HOW I KICK THE PERIOD BLOAT - Useful Tips

I just want everything CARBY and SWEET! 

I am almost sure I am not the only one who dreads having her period and the bloating that comes with it. For me, the week leading up to my period means my eating and cravings go way off! My sugar craving during this period is almost unbelievable. I just eat every carb in sight. uggghhhh!  Like my brain suddenly tells my stomach all the food is going into extinction. lol.  Then when my period finally comes I just can’t drink water no matter how much I try. Typically, my water intake goes from 3 litres per day to about 1 litre. And of course, I get constipated too.  Oh, let’s not talk about the mood swings. DON’T GO THERE! lol

Me: Don't touch me. Me again: I want to be cuddled . LOL

Phew !

To relieve from this bloating right after my period, here are a few things I do that have worked for me over time. You might want to try them too.

·         DON’T LET GUILT MAKE YOU STARVE YOURSELF just because you over-ate during your period. No. It’s very normal so don’t beat yourself up. Simply go back to the healthy meals you would normally have and continue where you stopped.

·         INCLUDE PROTEIN WITH EVERY MEAL and cut back on the crabs. If you tend to overdose on the carbs and sugar during your period like me, then the first thing you should be doing is to eat protein rich foods. Foods like oats, bread, pasta tend to make you retain water especially if you eat them at night. Go for a protein rich breakfast (E.g vegetable omelette) and add a good amount pf protein to your meals throughout the day.

 

I feel awesome! Duuh! *Side Eye*

·         UP YOUR CARDIO to help get rid of the water weight.  This for me is always a game changer. I normally do about 20-25 mins of cardio each time I train but the week immediately after my period I double the time of my cardio. It is said that you can fight constipation/bloating by just walking for at least 15 to 20 minutes each day. Trust me this works! You sweat more with cardio and the water weight falls off through your sweat glands.

·         INCREASE YOUR WATER INTAKE to help flush your system. If your water intake drops low like mine during your period then you should take it right up immediately after. It is important to avoid alcohol, soda and beverages during this time and focus on just WATER.  Your body will thank you later.

 

Wouldn't that have been perfect?!

·         AVOID SUGAR AND SUGAR SUBSTITUTES because your body doesn’t need it right now. I find that my body can’t tolerate a lot of sugar right after my period. Maybe because I over indulge during in carbs and sugar during my period. If this happens to you as well, beat the bloat by leaving out sugar–free candy and gum, diet drinks and other foods that contain sugar from your menu.

·         CUT BACK ON THE SALT INTAKE to reduce your sodium.  Salty foods tend to make us retain a lot of water. At this time, you will want to cut back on the amount of salt you ingest to help reduce overall bloating. Instead of reaching for crisps, canned foods, ketchup, processed foods generally, you should opt for fresh vegetables, yoghurt, nuts and fresh fruits.

 

Ugghhh the struggle! always feels like a few days apart. 

·         DRINK SOME TEA to soothe your belly. I find that green tea and peppermint tea help with my bloat. Research has shown that peppermint tea especially works to decrease bloating and tends to relax the digestive muscles. You might want to invest in this!

Do not forget that everyone’s body is different and these tips shared are things I find that work for me.  I hope someone finds them useful too. If it helps you, do let me know!

Keep crushing  those goals.

Love always,

Ella. xx

MEMOIRS OF THE EXs PAST - 4

Definition. 

Missed the first part? Click HERE

He laughed it off. “why are you bothered? It doesn’t make you less a delight! So what if you get teased by others? They are just blind”. He won me over completely and was very consistent. Time went by so fast, but every day felt like the beginning.

“Has he asked you out?” Jane asked as we walked back to the hostel from school one evening. Apart from being friends, we were course mates as well.

“Does he need to? All the signs are there. He seems to really like me, though it feels too good to be true. Of all the ladies around he chose me!” I laughed

“Maybe he wants to do so specially. Valentine is just around the corner you know?” Jane always knew how to put ideas in my head.

“True.”

“Have you guys done it?”

“Done what?”

Jane winked at me and made gestures with her hands. “Get away! We cannot get down so fast naw” We laughed together. “oh well, we have shared kissed though. That guy is something!” I had one of my palms on my chest.

“Lover girl!” Jane hailed.

Kenneth and I had earlier agreed to meet at his house that evening. I was beyond excited and couldn’t wait. He still hadn’t asked me out officially but we were happy and that was all that mattered, right?

“Hi dear” he greeted me at his door, arms spread. I step into them and muttered “hello”.

“How has your day been? Missed you” his hands lingered around my hips as he guided me into the house. It was a very cozy room, this is the second time I would visit him at his house. I flanked down on the bed at the corner of the room.

“My day has been fine, I had just two lectures”. I said while taking off my sandals.

“Cool. You make me remember school days” he approached me a pack of juice and two glasses.

“Please don’t remind me of how far I still have to go! I am praying and hope to be like you someday” I stuck out my tongue.

He threw his head back and laughed. I loved the sound of it. Soon we settled into playing monopoly and of course he beat me at it, or did I let him?

