Bloating or belly fat? Find it here.

Have you ever found your beloved jeans in your closet no longer fit? jeans were loose last week but tight now. Perhaps bloating or fat. Abdominal fat and bloating are easily mistaken. 

What is Belly Fat?

If you eat more calories than you burn, adipocytes (fat cells) deposit additional belly fat. Weight gain affects your back and thighs.

What's Bloating?

A few meals are challenging to digest. This keeps you full longer. Beans, dairy, overeating, salt, gum, and air cause most bloating. 

Identifying Belly Fat and Bloating

unhealthy weight gain caues fat. Fatten belly, face, thighs, butt, arms. Intestinal fluid/gas retention causes bloating and pain. Dietary adjustments reduce bloating but increase abdominal fat. 

Fat Storage

Simply gazing at your midsection might reveal belly fat ballooning. Localized swelling?  Should I say body-wide? First-question affirmative suggests stomach and abdominal bloating. 

How it feels

Bloating tightens your stomach, whereas belly fat makes it spongy and flexible. Belly fat is easier to understand than bloating.

Duration

Swelling duration differs too. Fat cells accumulate and may reside forever. Spurts of bloating occur. The stomach shape changes during the day.

Pain or discomfort

Over time, bloating might hurt, while excess fat does not. Instead of bloating, extra belly fat causes long-term damage.

Choose Your Cycle

During menstruation, oestrogen and progesterone fluctuations cause water retention and bloating. Menstrual cycle is crucial to recognizing bloating or abdominal obesity.

Conclusion

To solve bloating, you must first understand why. Differentiating stomach bloat from abdominal fat may help you diagnose and treat your symptoms.

Stay tuned for developments.