We’ve all been there. That bloated, heavy, swollen feeling we can’t beat - the stomach bulge that won’t flatten. And one of the most asked questions women always ask themselves and their coaches is how to get rid of it.

The truth is ladies, you will not ever have a flat stomach all day, 365 days of the year. However, there are so many ways to prevent it, manage it and live with it when it’s inevitable to happen (like around our menstrual cycles).

Before we get started on how to prevent or help it, it’s very important to know why it happens in the first place. There are a few main reasons why you find that you can’t part ways with the stomach pooch:

1. You have had a heavy day or night of eating heavy, inflammatory, or salty foods.
2. You are dehydrated causing the body to retain water.
3. You are in the week before your menstrual cycle or at the start of a pregnancy and due to fluctuations in the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone you will feel bloated.
4. You are constipated and your body is not getting rid of toxins properly.
5. You have eaten or drank something really fast, you chew a lot of chewing gum, drink a lot of carbonated or alcoholic drinks all of which cause a significant amount of air to enter into the stomach.

So as you can see it’s only normal that we occasionally get bloated as women. However, when is it NOT okay to feel bloated? When you start seeing that you are CONSTANTLY bloated or feeling swollen, when your bowel movements aren’t regular and when no matter what you eat or drink you feel this stomach bulge forming, then that’s when you know you’re probably experiencing some form of chronic inflammation in your gut or intestinal permeability which means the lining of your gut permeates and the contents of what you eat leaks into your bloodstream.

In this case it’s best to address this inflammation by eliminating certain inflammatory foods for a temporary period of time in order to reduce bloating and inflammatory responses. These foods include gluten, dairy, sugar and all sweeteners, alcohol, caffeine, soy, corn, red meat, legumes (including peanuts and peanut derivatives) and any bloat friendly foods such as onions, kale, cruciferous veggies, white mushrooms and artichokes.

Now if you’re feeling constipated, then bloating is a natural side effect of that! So in order to get your body flushing out toxins regularly the three most important things to remember are: hydrate, eat fiber and make sure you have a lot of diuretics as part of your diet (such as parsley, asparagus, red radish, pineapples, cucumber, ginger, garlic). These foods flush the system out and get your body’s natural detoxification process back in gear.

No matter what the reason is that you feel bloated here are my go-to natural remedies for beating the bloat:

• Eat potassium-rich foods like bananas as they regulate the fluid balance in our systems and reduce the bloat feeling.
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
• Reduce the amount of salty food intake.
• Add diuretics to your diet and pile on the anti-inflammatory spices while cooking such as ginger, cayenne pepper, turmeric, cinnamon and garlic.
• Eating good quality dark chocolate reduces inflammation (you’re welcome).
• Stop chewing gum 
• Take a bath with Epsom salt.
• Avoid sugar and fried foods.
• Eat slowly and mindfully and make sure you chew your food properly.
• Ditch the kale and eat spinach instead!
• Soak any nuts before consuming as it helps them digest easier and cause less bloat.
• Avoid heavy carbs before your period.
• Eat fermented foods like kimchi, kombucha and sauerkraut which are all amazing for gut health.
• Boil some fennel seeds and sip on the tea all day.
• Drink fresh mint tea after dinner.
• Lower stress as increased cortisol = increased inflammation and therefore bloating.

I think the most important lesson is to remember we need to embrace our bodies. The ebbs and flows and fluctuations in our bodies are only a true testament to how incredible female bodies are. Being the same every single day is boring! We will have days we see our six packs and we will have days our jeans will feel a little snugger. It is all normal and it is all okay! We need to listen to our bodies, appreciate the hard work our bodies do for us and take very good care of our bodies so that they can in return take care of us.

Breast cancer awareness is not just about wearing a pink ribbon in support of the recognition people are trying to create about this insidious disease. It’s important that as women we are very AWARE of our own bodies and make sure we regularly get checked in order to detect any early signs of cancer. Although we may think, ‘This will never happen to me’, frequently, the diagnoses comes as a shock and is something that’s not expected. However, here’s where it’s important to state that knowledge is power. Early detection can save lives and make any treatment much more manageable.

Let’s talk about some statistics in order to shed light on the facts. 1 in 8 women will get diagnosed with breast cancer within their lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society, most breast cancers are of the invasive kind rather than in-situ, which means the cancer can spread. Breast cancer is one of the leading reasons for death in women under 50 and is increasingly seen in young adults.

