Bloating

At the risk of over sharing, I am bloating.  It's an awful feeling.  Your pants are tight and you feel like you are carrying around and extra ten pounds.  And to make it worse, you didn't even do anything to cause that!   I chose not to weigh in yesterday because it was that bad.  Still is.  But it got me thinking.  First question was, why does this happen in the first place?  And the second, how do I fix it?

Let's address the first one.  Hormones!  Hormones! Hormones!  The higher levels of hormones cause this to happen.  And while medicines like Ibuproferen helps with cramping and other noxious pains, it can contribute to water retention.  So how do we fix it?

• Water!  Believe it or not.  Water and lots of it.  Stay away from carbonated drinks.  The air will make you gassy.  I can do the water thing, but I am not giving up or staying away from my Diet Coke.
•  Eat foods that are water based.  Melons, berries, celery, lettuce.  The good for you stuff...not the comfort food.
• Avoid caffeine.  No matter how tired you are.  Caffeine will aggravate the symptoms and make you more irritable.  I'm ALWAYS irritable.  
• Avoid foods high in sodium.  I do this the night before each weigh in.  I don't want that to be reflected on the scale.  Even popcorn, which is a fantastic filling and good choice can show a gain.
• Avoid gas promoting foods. 
• Exercise   I have a hard enough time with this one under normal circumstances.
• Ask your doctor for a diuretic prescription.

All kidding aside, these are some great tips to help cure that bloat.  We don't have to be miserable.  And the best part about these tips sans the last, is we can do them all on our own and without taking a pill.  I like that.  What do you do to beat the bloat?