How I Cured My Bloating - What I Ate Wednesday {24.4.19}


Since mentioning my bloating problem on Instastories a few weeks ago, I have been flooded with messages and comments from so many of you sharing your stories of similar issues. I could not believe how many other women suffer with the same thing! If you are completely unaware of what I'm talking about, in a nutshell I've struggled with bad bloating or what I now know to be "gut inflammation" ever since having my second baby (Eduardo). It struck a few months postpartum, long after I had reached my pre-baby weight. It was incredibly frustrating because although I looked normal each morning or for the first half of the day, every evening after dinner my stomach would stick out to the point where I looked about 4/5 months pregnant. A few people suggested I had developed an intolerance to gluten or dairy but I tried cutting both of those out and none of it worked. 

Since falling pregnant for the third time back in 2016 and then going onto have Alessia straight after and Andrea straight after that, the bloating seemed to go away as it never affected me as badly when I was carrying my babies (or perhaps I just didn't notice it as much as my stomach was never flat then anyway!). But several months after having Andrea it came back with a vengeance. Each morning I would start the day with a relatively flat stomach (for me at least!) and almost every evening after dinner I looked like I was expecting baby number 5. (I am definitely NOT, by the way!) I was extremely uncomfortable, it made me feel self-conscious and frustrated despite my efforts at working out every morning and having reached my goal weight. 

"Intermittent Fasting" has become a bit of a craze in the diet/fitness world and although I had heard of the tremendous benefits and it was first brought to my attention by my OB/GYN, I had always shied away from the idea of anything with the word "fasting" in it due to my past history with an eating disorder. I personally do not believe that cutting out food groups or restricting calories in anyway is the best option for someone like me, no matter how many years I maybe recovered. That being said, I started to notice that I had unintentionally fallen into a pattern of intermittent fasting without realising it and it was not anywhere near as restrictive or triggering as I had originally assumed it to be. 

Let me explain...when I was pregnant with Andrea I suffered with awful heartburn. This was always worse later on in the day, more specifically when I ate late at night. So I stopped eating dessert or anything sweet every evening and instead moved it around to earlier in the day. (I still had to have something yummy!) That got me out of the habit of eating late anyway, I felt better for it and just never really took it back up after giving birth. Since having Andrea my routine shifted to a little bit earlier and I now wake up at 5:30am and go to bed at 8:30pm. Our kids have always eaten around 5pm and I just naturally eat with them, or sometimes a little bit after. On the weekends we might even eat at 4:30pm, depending on how the day pans out! 

I began to notice that whenever I ate before 6pm I was less bloated and my tummy felt better. If I ate later in the evening I had a hard time falling asleep that night, I felt sluggish the next day and my bloating was much worse. I used to eat breakfast around 8:30am anyway, after the older children had gone to school and I had fed the babies, dogs and cleaned up the kitchen. Now that we live a bit farther from the school, Jonathan is normally home from drop-off a bit later and we like to eat breakfast together so I started eating at around 9am. This basically gives me an "intermittent fast" of 14-15 hours. I only became aware of this after realising that by doing it for the past week or so, my bloating had pretty much disappeared! I do not know if you can really call this a true "fast" because from what I've read online intermittent fasting generally has to start at 16 hours, but in any case it doesn't matter because this is what has worked for me and I can't tell you how much it has changed my life! I feel so much better, I no longer go to bed feeling uncomfortable and bloated, I have more energy, I sleep like a log every night...and another benefit which may be TMI...I am SO regular!! Which was never the case for me so...there you go! 

Some final points on this topic though; I am not a nutritionist or a doctor. I am just a woman who has gone through five pregnancies and this is how my body reacted to the hormonal changes that happened afterwards. I feel that this way of eating has benefited me greatly HOWEVER please be aware that everyone is different and I would encourage anyone to speak to their doctor if you have any questions or concerns. I am not qualified to give nutritional advice. What worked for me may not work for you! 

What I'm Wearing

Clothing

Top & trousers - Whistles (old)
Shoes - River Island (old)
Scarf - Hermes 

Jewellery

14K Gold 5 Letter Necklace - Maya Brenner (gifted)
Perlée Signature Gold Bracelet - Van Cleef & Arpels
Soleste Earrings in Rose Gold - Tiffany's

Makeup

Benefit Hoola Bronzer (gifted)

Onto what I ate today:


Breakfast 9:04am
I had my usual breakfast of 1/2 a cup of sprouted oats, 1 and 1/4 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, raisins, a medjool date, cinnamon and a black coffee. About 30 minutes prior to this I also had another black coffee and when I did my workout at 5:30am I drank a whole 900ml bottle of water! Some people have asked me whether I get hungry for breakfast at that time of the morning and the honest answer is no, not at all! My tummy doesn't start rumbling until about 8/8:30am. 


Snack 11am
At about 11 o'clock I had a snack of a banana and some walnuts. Walnuts are my favourite - I also love pecans, almonds and Brazil nuts! 


