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You wake up with a flat stomach. By lunchtime, you look three months pregnant.
Your jeans fit fine in the morning. By dinner, the button's digging in and you're contemplating sweatpants for the rest of the night.
Most people blame specific foods. "I can't eat dairy." "Gluten destroys me." "Beans make me bloat."
Sometimes that's true. But usually? Stop blaming the food. Start looking at how you're eating it.
I see this constantly with clients who come to me convinced they have food intolerances.
They've cut out gluten. Then dairy. Then anything remotely "inflammatory." They're eating like they have celiac disease when they don't.
And they're still bloated.
Here's what's usually happening: you're either eating too much fiber too fast, not drinking enough water with it, eating foods that ferment quickly in your gut, or you're inhaling your food in 5 minutes flat while answering emails.
Your digestive system needs two things to work properly: the right foods in the right amounts, and time to actually process them.
When you suddenly dump a massive load of high-fiber food into your system without the water needed to process it, or when you eat foods that your gut bacteria ferment quickly, things back up. Gas builds. You bloat.
And when you're eating while stressed or rushed? Your body's in fight-or-flight mode. Digestion shuts down. The food just sits there.
Here's the pattern I see most:
You're grinding at work until 8pm. Finally finish. Starving. Scarf down dinner while catching up on emails or watching something.
9pm: Collapse on the couch. Scroll Instagram.
11pm: Get into bed. Stomach uncomfortable. Can't settle.
You're not intolerant to the food. You ate it while stressed, inhaled it in 6 minutes, and never gave your body the signal to digest it properly.
Fixing bloating isn't about cutting out entire food groups. It's about spreading fiber throughout the day, slowing down when you eat, and giving your digestive system time to work.
1. Spread fiber out throughout the day
If you're going from minimal fiber to high fiber, your gut needs time to adjust.
Instead of: one massive salad with 40g of fiber at lunch
Try: 10g fiber at breakfast (oats), 10g at lunch (smaller salad), 10g at dinner (vegetables + sweet potato)
Same total fiber. Way less bloating.
2. Slow down and chew your food
Most people inhale their food. Digestion starts in your mouth. When you don't chew properly, larger food particles hit your stomach and gut, making them harder to break down.
You should be able to put your fork down between bites. If you can't, you're eating too fast.
Aim for: 15-20 minutes minimum per meal. 20-30 chews per bite for dense foods.
3. Don't eat while stressed or distracted
When you're stressed, your body diverts blood away from digestion. Eating while working or scrolling means your food sits in your stomach longer and ferments.
Even just 3-5 deep breaths before eating helps switch your nervous system into "rest and digest" mode.
4. Choose low-FODMAP vegetables when bloating is bad
Some vegetables ferment faster than others. When you're already bloated, these are safer:
Carrots, zucchini, spinach, bok choy, bell peppers, cucumber
Avoid temporarily:
Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, onions, garlic (these ferment fast and produce more gas)
You're not cutting them out forever. Just giving your gut a break while things settle.
5. Drink more water with fiber
Fiber needs water to move through your system. When you eat a lot of fiber without enough water, it sits in your gut and ferments.
Target: 500ml of water with each high-fiber meal.
6. Don't eat massive portions late at night
Your digestion slows down when you're lying down. If you eat a huge, fiber-heavy meal at 9pm and go to bed at 11pm, it's still sitting there fermenting.
Eat your biggest meals earlier. Keep dinner lighter if you're prone to bloating.
Most clients who think they're "intolerant" to everything aren't. They just need to adjust how they're eating.
I had a client, Priya, who was convinced she couldn't eat vegetables without bloating. She'd cut out broccoli, cauliflower, beans, onions, garlic. She was living on chicken, rice, and spinach.
Here's what we changed:
Reintroduced vegetables slowly (carrots and zucchini first, then gradually added back others)
Spread fiber across the day instead of one massive lunch
Increased water intake to 2L per day
Switched to cooked vegetables instead of raw (easier to digest)
Made her put her phone away during meals and actually sit down to eat
Within two weeks, bloating dropped by 70%. Within a month, she was eating broccoli again without issues.
The kicker? She realized half her bloating was from eating salad in 5 minutes while replying to Slack messages.
Which one of these is wrecking your digestion?
Want the science? High-fiber foods and FODMAPs - understanding which fibers ferment fast and how to manage them.
See you Friday,
— Akash
