After returning from vacation, I noticed that suddenly my favorite jeans felt tighter. It's hard to feel my best when I feel fat. Stepping on the scale - plus 5 pounds, Ahhhhhh yes ... the bloat.
Eating out usually means a bit more gluttony, and definitely more sodium - leading straight to water weight. What you don’t want to do is to Starve yourself after your trip because it will slow down your body's metabolism to conserve energy. It will also set you up to overeat.
It’s important not to freak out and remind yourself that weight loss and weight gain are mathematical equations and in a few days it would be nearly impossible to consume enough extra calories for a real 5 pound gain. 1 lb = 3500 calories AND 5 lbs = 17,500 calories extra.
Not very hard to do since I have usually overindulged and felt constantly full on vacation. Bethenny Frankel, author of Naturally Thin, suggests whipping up a big pot of vegetable soup to slim down. Just throw some onions, broccoli and carrots, in a fat free chicken stock and puree to eat with brown rice.
2. Fill up with loads of de-bloating foods to tell your body to get rid of all that water. Some natural diuretics are watermelon, asparagus, oats, cucumber, ginger, pineapple, and yogurts containing probiotics ("good" bacteria) can help.
3. Eat fiber to help clear your colon of any undigested foods and air. Foods like bananas that are high in potassium have also been shown to beat bloat by causing your body to flush out the water.
4. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. Sodium intake acts like a water retention magnet so you need to drink enough water to flush all of this from your system or your body will keep trying to save water reserves.
5. Sweat it out. Working out not only helps burn calories away but you can sweat out unwanted water swelling. Before supermodel Heidi Klum gets in front of the camera she de-bloats with an Epsom salt-rich bath. Magnesium sulphate in the salts draw out the fluids from your body.
6. Plenty of Zzzzzz's. Sleeping raises growth hormone and reduces stress. Stress can increase cortisol levels in your body over time and cortisol inhibits sodium loss through the small intestines. Water will stay where the sodium is which often causes water retention. So focus on getting to bed early and letting your metabolism get in check to help your body recover from the overindulging.
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