Summer is just around the corner and it’s time to do everything you can to maintain the figure you’ve worked so hard to get or maybe just look the best with what you got. Even if you’re not super lean you can still make sure things like the “Beach Bloat” aren’t holding you back from looking the best possible in your bathing suit.
Have you ever been sitting on the beach feeling and looking great and after a few of your go-to beach day snacks (and maybe a drink or two) you look and feel super bloated? I call this the “Beach Bloat” and it’s actually really common amongst beachgoers. Beach Bloat can be solved through a few time tested nutritional hacks that I’m going to share with you today.
6 Ways to Beat “Beach Bloat”
Reduce Beach Bloat by Drinking More Water (but wait)
One of the major reasons people experience the “Beach Bloat” is because they operate on some low level of dehydration. Being chronically dehydrated causes their bodies to retain fluids in order to self-sustain. These people typically will experience MORE bloating when they are at the beach or sporting events because they suddenly increase their water consumption resulting in more water being stored.
This, of course, is not a permanent thing it’s just during that transition time of going from drinking less water to more (could be a few days). So if you want to minimize the amount of Beach Bloat you experience my suggestion is to start hydrating days before your first big summer reveal. Or an even crazier suggestion would be to start consuming more water
EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
There was a time where 1 gallon a day was my go-to but over the years it’s become more and more less necessary (and super inconvenient drinking that much water). Instead, just go off your urine color.
You can use something like this Urine chart below.
The cool part about this is that you can get into a pretty dialed in routine once you figure out how much water you need throughout the day to maintain a healthy color. Now, what you don’t want to do is jump back and forth from the yellowish-brown to crystal clear, that just means you’re pounding a bunch of water all at once. Space the water consumption out and try to see how much water you need to maintain the right color throughout the day.
If you want to level up your water game I would suggest you check out one of these Smart Water Bottles!
Reduce Beach Bloat by cutting back on the Carbs 24 hours before you hit the beach
Most people don’t think about how certain foods will impact their digestive system over the next couple of days. One tip I usually suggest people to follow is to refrain from any kind of heavy carb eating within 24 hours of your big beach day. This means no pasta dinner Friday night and laying on the beach by Saturday morning.
The goal is to give your system the chance to rid itself of these fibrous foods before you hit the beach. On top of that, we can’t forget the infamous gluten intolerance. If you truly are sensitive to gluten this will play a roll in the severity of your Beach Bloat. If you don’t know if you have gluten intolerance you can get one of these at-home tests.
When it comes to the day of, there is nothing like throwing back a couple of hamburgers or hot dogs throughout the day or maybe you have kids so you pack a crap ton of snacks for them and nothing for you. Consume wisely and in small amounts. Nobody died skipping a couple of meals so even if you went without eating the first half o the day you can keep yourself satisfied with small snacks throughout the day.
Cut back on the fruit to reduce Beach Bloat
Don’t worry, the bowl of fruit salad you’re munching on isn’t going to make you fat but it could be contributing to your current case of the Beach Bloat. Despite the back and forth on this topic this has always been a no-brainer when applying it to my own personal clients.
High sugar fruits or high amounts of low sugar fruits dump sugar into the bloodstream and gut. This sudden onset of high levels of fructose or fruit sugars can cause bloating. In this case, limiting your intake of fruit on the beach will keep you not only feeling lean but looking lean as well.
For me, if I consume fruit on the beach it will be in small amounts and only consisting of blueberries, strawberries or raspberries. If you want to know what common beach fruits to stay away from check out the list below!
Beach Bloat Causing Fruits
- Grapes
- Mangos
- Palmagranets
- Bananas
- Oranges
- Kiwi
Snacking on too many Veggies can cause Beach Bloat
So you think you’re doing good by drinking your spiked seltzer and tossing 2-3 blueberries back for a snack but what about the mini bag of cruciferous veggies you’re munching on?
There is a string of snackable veggies people often grab that are high in what is known as Raffinose which is a sugar often found in things like kale, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower. The problem with this sugar is that it doesn’t break down until the bacteria in your gut can ferment it. Therefore that raw veggie salad you just consumed will not only cause some wicked beach farts but will definitely cause this unwanted Beach Bloat we are trying to stay away from.
