If you watched the Oscars, then you know how awesome Amanda Seyfried looked onstage. But she didn’t just wake up with a perfectly slim figure: Stars go to a lot of trouble to stay 100 percent bloat-free.
“Bloating is a lot of times a build-up of gas, or undigested—or badly digested—foods in your stomach,” says Dalton Wong, founder of TwentyTwo Training, and personal trainer to celebs like Seyfried (while she was in London filming Les Misérables) and Alice Eve. Here, his tips to deflate a bloated belly—no red carpet required.
Take an Epsom salt bath
Wong recommends adding a minimum of two heaping cups of Epsom salt to your bath and soaking in it for 20 to 30 minutes. ”The salt pulls the water out of your body,” he says. “It takes all the toxins and the excess water out of your system so that you’re looking the best that you can.” One caveat: This isn’t something you should do every day. If you have a big event coming up, take an Epsom salt bath two to three days beforehand, Wong says. Otherwise, it’s a great once-a-week ritual that’ll help you relax, heal, and slim down on the reg.
Break a sweat
When you’re sweating, water is leaving your body—which helps any existing bloat vanish. There’s no need to do crazy workouts to reap these benefits, Wong says. Just perform your regular exercise routine, do some stretching, and follow it up with an Epsom salt bath as noted above.
Tweak your diet
Food allergies are the most common causes of bloating, Wong says. “What happens on your inside affects what you look like on the outside.” When you need to get rid of excess puffiness, he recommends cutting out gluten and dairy and filling up on fiber- and magnesium-rich foods. That way, you’ll make sure your digestive system is working as efficiently as possible.
Hydrate properly
Chugging liquids is a vital part of the battle against bloat—but you shouldn’t just stick with water. Wong recommends drinking a trio of teas throughout the day: green tea in the morning, mint tea after meals, and chamomile tea at night. The green tea will help wake you up and hydrate you first thing in the morning. Mint tea, which Wong calls digestion “insurance,” is known for soothing upset stomachs. The chamomile tea helps you get a good night’s sleep, which will in turn keep your digestive system work properly, Wong says. Enjoy a cup before hitting the sheets to wake up with a puff-free body.
More from WH:
Foods for a Flat Belly
The Tummy-Taming Smoothie Recipe
The PMS Diet
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