Thyroid and ovarian cancers are two other female dominant cancers. Thyroid cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women and has rapidly increased in the last few years. While, ovarian cancer accounts for more deaths in women than any other cancer of the reproductive system according to the American Cancer Society.

All this might sound scary, but the key is to constantly keep up with your health checks, self-examinations and blood work. Whether it’s your annual hormone & thyroid level blood tests, mammograms or pap smears, it’s so important as women that we are constantly ahead of the game. The more we know, the more we can act and save our health.

Many women may not know where to go or who to seek out for these examinations. So, here are some tips!

• For breast screening, many hospitals and clinics offer free screening during October as apart of breast cancer awareness month. Otherwise, you can seek out your gynecologist who can run an annual mammogram, breast ultrasound, as well as, pap smear, as clinically indicated.
• For any hormone imbalance or thyroid checks you can seek out an endocrinologist who can order all the blood labs necessary to ensure your hormones like your cortisol, thyroid, estrogen and insulin are all balanced.

Early detection truly saves lives and makes treatment more manageable and, in some cases, successful. So, do not wait. Stay on top of your health and always get yourself checked because the more you know the more you can take control of.

For years, there has been a common misconception that weightlifting should only be an activity that men partake in, mainly due to the bodybuilding fad that happened in the 90’s and continued to grow thereafter.

However, in recent years it has been proven that weightlifting is not only something women can partake in, but that strength training is a form of training they SHOULD partake in.

Just because you lift weights does not mean your body is going to look like you are entering a bodybuilding competition – female bodies NEED weight training.

Here’s why:

• Weight training builds lean muscles and the more muscle your body has, the more your basal metabolic rate and the more fat it burns. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, which needs carbohydrates and body fat to burn for energy.
• Adds strength and confidence.
• Helps with bone density to avoid conditions like osteoporosis later in life and, therefore, less prone to injury.
• Builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability leading to less risk with conditions such as arthritis.
• Reduces the risk of heart disease as it increases cardiovascular health, lowers the bad cholesterol (LDL), increases the good cholesterol (HDL) and lowers blood pressure.
• Lowers your risk for Type 2 Diabetes as it helps your body process sugars better.
• Aids in decreasing anxiety and improving mental health as exercise produces mood-improving neurotransmitters such as endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
• Improves athletic performance.
• Increases body’s ability to respond better to childbirth and be more prepared for postpartum healing.

Unfortunately, there has been a stigma around weight training, as women fear their bodies will ‘bulk’, even when lifting the smallest of weights! Here is a fact you might not of thought about before, but your children weigh equal to, if not more, than the weights you will be regularly lifting with!

Women CANNOT physically bulk and the reason for that is because of our genetic make-up. Our bodies have 10 to 30 times less hormones necessary to ‘bulk’ when compared to men. Specifically, we have way less testosterone and human growth hormone. These two hormones build more muscle mass and create this “bulky” look. Weight training doesn’t bulk, it’s actually excess body fat that makes you think you look bulky. And, if the image of ‘weight training will make me look like a man’ is still in your head, the female bodybuilder look is the wrong reference to go by. The reason is that female bodybuilders need to take substances such as anabolic androgenic steroids, testosterone and other ergogenic aids that will help them gain much more muscle. But ladies, this is not the norm, or the reality and our bodies will not look like this naturally.

Another common misconception is that women believe they can tone certain areas of their bodies or spot reduce fat in certain parts. However, toning really means losing more body fat, getting leaner and building muscle, which will create a tighter, firmer look. That’s why you often hear the term ‘abs are made in the kitchen’ – because it’s true! Losing body fat and eating a clean diet will help you achieve a leaner, tighter, firmer look. When you build muscle over a higher percentage of body fat, this is where you start to feel like you’re bulking (even though you’re technically not). You’ll also experience some inflammation and swelling in the muscles post training due to blood rushing to the muscles. That feeling will always subside as long as you eat the right foods and hydrate enough, post training, to help the torn fibers of the muscle heal and repair.

Start looking at weight training as your friend not your enemy. Our bodies need weights to go through life’s daily motions with strength and confidence. So, start lifting those weights!