Safest Veggies to both prevent beach farts and the Beach Bloat
The safest veggies for the beach are ones you might already have in your beach bag but be sure to double down on these before you leave the house.
- Cucumber Chips
- Zuchinni Chips
- Spinach
- Carrots
- Celery
Cut back on the salt to help reduce Beach Bloat
This is a given. One of the most common signs of both dehydration and too much salt is swelling of the hands. Now, I am no Dr. Oz but this should be something you make a high priority when it comes to keeping your beach bloat under control.
The crazy thing about some foods and bloating is that it’s not necessarily about gas or digestive bloating but actual water retention which is just as annoying and could actually stick around even longer. If you want to look your best on the beach take out or severely reduce the number of salty foods you consume while you lounge for the day (and even the days pryer) Trust me, I have young kids myself I know how hard it is to not snack on those super easy yummy snacks you pack for them but you have to find it in yourself to just say no.
Common foods you may be snacking on that you want to STAY AWAY from:
- Salted nuts
- Potato Chips
- Tortilla Chips
- Cheese-Its
- Lunch Meat
My go-to would be a low or zero salt version of nut or chunks of pulled turkey or chicken you can either buy cooked from the store or grill yourself the night before. This puts more control in your hands with how much salt and seasoning is used.
Alcohol: Probably the #1 contributor to the Beach Bloat.
The thing about alcohol is that it hits on just about all the reasons you read in the above points. Think of beer as a combination of all the worst beach bloating causes in one can all consumable within minutes of cracking it open.
I won’t sit here and say you should cut out alcohol on the beach. That’s dumb. Instead, you can consider these two better alternatives to tossing back those favorite adult beverages. Aside from the carbs found in beer the carbonation can be just as bad.
Here are two options to approach drinking on the beach.
Option 1: Hard pour your beers into a cup to release some of the carbon dioxide found in beer. When you go from can to mouth without allowing the beer to breathe, all that carbon dioxide has no way of getting out before hitting the bottom of your stomach. It only takes one beer to set this belly bloat off and could take hours to get rid of it. So pour the beer at a 45-degree angle and let it build that head. That will significantly reduce the amount of gas build up in your stomach.
Option 2: Go for low-calorie clear liquor drinks. There is not a monumental difference between clear and colored liquor. In fact, a gram of alcohol contains 7 calories which means the number of calories will depend primarily on the proof of the alcohol.
My go to beach drinks tend to be light on the stomach as well as the amount of additives. You can find some great beach alternatives below
- Vodka Seltzer (sugar free)
- Silver Tiquila with club soda
- Gin and Tonic
All of these wonderful mixes can be doctored up with some flavored seltzer. If you’re looking for the best tasting “beach-able” drinks under 100 calories check these out!
Bonus Section: If you’re still reading I want to reward you!
How to reduce Beach Bloat FAST
I found 3 super effective ways of reducing “Beach Bloat” pretty quickly. I wanted to share them with you here.
Drink Water with Lemon and Cayenne
Not really sure the science behind this but take the lemon juice of 1/2 lemon along with as much of the spice as you can tolerate and dump it into an 8oz glass of water. Throw that back (don’t chug) and within an hour you should notice a big difference in the amount of bloating you’re experiencing.
Turmeric Drops
I know turmeric has a lot of pretty cool health benefits but I hear you can take turmeric drops if you start to experience bloating and it will significantly reduce the symptoms pretty quickly. Try it out and let me know if it worked or if you have done it before with success in the comment section!
Ginger Shots
I personally have experience with eating ginger as a stomach aide along with an anti-inflammatory but they say you can take a ginger shot and it will significantly reduce the amount of bloating you’re experiencing. Try it for yourself and let me know!
That’s it! That is my Beach Bloat survival guide.
What strategies do you use to beat the Beach Bloat that you don’t see in this article? Let me know in the comment section!
Also, be sure to share with your friends to help get them prepped for the summer months!
Your Coach,
William
