DOES BLOATING CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN?
Boost metabolism by mastering gut health
Yes - your stubborn weight gain MAY in fact be due to bloating - NOT weak will power.
In truth, the bloating itself is not to blame (bloating is merely a symptom), but new research shows how the root-cause of bloating is highly correlated with a sabotaged metabolism.
And here’s how:
Metabolism isn’t all in your genes as you might think. It’s also not all your fault for eating the wrong things - you can let go of that misconception TODAY. In fact, we urge you to. For decades, women, or mostly women, have been told off, shamed and led to believe we’re weak specimens of human beings and we must try harder. But this is wrong.
In fact, your metabolism is a complex system of energy spenditure (burning fat) versus energy storage (fat cells). It’s a super important and complex body system, that would leave us dead if it completely failed (think diabetes or brain death!). Being so vital to life, you’d think the body would have created fail safe systems to keep us alive? Well this is exactly right, and this is where gut health comes in to play.
In traditional medicine, we look at disease in a very specific, linear way, which doesn’t tend to lend itself well to modern health concerns, which are more to do with imbalance in function. In Functional Medicine however, we look for the source of the problems. More often than not, this is an interplay between hormones (coordinating functions), gut function (intake of raw material), liver function and brain (the control centre).
Recently, we’ve started to pay more attention to how the gut tells us to eat more - or eat less.
It makes sense if you think about it. If the brain needs energy and we need energy to move around, then how do we know how much to intake? We feel full don’t we, but is fullness simply a full stomach?
Turns out, it’s not.
New exciting research, is showing us how our small intestine, in fact is in communication directly with the brain - switching eating on and off.
Many of us have learned or acquired ways to over-ride this (eating and drinking between meals for example) - for reasons we’ll go into in another article, and this can cause imbalances.
When we eat the wrong things, this can upset our appetite too!
The 4 Pillars of a ‘fast’, or robust working Metabolism
Insulin sensitive & glucose control: Absolutely in control of how much weight you gain with ability to block fat burning. Produces cravings for the wrong food, emotional eating and food addictions, as well as depression and bouts of low energy. A big topic, a problem of epidemic proportions, and something you want to crack today for your health and weight loss - IF you’re looking for easy weight loss. This is weight loss without dieting. Eating what you want without gaining weight. This lives in the very healthy metabolic ranges only. Can be tested and measure in blood and via glucose tracking.
Oestrogen balance. HRT users beware of over dosing. Discuss with your GP. Younger women: If you experience very heavy, irregular or absent periods, go and get this checked out with a functional medicine practitioner. A DUTCH test can be helpful.
Sleep: Just 2 short weeks of inadequate sleep lead to KILOS of extra weight in study participants. Don’t take short cuts. Lots of solid research around this.
Gut! Constipation or SIBO, but there’s more! are you getting enough nutrients? case study processed food x 2. do you have wrong bacteria? how to know & what to do. What about SIBO and gut bacteria?? reference what internet is saying. refer to facts & studies. example case studies.
Anyway, back to bloating!
Research has uncovered that our small intestine isn’t just a source for digestive chaos, as in the case of SIBO, many cases of IBS, gallbladder issues and more, but it is also the seat of setting the rate of how much (and what!) we want to eat.
This involves hormones and messengers, that impacts our blood sugar and insulin balance - interfering with and governing the ‘burn/don’t burn fat’ regulation that we tend to refer to as metabolism.
In fact, the precise hormone in action is GLP-1 which we know from Mounjaro & weight loss jab. BUT - good news, it can be recreated naturally, without the need for pharmaceuticals (for life - yay!)
As an aside and whilst on the topic, you can imagine the race for creating a pharmaceutical to loose weight? This has been the golden beacon for big pharma for decades. The race has been truly on and the gloves have been very much off.
Sadly however, we’re starting to see concerning issues with the weight loss jab in our clinic, such as the triggering of really quite severe eating disorders, and ‘addiction’ to mounjaro, meaning, people don’t feel able to come off it, despite wanting to. Which is the definition of addiction. There may be a rebound weight gain effect when stopping (because of how Mounjaro works), that frankly no-one is really willing to endure. Understandably.
So we prefer correcting appetite and metabolism naturally. If this is your approach too - high five to you - and feel free to drop us a line to ask questions, tell us what you think about this topic, or just to say hi.
How do you know IF your bloating is PREVENTING WEIGHT LOSS?
Symptoms of bloating that is correlated with weight gain are:
Weight gain ‘over night’. Weight fluctuations from a pound up to several pounds. You’ll no doubt be feeling very surprised and very frustrated, in particular if you have been very ‘good’, and then have one night off.
You may be restricting but it’s having zero effect or a very short lived effect.
Wind, IBS or tummy troubles are a regular occurrence and or is severe.
Bowel movements are not ideal, or you’re not having complete bowel movements daily.
These are all signs of a gut imbalance AND/OR a metabolism imbalance, aka - a blood sugar/insulin imbalance.
Make sense? If you’re feeling lost, or wish to chat through your specific case, complete your 2 min Case Review form below.
REFRESH EXPLAINER: Why and how bloating causeS weight gain
Bloating causes weight gain in two ways:
Your gut is getting a sense of balance. It’s not seeing the nutrients it wants to see entering the digestive system, it’s concerned about sufficient protein, malabsorption of minerals due to weak stomach acid, or the wrong bacteria hanging around ‘illegally’ in your small intestine, grabbing the food before you do.
Bloating over night: Consuming sugar may cause water retention. In some people this is significant. Your scales can show significant weight differences from day to day.
When restricting is having no effect on weight loss: Insulin is blocking weight gain, your cravings remain and you can’t sustain the diet you want to have due to cravings.
Discover your own metabolism rate
End feeling trapped in a cycle of guilt and frustration by getting unstuck with your weight loss today.
Complete our 2 minute Metabolism Review below, to uncover your personal metabolic blocks.
3 Key ways TO IMPROVE your bloating & gut health
Our guts need lots of fibre to maintain balance, but it also needs a fair chance at breaking down food into tiny pieces so that it can be absorbed by your body.
It needs proper chewing and sensing, which is inhibited by eating in front of screens, eating on the move, or eating when adrenaline levels are high. Many of us spend our working days in a heightened stress state. Take a few really slow breaths, practice box breathing, and go for a walk, be present and be mindful. The gut need to sense food, not watch reels. This is one thing that almost all of our clients report a benefit from.
Eat fibre, but eat the right one’s. Focus on vegetables and fruit, less wholegrain and breakfast cereals.
Add colour into your diet. Eat very dark red/black/purple fruits every day (a variety! Not all blueberries) + and dark green leaves. Kale, chard, and cabbages. Your gut needs to sense nutrients. Nutrients come from these dark coloured, bitter vegetables.
Ensure you get enough protein. You need circa 50g a day - but do your research. Whilst beans contain protein, it really isn’t much, and if you have digestive issues - you’ll have trouble processing these proteins.
Note that If your gut issues are more complex, additional fibre may be problematic. No two people’s gut problem is the same.Get in touch for more personal guidance, or complete the FREE Case Review Form above.