Lunch 1:34pm
For lunch I had a wholewheat flatbread (wrap) with 1/2 an avocado and 2 hardboiled eggs mashed up with some Himalayan pink salt & black pepper. On the side I had some chopped tomatoes, cucumber and balsamic vinegar on a bed of rocket. I also drank another 900ml bottle of water. 


Afternoon Snack 4:09pm
After the school run I had a much-deserved frothy almond milk latte (third coffee of the day!) with one of my homemade Easter chocolate chip cookies. These are my weakness...I made them with mini-eggs for Easter and they never last very long in our house! You can get to the recipe I use here, although I omit the peppermint bark and just add whatever other seasonal treats I want! In this case it was mini-eggs.


Dinner 5:31pm
For dinner we had Risotto Verde from Rachel Allen's Favourite Food at Home cookbook. This is a recipe I make time and time again for our family and was one of the first things I cooked for my dad when I was a teenager! I found the recipe online here. With my dinner I drank another 900ml bottle of water and then before bed I took my multivitamin & fish oil. I take Pregnacare Breastfeeding as well as vitamin D drops but I normally take the drops whenever I remember to throughout the day...I leave the bottle out on the kitchen table as I give them to Andrea & Alessia too.

Hopefully you enjoyed this week's What I Ate Wednesday and if you do suffer from bloating or gut inflammation, let me know what has helped you! I would love to hear from you. 



Disclaimer: Some of the links above are affiliate links. Using an affiliate link means that I receive a % of the revenue made from purchasing products through this link. This doesn't affect you as the consumer or the price of the product.

38 comments

  1. Glad that you were able to get it to go away without having to cut out food groups. I do intermittent fasting. It has made me feel so much better. Truthfully if I am really hungry I will adjust the hours. Love the outfit!

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    1. Thank you! That's amazing, I'm so glad it's working for you too! <3

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  2. I love your blog! I’m a student and have been following since I was 16! Much love from South Africa! Ps, do you perhaps know when your benefit brow products will be available in SA? Big fan!! xoxo Chelsea

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    1. Hi Chelsea! Thank you so much for being such a long-time follower! Unfortunately the Benefit collaboration is only for the UK :( I'm so sorry! <3

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  3. I will try it definitely because I'm suffering from the same problem. Thank you! 😘

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  4. I will try it definitely because I'm suffering from the same problem. Thank you !😘

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  5. I’ve been feeling bloated also! Maybe it’s worth a shot to stop eating the late night snacks after the babe has gone to bed!! 🙈😂 Thanks for sharing, love reading as always! Also I’d love if you shared some organizing/routine/cleaning type blog posts, you seem like you’re so good at time management!! ❤️

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    1. Aww, thank you so much! I will definitely try to do a post on those topics soon! :)

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  6. I have tried intermittent fasting but unfortunately my work schedule is chaos and inconsistent and doesn’t mesh well. But as someone with Celiac Disease, I completely understand how even just the smallest bloating can wreck your day. I’m glad you found what works for your body Anna! I also so love and appreciate the content your family produces and your willingness to let us, people you don’t know, into your home and lives every day. I cherish my time catching up with you all each day.

    Love from Oklahoma!
    Mary

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    1. Hi Mary! No worries, sometimes the same thing does not work for everyone and I think that's totally okay! Thank you so much for following along and for your support, we really appreciate it! <3

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  7. I love reading your blog posts. Can’t wait for more!! Glad to hear you’ve found a solution that suits you without the fear of cutting things out of your diet.

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  8. That's really interesting. I've noticed lately that when I eat a big meal too close to bedtime it takes me ages to fall asleep and just feels uncomfortable.

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    1. Yes! I definitely have a worse night's sleep if I eat something heavy before bed :(

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  9. I am doing intermittent fasting and it’s given me so much more energy! I didn’t set out to do it intentionally either but once I realised it was a thing and looked at my own eating habits I’ve made a more conscious choice to stick to it. I usually do the 16:8 but I don’t worry if I’m a bit outside and I have “days off” too. Xx

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    1. That is so interesting! I think what you're doing sounds perfect, especially if it's working so well for you! :)

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  11. This has been so helpful! I’ve suffered the same symptoms as you however I’ve had no children and haven’t been pregnant. But still I go through the same everyday! Had my bloods tested and they said I’m not intolerant to wheat or anything gluten, watched your YouTube video the other day explaining what you are going through! And felt relived because I’ve finally found someone who’s gone through the same!! Tried the fasting idea, I’ve not eaten past 6pm this week and I’ve felt so much better! So a huge Thankyou because this, to me anyways, is a huge help!

