Today I did a core-focused pilates class with my good friend, Melissa Wood Health. A lot of you have been asking for workouts, and I don’t share a lot of them because I want to make sure I’m giving expertise info on it, so today I brought Melissa here for that. Be sure to check out the video to see the full workout. In this post, I’m going to share some of our non-restrictive, strategic diet tips for your core.
Always keep in mind that having positive energy and not putting so much pressure on yourself is SO IMPORTANT for how your results will come out.
Our Diet Tips for a Tight Core
- Don’t cut carbs. Not telling you to go eat white enriched pasta, however, we believe carbs fuel us and give us energy. Every cell in our bodies is made of glucose, so it’s really important to have healthy carbs in your diet.
- Food combining. This makes such a difference. It’s not a strict way of life, it’s just a way of understanding what works to reduce bloat.
Think of the digestion track like this: You have a salad with chicken, you haven’t broken that down yet, and then you have a green juice. The green juice wants to go right through you because it digests the fastest, but it has nowhere to move because it’s still waiting for you to break down the protein (especially animal protein because it takes 5-6 hours to digest).
If you eat animal protein, experiment with this. When you start getting hungry, have your green juice, order your salad, eat your salad when it comes and watch the difference in bloat.
- Find things that bloat you. For years, I wondered why I held so much fat in my stomach …it stuck out so far that I thought I was pounds heavier. Once I realized how to control bloating (which I’m still not 100% on), problem solved.
I bloat a lot on raw veggies or fruit, so I strategically eat them- I’ll eat them for dinner to give myself the night to debloat. During the day I do cooked veggies and cook everything in more water because the mushier it is, the better you’re going to digest it. You may think that you are heavier than you are, so find your ways to control bloat, and I swear it’s like night and day.
- Stop snacking. We both used to be huge snackers, never giving our bodies a break to break down the food. Snack if you’re hungry, but when you sit down to eat a meal, eat a FULL meal. You’ll be satisfied for hours, and this will allow your body to fully digest your food.
Bonus Tips
- When dealing with crazy bloat, it’s a sign that there’s something going on in your gut, so get tested! There could be something going on that you’re not aware of.
- Engage your core all day. This gives you better posture, helps you walk better in heels and holds any little bloat you have in – it’s a win win win.
The takeaways here are to be gentle on yourself; eat clean, whole foods; don’t take market-y shortcuts; keep a positive mindset; learn to understand your body and get moving.