“I told ya! I am the master in this game” he smacked his lips, while rubbing his beard.

“Yea yea” I rolled my eyes and made to leave the bed, but he grabbed my waist and pulled me back.

“Come here” he murmured and held my gaze with his eyes. Soon our lips were locked in a deep kiss. 

It felt like he had a dozen hands, I felt his hands everywhere. I caught one of them as it crept into my jeans, we were both panting

 “Wait hang on a minute”

“Why? I have wanted you for so long now” he drooled into my ears, nuzzling my ear lobes. I tried not to be blown away.

“What are going to be having sex as?”

“What do you mean?” he was now seated straight and facing me

“What are we to each other. Are we dating officially?” I insisted.

“As two consenting adults. We are both grown aren’t we” he said flippantly.

A bell rang loud in my head. I silently removed his hands that were now resting on my zipper, scrambled off the bed and started wearing my sandals.

“Chi? What is the problem?”

“Nothing”. 

 I reached for my bag, hung it on my shoulders and left the room as fast as I could. I was oblivious of the fact that it was raining, getting drenched was the least of my worries. I made a mental note not to wait seven months before defining my relationship with any man. 

MEMOIRS OF THE EXs PAST - 3

**Click here for PART ONE  and TWO

Definition.

It’s a wonder why the heat in Gwagwalada is yet to make news. I would not be surprised to hear that it has roasted some students alive, it’s been a long time coming. I gave up on prospects of sleep, got out of my sweat soaked bed and went to grab a sachet of water from the fridge at the corner of my room. I moaned as cold water glided down the insides of my throat, the feeling was pure orgasmic.

“Chi!” I heard Jane call my name

“Enter the room naw! Must you shout my name for the whole hostel to hear?” She just spoilt a good moment.

Soon her body mass took over the doorpost, she was all smiles and grins. “I have gist for you!”

“What?” I reached for another sachet of water

“Is that how you will answer me? Better talk well or I pocket my gist” She feigned annoyance

“Talk joor!”

“Hmm, It’s about Kenneth”

“Huh?” I stilled

“Hay! I left him not too long ago, he has been whining about how he wants to get to you and bla bla”.

“Me?” I was in shock. Kenneth is my crush. I always asked God why so much sexiness and smartness should exist in one person. When he was still a student here, the entire law faculty knew him and he never failed to have a flock of females, all just lapping up his sexy goodness. He just knew how to command attention and was worth it. Jane had introduced me to him about two days ago as her cousin when he came visiting, I wasn’t sure whether or not to be excited at the news. The world just felt so small, here I was crushing over my friend’s cousin. How chic. So, after all my dreams and fantasies he wants to get to know me better?

“Yes you!” she clasped her hands and did a small dance.

“Okay?” I was not convinced.

“Well, I have given him your number. I hope you don’t mind?”

How can I mind? “I am still trying to figure out all you are saying…”

“Just relax joor” Jane went on to give me details of her discussion with Kenneth. True to her words, he did call. I am almost died when I heard his voice and cannot recall when I agreed to seeing him later that same week.

Gwagwalada became instantly cold.

Over the following weeks, Kenneth proved to be everything any woman would want. Oh, he did not fail my fantasies! We had a very rare connection, it was always hard to part whenever we met. I loved how he called my name and dotted on me. Once, I had talked to him about the insecurities I felt regarding my weight.

“Hmmn, well…” I remember him frowning slightly


TO BE CONTINUED...

MEMOIRS OF THE EXs PAST - 2

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Did you miss part 1? Click HERE to catch up

It must have been almost midnight when ‘boyfriend’ returned. According to him, he caught up with friends and they got carried away according to him. So what about me? We hadn’t seen in two weeks and he knew I was at his place waiting since 3pm. I thought the proper thing would have been for him to come home first and maybe pick me up and we go hangout with his friends? No? Oh well, who was I to point this out? I bottled up my feelings and didn’t bother to ask. I was more annoyed about all the time I spent stressing with cooking for him before he got home.  The main questions I had on my mind about the lady items I found earlier were still burning inside me but this wasn’t the right time to ask yet. I was tired, he looked tired, we both have apparently had a long day, so I figured the time wasn’t right. I could wait out the night.

Next day, I waited until after he had eaten the soup, just to ensure he was in a relaxed happy mood before asking. I’m too nice, right? I know. Lol.

“Are you cheating on me?” I asked right in the middle of a joke he was telling.

“What?” I had never seen a person’s face do a 180 degrees switch that fast before.

“You heard me and I am serious” I tried to keep my cool but I wanted to scream at him not to lie to me.

“you do not trust me? You have changed! Ever since you went to that university you became something else, what a question!” the verbal onslaught began, all of them falling along the ‘you-don’t-trust-me’ lines.

I felt small as he was literally screaming the house down. He always made me feel small when he shouted at me. Maybe it had something to do with the age gap between us but I was always scared each time he got into his shouting fits. Trust me when I say ‘boyfriend’ was like a man out of control when he got upset which is why I tried to avoid upsetting him as much as I could. I was never a match for him so in most cases, even if he was wrong, I would end up apologising to him for hours on end just for peace to reign.

