Is your bloated belly driving you crazy? Have you considered the bacteria of your second brain?
I know a lot of you are probably scratching your head about this one! What is your second brain, and what’s that got to do with my weight gain? Well, it’s got everything to do with it!
Your second brain is, in fact, your gut. The gut contains trillions of bacteria, and these bacteria play a huge role in your health and the communication with your immune system. It’s also responsible for the effects different foods are digested and produce chemicals that help make you feel full. This, as you know, dramatically effects your weight.
Speaking from experience, I’ve always had a multitude of problems with my gut health for as long as I can remember. One small trigger food can set off a cascade of adverse effects, from bloating, gas, cramps, constipation and diarrhoea. Worst still, it can trigger an immune reaction which leads to an allergy attack, either skin welts or even enlarged or swollen glands.
I have a scary experience during my last trip overseas that I’d like to share. On the beautiful islands of Greece, I was extremely pleased with how much healthy food was available to me. My family would have a lot, whilst I tried to keep it safe as often as I could, with clean and straightforward fresh salads, and minimal red meat. When you travel from restaurant to cafe, it’s hard to keep track of everything you do come across, and it’s a challenge when you want to let your hair down and enjoy yourself. The sun is always shining in summer, the beaches are beautiful, and out comes a lovely meal of island freshness. Almost all meals were hard to resist. I’m a complete sucker for fresh anything!
At one particular restaurant, I had a piece of salmon, which was fine, although I did not feel so great after I ate it. I know that feeling all too well, as I felt hot, out of breath and somewhat weak. I put on my brave face and convinced myself that perhaps I was just overtired from the heat, and was looking forward to going back to the hotel.
That evening, I woke up in the middle of the night, overcome by anxiety, sweat and the feeling I had to either vomit or something was going to come out of the other side. I tried not to panic, but I was experiencing a cold sweat, and needed to turn the air conditioner to freezer zone! Outcomes some mineral water for the bubbles and to soothe my upset stomach. It was that one moment where I had forgotten my antihistamines and did not know of a local pharmacy or doctor. My partner offered to take me to the local hospital because I had a panic attack. But, I know myself, and with some deep breathing and letting the moment pass, with lots of water and laying back on my comfy pillow, I somehow regained composure. Without fail, most holidays end up like this!
Now, suffering from gut issues to this extent is quite familiar for me. Back then, although I was healthy, I was still eating some primary trigger foods.
These trigger foods when eaten, can also cause gut imbalances, and throw your weight loss efforts out the window. Have you ever experienced eating something that doesn’t agree with you? I’m optimistic that this happens to us all & a lot of us ignore it.
When I began fasting more than a year ago, I could not believe the profound effect it had on the health of my gut! Bloating and belly fat was something I had suffered from consecutively. It was very embarrassing for me when my daughter’s friend would ask her if I was pregnant! Now, If you saw me in person, you would not say I was fat in any way, but when you have a smaller body frame, a protruding belly can stand out!
How many of you have a belly that sticks out? Do you have trouble sucking your stomach in? I am putting my hand up here as well, because even on some days, despite eating a squeaky clean diet, I still suffer from the stick out belly.
If you do experience the symptoms above, then try to get rid of sugars, starches and artificial sweeteners. These can erode your gut bacteria in a significant way, and you may not even know it! Remember how I mentioned my chewing gum habit? Well, this was the main trigger of killing my gut bacteria because of the horrible artificial sweeteners it had within it. That’s a toxic mess sturring around your belly!
Although my gut issues have not entirely gone away, fasting has somewhat controlled the symptoms I’ve been experiencing. The act of not consuming food for long periods does have a significant healing factor for your digestion and allows for inflammation to ease. That in itself helps weight loss and trigger the necessary hormonal changes to take place. That means burning stored body fat at last!
Perhaps the reason why it took me so long to experience a fat loss with fasting, was because of my gut health. If you are one of the unlucky individuals who share this too, please stick with your fasting plan, not only for fat loss but for healing and repairing your gut. It’s a continually evolving journey.
