It’s no secret – shifting weight from your stomach isn’t an easy task. It’s one of the trickiest places to lose weight, as the fat around your middle is more stubborn than elsewhere – plus, ab exercises aren’t always the easiest. While we’d never advocate a quick-fix diet or to lose weight quickly, there are a few things that might be causing a bloated stomach and some easy tricks to tauten that tum.
Hit maximum chill
First things first, chill out. When you’re feeling frazzled, your body produces more of the stress hormone which has a negative effect on your digestive system – leaving you feeling and looking bloated plus, possibly, constipated. So try and relax whenever you can; even if it’s for a few minutes a day, try listening to a meditation podcast, doing a few yoga poses or zoning out in front of the TV.
Take a bath
Get that chill time in with a bath – not just your normal Lush bath bomb scented affair but one with Epsom salts instead. Dump in a tub load (or to cups full to be precise) and it can help reduce bloating by drawing excess water from your tum. It’s a great trick for those days you want to squeeze into your skinniest jeans.
Dine on dark chocolate
Not for every meal, but a square or two of the darker variety can actually help lessen your tum. It’s all down to the monounsaturated fat, which can help to speed up your metabolism. Plus, it gives you an energy boost so you might not skip that spin class after all…
Work on your posture
Hunching over our desks, phones, tablets and the likes can throw your posture totally out of whack. A good posture not only makes you look slimmer, as you stand taller, but it engages your stomach muscles too. Try to sit with your back straight and shoulders back, and place both feet on the floor. If that doesn’t work, set yourself a reminder on your phone or computer to sit up straight every 20-or-so minutes.
Suck on some lemon (water)
An easy morning routine to get yourself into is to sip on warm water and lemon first thing; it can help to reduce inflammation in the gut and debloat your stomach.
Bin the gum
When you chew gum, you swallow extra air which leads to, you guessed it, bloating. Plus, it tricks your body into thinking it’s about to be fed and it starts to prep itself for food – when there’s no food for it to process, there’s an excess of stomach acid which again, causes bloating. So it might be time to ditch that seemingly innocent, minty habit.
- Source: Hello