Today, even though I had made up my mind to be strong, I found myself scared again. I went on to show him the things I found but it only infuriated him the more.

“So you go about now searching through my things?” He shouted

“No, I….”

“Since you got into the university you have let those girls you move with influence you’ He continued ‘Now they have taught to check through my stuff? What will it be next? Tell me!”

We met shortly before I got into the university and somehow he always felt that my going to the university changed me? I am not sure what he meant by that but he never failed to say it each time we had a disagreement and I had an opinion.

His favourite phrase was ‘Your eyes are up now abi?’ or ‘these days you like to just talk anyhow’ he would say each time he referred to the ‘new me’. Whatever that meant.

By now I had begun to cry. I think I was crying because I wanted to say so much to him but I couldn’t find my voice. Fear. What if I spoke back and he broke up with me? I was so scared of being alone. That was part of the complex issues I suffered.

I will spare you the details of the rest of all he said to me, after which he stormed out of the house and I cried some more. I needed to help myself but I just could not. Why did he make me feel so small? How did I get here? Why was I so helpless? He got back and I apologised for what happened. Told him I was wrong for not trusting him bla bla bla. Yes, I know I was being stupid but remember I was scared. If I leave him, who else would love me? His emotional blackmail (a word I later came to understand many years later) was strong and it got me each time. I always let him get me.

Two weeks later, I found more proof on his phone that was cheating. It was loud and clear he was seeing someone else when I wasn’t with him but I stayed on. Sucked it up and stayed.

Why didn’t I dump his cheating ass? Oh well, ‘all men cheat’ they say. Isn’t it true that ‘It’s in their nature to cheat’? So why would I leave him for something that came naturally to ‘all men’? Besides there was no guarantee that the next man I would meet won’t do the same. I believed all that bullshit women, starting from our mothers, fed their daughters and from where I stood then, it didn’t seem like a good enough reason to leave him. So even though I was hurt each time, I stayed on. My young fragile heart was broken many more times after that and I bore all my pain in silence.

I couldn’t leave

I didn’t want to be alone.

I was scared of being alone.





***This piece is dedicated to every woman who has suffered or still suffers emotional/verbal abuse in their relationships. Find your voice. Save yourself

MEMOIRS OF THE EXs PAST -1

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On this fateful day, I remember going over to the boyfriend’s house from uni after my Friday lectures. He wasn’t home but that didn’t matter because I had a spare key to let myself in. As usual, I set about cooking and cleaning. Oh, he always told me what he wanted me to cook and maybe because I naturally loved cooking I never minded. On this this particular weekend, the boyfriend had requested that I make some vegetable soup and goat meat stew. He had left some money on the fridge top for me to buy stuff as agreed and as usual, it was not the exact amount I had told him over the phone.  Spending money has always been a problem for him but that is long gist for another day. So, each time I have to buy the things to cook for him, I end up making up the difference out of my own pocket.

I was that girlfriend that liked to impress her boyfriend anytime and today was no exception. I wanted all to be ready before he got back from work. Oh wait, this isn’t the gist. I am still coming to the crux of this piece. I just think it will be nice to paint you a tiny picture of what our relationship looked like.

Cooking all done, at least the vegetable soup and semovita. The goat meat stew will have to wait until tomorrow because this girl was tired. All I wanted to do was get some new sheets on the bed as I always do each time I visit and rest my tired body. Trying to change the bedsheets, I found strands of blonde hair on the pillow. Before now, the boyfriend had asked me to only braid my hair as he considered weaves artificial and he didn’t want his girl looking artificial. So even though I was suffering from a receding hair line, I still obliged him and had my hair in braids all the time to the detriment of my poor hair. This blonde strands of weave could not have come from me.

Hmmn…

Somewhere on the dark coloured sheets were whitish dried streaks. On the bed stand beside the bed, on the right where I usually slept, was a female bracelet and an earring. They were not mine either. Besides I hadn’t been over to this house in over 2 weeks.

Naturally my mind began to race. Was he cheating? No. Maybe his sister came into town from Benin. Did she? He didn’t mention it. Maybe he forgot to.  Just maybe. 

Oh no, he couldn’t be cheating!

Is it possible that the boyfriend I loved so much and worked hard each day to impress was having it with another girl? But I was doing everything right wasn’t I? I was doing enough.  No, he couldn’t be cheating. I didn’t want to imagine it.  I needed answers but all I could do was wait. Wait for him to come home to me and tell me it was all in my imagination.

After I changed the sheets, I picked the strands of hair and wrapped them safely in a tissue paper, placed it beside the bracelet and lone earring and began the wait. I was dozing off on the sofa because I couldn’t bear to lay on that bed. I just couldn’t. Last I checked my watch it was 10pm and he said he was 10mins away from the house 2 hours ago.

TO BE CONTINUED…






***This piece is dedicated to every woman who has suffered or still suffers emotional/verbal abuse in their relationships. Find your voice. Save yourself