I only like my body when I don't eat.

[Smellywoodlouse]

I am 5'10" and around 65 kilos so not overweight. I've always been slim with small boob's but after having kids and getting older the belly bloat is impossible to get rid of. As I'm quite small chested my belly looks even more noticeable as it sticks out further than my boob's.

I do intermittent fasting and love my body after a few days of this. Flat stomach, face looks younger and healthier, and I feel more comfortable when exercising. As soon as I start eating normally again my stomach sticks out, face gets all bloated and tired and I feel sluggish and tired. I can't constantly fast or i'll lose weight which I don't want as I'm happy with my size. Is there a way to not be constantly bloated yet eat regularly? I eat healthy although could definitely drink more water I suppose.

Definitely go and see the GP. Could be something as simple as posture but there are other causes. My horrendous bloating was caused by a large ovarian cyst. No other obvious symptoms. Since the cyst was removed my bloating has pretty much all gone.

Yes I thought the same. Work on your posture!

I am a similar BMI and I get this too. I agree with those saying to get it checked out for sure as it looks more than 'normal' bloat but I've also found that getting enough fermented foods in my diet helps quite a lot.

Glad to see you have said you will go to your GP. This doesn't sound normal at all - it's not your posture!

OP I had all the same symptoms as opinions you and turned out to be lactose intolerant.

My symptoms show 5-6 hours after eating lactose so the food diary didn't help me at all.

In this photo its just posture. That said if you feel bloated then it could be food related. My dh has ibs and gets bloating from sugar and gluten. He isn't coeliac though. Try peppermint tea after eating and see if that calms the bloat at all.

My belly used to get very bloated - I've been diagnosed with lactose intolerance.

Also had flabby abdo muscles post pregnancy - Pilates really helped with that.

At 5ft 10 and 65kgs, you sound very slim. Lucky you.

Do you do strength training at all? Perhaps that would bring your abdominal muscles into line?

The photo looks like a very slim person poking out their belly. It doesn't even look bloated?
I wouldn't think there was much wrong going on there.

Have you tried an elimination diet?

food intolerances can be insanely tricky. Grapes might be fine for somebody. But raisins (despite technically still being grapes) may not be.

Edit: And I am very glad you are going to the GP. This is not something one should try to figure out alone!

Try removing certain foods from the diet. Bread or bread products are the first and see what happens

How is MNHQ letting this one stand. The title alone is appalling.

Some salad stuff makes me bloat painfully too, along with most carbs. Have you tried eliminating one thing each time? I used to eat a chicken salad with grapes for afters most work days, and I figured out that the grapes and tomatoes were causing huge bloating issues. I cut out the grapes completely and only have a few cherry toms at a time now and it's much better.

Just seen your second photo and uterus/poo update - def get checked out and ignore my salad comment! Sorry I didn't read to the end, that'll teach me not to RTFT, so sorry OP!

I am similar but I have diastasis recti and am in the process of filling forms with GP for funding for surgery. you could speak to your GP OP?

Are you actually eating enough? I've known a few people get bloating when they're being very restrictive with food and not getting enough nutrients. Intermittent fasting can cause bloating in some people.

There's loads of pro and stuff on here. Loads of the people on the 'what I ate today' threads are getting hardly any nutrition/calories.

Thin ribbon poisoned and bloating together are more likely to be constipation or an intolerance. Not saying don't see your GP of course, but something more likely to also consider. You can't test for intolerances like you can allergies, if a food diary isn't showing any correlation then doing an elimination diet under the guidance of a good dietician could help here. One of the problems with intolerances is the effects can be quite delayed or only seen when eating larger amounts of the food or a combination of foods with a specific chemical. FODMAP and Fail-safe diet are two elimination diets that deal with very different types of food intolerances, so if one isn't helpful the other might still be. Constipation can be dietary, from intolerances, because of conditions like IBS, coeliac, low gut motility. These can all cause bloating too. There's a lot of possible culprits for this.

*pro ana

Exactly.

OP is 5' 10" and weighs 65kg.

Her BMI is 20.

You can have a low BMI and still get uncomfortable bloating.

I get this too. Cutting out all bread, pasta and lactose helped so much but I still bloat a bit after eating food. I'm very slim too. I switched to Arla lactose free milk which is lovely, I considered FODMAP but god it's complicated and restrictive!

Ffs, not once have I said I'm fat, need to lose weight, or lower my bmi.

My thread title was poorly chosen, I should have said I only feel comfortable in my body when I don't eat. It's not just the asthetics, it's the uncomfortable feeling of being bloated, the swollen eyes and face, being unable to bend without feeling like my lungs are being crushed. The only thing that relieves it is not eating, but that's not a long term solution obviously! I bloody love my food but just wish I didn't feel so crap after every meal.

@YearsWentByFast That's a horrible thing to accuse someone of.

Miow.....