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  12. This has been so helpful! I’ve suffered the same symptoms as you however I’ve had no children and haven’t been pregnant. But still I go through the same everyday! Had my bloods tested and they said I’m not intolerant to wheat or anything gluten, watched your YouTube video the other day explaining what you are going through! And felt relived because I’ve finally found someone who’s gone through the same!! Tried the fasting idea, I’ve not eaten past 6pm this week and I’ve felt so much better! So a huge Thankyou because this, to me anyways, is a huge help!

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  13. Thankyou so much!! This is a huge help as I’ve been going though the same but got told I don’t have an intolerance to gluten! I was questioning for ages what’s going on!! Watched the daily vlog the other day on your channel and the fasting advice has really helped me and has made me much happier!! So a huge Thankyou to you!

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  14. Intermittent Fasting has helped me so much. When you mentioned the other day that you have cured bloatednes I had a feeling you would talk about IF.

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  15. I usually have dinner around 7pm, and then only eat my lunch the next day around 12.
    Which makes a 17 hour fasting and I'm extremely bloated all day all night... guess that's not the solution for me but im glad it helped you !

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  16. Well, we love you & your darling family!!! My daughter and I just started with a new OB/GYN as mine retired. Lovely, intelligent, vibrant lady who shared this exact method for my exact issues with bloating. Just so you know....there’s another reason, for you, specifically. If you’re breastfeeding, which you are, & this started when I was....but she’s now 21....(goes by in s minute!!...best friend, too, btw)...but, the boost haporns because your body starts hoarding water molecules beyond 5-6:00 pm, knowing they'll be needed later during your nightly feed for milk production!! Thing is....sometimes, hand raised...the trigger persists long after you’re finished breastfeeding. Your body hoards those water molecules, and they give you a pooch!!! Net-net....you’re gorgeous, your babies are thriving and you will one day....have a life to call ‘your own,’ again!!! The intermittent fast thing truly works....especially if you add in a probiotic!!! Love & prayers!!!

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  17. I suffer from bloating due to stress. You would say I am 4 months pregnant. Just stopped by to say that I am also a long time follower from YouTube mostly. I have but I enjoy your blog posts as well. Now that you are get back in the swing of thigs I am looking forward to reading from you. Hugs from another Ana.. ��

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  18. Hi Anna. Thank you for sharing this post. It’s very helpful. I have suffered with similar situation too. After having my third baby 5 months ago. it has gone much worse for me. My doctor had recommended for me to try this. And after watching your video on this I’ve started doing the intermittent fasting. And I can sleep better and wake full of energy.
    I felt more confident with ur talk on the video. It was great.
    Thank you
    Ruby xx

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  19. Echoing lots of other comments, this is really interesting. Reading your post nascent made me realise that I did intermittent fasting without realising. Dinner 5pm Breakfast 8.30. Recently I have fallen into the habit of resting myself to something yummy before bed and I have noticed such an uncomfortable feeling in my gut. Going of switch that habit to having a nice herbal tea! Btw you look amazing. I know exercise is most important for health reasons but hope you don’t mind me saying you look great!

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  20. I enjoyed reading this very much! Thank you for sharing your experience. I‘ve been struggling with sleep issues for almost a year now and I‘ve tried everything to cure it. Thinking about it, I tend to eat very late, I feel uncomfortable, bloaded and my tummy hurts often. Maybe this is not the reason for my problem at all but it’s worth a try. Thank you! xx

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  21. Hi Anna have you ever experienced hair loss after pregnancy? Your hair looks so thick and healthy and I have never really heard you talk about that?

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  22. I will definitely be trying this! I've had really bad problems with bloating since having my son 2 years ago, and cutting out foods groups has helped slightly but the bloating is still there and is definitely worse when I eat right before bed. I never would've thought to try this so thank you! As a young mum I look up to you so much and you always give such amazing advice and tips xxx

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  23. Hey Anna! This is such a good tip. I suffer from bloating late at night and always just assumed it was from carbs at dinner time. I’m going to give this a go for sure. Thank you :)

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  24. I also struggle with gut inflammation as well as leaky gut. I have been doing intermittent fasting for a while now and the benefits are incredible. BTW you don't need to go 16 hours for it to count as intermittent fasting. I also found that taking a good probiotic helped with gut health. Loved your outfit by the way!

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  25. Just started IF this week. I already feel better also am getting more things ha done in the morning and evening because I was a snacked and am folding and tidying up more to keep my mind off eating till I get used to this new way of eating.

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  26. A lovely blog post Anna I really enjoyed reading it :):) :):) I'm glad you are back to blogging :):) :);)

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  27. That hermes scarf looks stunning on you! just wondering what is the name of the scarf?

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  28. Wow Anna I love this so much. I have struggled with an eating disorder too, and it was not until I watched your videos about yours that I found I was able to change my mindset of my body & food. You mentioned that until you were on the road to recovering, you were purely “survivng” and not “living”. Thank you for being so vulnerable & willing to share advice, because this truely helped me find recovery & strength to want to find help! Love this blog post & just felt compelled to thank you:)

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  29. Maybe this can help me with my nighttime eating?

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