that you are getting in water right away!
Not only have I noticed a difference in reducing my bloating, but I have less headaches & more energy as a result.
Get to sippin’!
Get sweaty
OK- so I’m not saying spend 2 hours a day at the gym on the treadmill. But, getting yourself to the gym and increasing cardio really helps! I actually continued to go to the gym, but it’s very important to make sure that you are continuing to keep going, rather than making excuses to fall off.
This also goes back to what I mentioned about not beating yourself up- make sure you are doing this out of self-love and not self-hate. Put in your headphones, put on an upbeat song, work off anything that is bothering you & continue to remind yourself how much your love yourself & your body.
PLEASE do not do this out of self-hate! Don’t spend hours on the treadmill trying to punish yourself for making unhealthy decisions!
I talk more about my fitness journey in these posts:
How/ Why I Go To The Gym At 5AM
3 Tips for Early Morning Workouts
My Fitness Journey | Choosing Yourself First
Eat lots of fresh veggies
In general, adding fresh veggies to your diet is always a good practice. I’ve noticed that just by replacing a snack that I usually have with carrots & celery really helps when I’m feeling bloated. Instead of reaching for some trail mix or chips & salsa, I try to gather some veggies in a bowl & snack on that instead.
I also really like to cook with veggies! I try to add in some bell peppers, onion, spinach, even celery when I’m cooking. I’m not saying to only snack on fresh veggies, but it’s always good practice to add them into your day when you can! Some simple adjustments can go a long way.
Reduce amount of refined carbs
I’m not saying removed carbs from your diet- AT ALL. Carbohydrates are an essential macronutrient that we all need.
I just know that when I overindulged, it’s usually in spaghetti, pizza, ice cream, etc. So, I try to pack my diet with lots of lean meats & veggies, rather than those foods high in refined carbs.
Especially when I came out of the holidays feeling all bloated, I tried not to make pasta or pizza for dinner. Especially since I have a gluten intolerance, I wanted to make sure that I let my body reset and get back to normal.
I didn’t completely cut it out, but I was definitely cognizant about making sure that I gave my body a break from these refined carbs.
Reduce sugar
Suga, suga. I love sugar.
Sweets are definitely my downfall. If there’s candy around, especially Kit Kats, I can’t help myself. During Halloween, I always have a hard time staying away from allllll of the candy.
Also, ice cream. I freaking LOVE ice cream.
Of course, these foods are PACKED full of sugar. Once all of the candy and Christmas cookies were gone, I made it an effort to make sure that those sweets were not in my apartment. I admit, I love having those red & green M&Ms in a cute container on my kitchen counter around the holidays, but it’s so hard not to resist a handful whenever I walk by it.
So, once they were all gone, I made sure not to have candies in my apartment after the holidays. Simply just not having them around makes it so much easier because they are simply not around. I don’t even want to know how much sugar I had October-December, but not having those sweets around definitely helped in making sure that I am keeping my sugar intake under control.
Don’t try to go into a food deprivation
While it’s a good idea to eat lots of veggies, reduce carbs & sugar intake, don’t try to force yourself into a food deprivation. Trust me, it doesn’t work. I’ve tried. Many, many times before.
“I’m only going to eat healthy food!”
Deprivation doesn’t work because your body needs that food. When you crave something, it’s your brain telling your body that it needs what that food has. So, when you deprive yourself of something, your brain will CRAVE that particular food and you are more likely to overindulge. Thus, making the frustrating cycle repeat.
I remember one time I tried to make myself eat only healthy food and after a couple days, I proceeded to down an entire bag of sun chips in one sitting.
Don’t deprive yourself! It just simply doesn’t work.
Moderation is absolutely key here. I wanted to let you know that in the last couple weeks that I lost 6 inches, I was still eating a bowl of ice cream some nights. I’ve been making sure not to scoop half a gallon into a bowl, but a couple scoops has been good enough for me. In letting myself indulge in moderation, it has helped curb my cravings SIGNIFICANTLY. There was even one night when my boyfriend and I were craving Wendy’s frosties, so we went to Wendy’s and got a small frosty.
Deprivation is not the answer, moderation is.
Take a break from alcohol
Don’t get me wrong, ya girl loves her glass(es) of Pinot Grigio. But, reducing alcohol saves lots of unnecessary calories from your diet. Also, I really don’t like waking up the next day feeling hung over & gross. Plus, when you drink, you tend to snack in unhealthy food. It’s a double whammy.
But, not just binge drinking, but even just having a glass in the evening with dinner. I got in the habit of this, especially around the holidays when wine is everywhereeee.
Now, I try to limit myself to just drinking alcohol on the weekend and limiting myself to just a couple of glasses, or none at all. You have no idea how much better you feel when you don’t drink excessively. So, reducing alcohol intake also has so many incredible benefits.
Take a shot of apple cider vinegar
I’m going to be honest here, apple cider vinegar is absolutely disgusting. But, there are so many digestive benefits to it. I mix a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with a little bit of water and lemon and take it like a shot. I call this my “health shot”.
I would test out what works best for you with apple cider vinegar. I tried to make it a daily habit to take a shot of apple cider vinegar, but it actually made my stomach really upset after doing it every day for a full week.
Maybe do a little research and see what your options are. I know some people mix it in their hot tea and other things. But, this is definitely a good thing to try when you are trying to get yourself back on track.
Get right back into your routine
In the past, I’ve found myself so frustrated with myself for indulging, that I’ve found myself neglecting the gym & healthy habits altogether. When I think about this now, that mindset is just simply not productive. This goes back to my first tip- don’t beat yourself up. Like I’ve mentioned many times, truly believe that it all starts with your mindset.
I’ve had people ask me how I’ve been able to stick with my fitness goals for so long & this is exactly it. I started just getting right back into my routine without even thinking about it. I don’t beat myself up anymore. I let myself indulge when I want to, wake up the next morning and get right back into it. The simple adjustment in how I perceive the situation has completely shifted how I’ve been able to stick with my goals.
Have I fallen off a couple time? Yes! Of course, I’m human. We’re all human here. I technically “fell off” around the holidays, but I was able to get myself back on track so easily because of this mindset.
We spend so much time getting mad at ourselves for living life & indulging that we don’t even realize that we can simply just let it be and move on. We are all human. We NEED those times to just live our lives and enjoy the simple pleasures.
You are in control of letting bad habits become bad habits. You ate too many slices of pizza and a bowl of ice cream? Fine. Let it be. You still planned on getting to the gym tomorrow, so get up and go like usual.
Can you tell that I’m really big into mindset? I am because I truly believe that everything, I mean everything starts with our mindset. Our perception & what we tell ourselves has a direct impact on how we feel and how we show up for ourselves.
It all starts with doing things out of self-love. I have never been able to stick to a plan when I’m doing it out of self-hate.
We must love ourselves & love our bodies! ❤
xx
