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Ever wake up and feel like you’re 10 sizes bigger than you are? I call those “Fat Days” (yes, I said the taboo word, “Fat“). Let’s get real, we all deal with it… everything isn’t always perfect and feel like mega fitness buffs are the time. No, sometimes we feel fat.

Taxi thinks “Fat Days” are ridiculous. 

I believe that Fat Days do exist and there’s reasons that they happen. Really, its not that you’ve suddenly gained 20lbs, but more so your body is bloated. I read this article about causes of bloating in women. (side note: bloating is one of those weird words that annoying me… so I cringe every time I type it.)

Digestive Function

• Poor digestive function causes women to bloat. If you are eating too much fat, it takes time for the body to break it down and expel in. During this process, you can bloat. If you are lactose intolerant, this can cause bloating and gas.

Parasites

• Dr. Marcelle Pick, OB Gyn, routinely screens her female patients, who are complaining of chronic gas and bloating, for internal parasites. It may surprise you that she has found that 40 percent of these women test positive for parasites. Even if a woman hasn’t left the country, Dr. Pick said it’s still easy to pick up parasites from imported produce or by eating out. Salad bars are a frequent source of parasites.

Food Sensitivities

• Food sensitivities can also cause bloating and gas, according to Dr. Pick. Tests can be done to determine if an individual is allergic to certain foods. The main culprits are generally sugar, wheat and/or dairy. Taking a multivitamin helps the body keep its balance and restores health to the digestive system. Getting adequate amounts of essential fatty acids into your system is crucial because this helps reduce intestinal inflammation. Air-containing foods, such as ice cream, can cause gas and bloating.

IBS and Premenstrual

• Bloating is very common among women who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as well as when women are premenstrual.

Bloat Foods

• “Bloat foods” include pretzels (because they are cooked in bubbly, boiling water), cabbage, beans, raw vegetables and bagels, according to Melissa Palmer, M.D., a gastroenterologist in New York City.

Another Enemy: Chocolate

• Chocolate contains diary and sugar, which are both big sources of gas, according to Barbara Frank, M.D., gastreoenterologist and clinical professor of medicine at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine in Philadelphia. If you are premenstrual and craving chocolate, think twice because it is going to exacerbate your bloating.

Other Conditions that Can Cause Bloat

• If you have some sort of blockage in your intestines, this makes the transit of food through the intestines and out of the body difficult and can result in bloating. If you are constipated, this, too, can cause bloating. Make yourself chew your food more slowly because gas and bloating are caused, in part, by swallowing air. Other more serious conditions that can result in bloating include having a tumor in your ovaries, stomach, liver, abdomen or elsewhere, and ascites, which is the accumulation of fluid in your abdominal cavity and may be the result of liver disease. As noted earlier, a parasitic infection can cause dilations of the colon and cause bloat.

Read more: Causes of Bloating in Women | eHow.com

For women, we totally have those days when we feel huge… or maybe its just me (can’t speak for all woman-kind), but I’ve had to learn that sometimes this “huge feeling” is one or two things; 1. I’ve been overeating and have indeed gained weight. or 2. My body is bloated from a number of factors and in a few days I’ll feel back to normal.

How do we handle this? I’ll break it down how I view this.

• I’ve been overeating and have indeed gained weight.

Obviously, if I determine that the issue at hand is me, then I need to evaluate what I’m doing. Have I fallen off the path? Have I allowed myself to overeat or eat high calories, high sugar, high fat items? I totally believe in moderation and be able to enjoy things like Mexican food, cake, pizza. But I believe that if I have it every single day and have too much of it, I’m going to gain weight. Its just how my body is wired. Some people have a blessed metabolism and can do that, more power to you. Me, I need to watch my calorie intake and be aware of how much I’m eating and exactly what I’m eating. So if I’m having a Fat Day, I like to look back at my food journal and reflect on my consumption. It definitely has been the key to my success in losing weight and maintaining my weight loss.

•  My body is bloated from a number of factors and in a few days I’ll feel back to normal.

This one is hard. Because I can totally wrap my brain around the first scenario. But this one, this one just makes me feel like my body is being a bully. So to me, this is really a mental game. I have to remind myself that 1, I’ve been doing everything right in order to keeping my health in check and eating properly. This is about my body’s natural cycle, perhaps I had foods that made me feel this way, perhaps I’m retaining water…. it happens. It all happens. But it doesn’t mean that I’m going to rapidly go back to being 200+lbs…. and that’s where I have to get my mind straight. It’s so easy for me to think “oh no, I’m going to gain it all back“, when I have days like this, I realize it’s all in my head.

And I can control my thoughts and how I view my body. I think that’s one of the key factors for me in handling Fat Days. If I mentally wrap my brain around the fact that its not my body either bloating, retaining water, whatever and that its temporary, then I can get over the tight feeling pants for a day.

Your turn, do you ever have Fat Days? How do you handle the feelings that come with it? Does it even bother you?