granola - the enemy within!

So...i'm sort of piggy backing on to yesterday's blog which, as you may or may not have read, was dedicated to hot flashes. Partnered with the hot flashes over the past month has been an on again/off again issue with belly bloat.

Now here's the thing...

I'm not going to get all "womanly up-in-my business" in my blog BUT I will share that this bod-o-mine was retaining fluid as the montly "friend" approached (not really my friend at this point though, just a huge freakin' inconvenience...but i digress...)

Anyway, although I knew that was a factor, the one thing i did NOT know was also a HUGE factor in my belly bump bloat was...{cue the music - dun dun dahhhhhh]

GRANOLA!

Ah yes. In my usual Rachel fashion...i find a yummy, healthy food and eat so much of it that it does the exact reverse for me that it should have been doing if I exercised this little thing called "moderation".

And I wasn't eating crap brand granola either...i was eating yummy, delicious 100% natural ingredient Bare Naked granola with protein.

I discovered this tidbit gem of information after stumbling on this article - "9 Faux Health Foods That'll Blow Up Your Belly". Its states that "1/3 of a cup — ONE-THIRD — packs nearly 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 8 grams of sugar. Have you ever had granola? 1/3 cup is literally only 3 spoonfuls". I was eating way way more than 3 spoonfuls everyday.

VERY BAD.

And let me clarify here, granola, the type i was eating was not necessarily "bad" - but BAD for me because i did not use moderation, i went all out.

So, three days later and my lady-business bloat has subsided but more importantly, after shutting down the granola intake to ZERO --lo and behold...my nearly flat tummy has re-appeared {insert singing angels here}!!!

This was a very important learning opportunity to me. Just because a food is 100% natural and better for you than sticking a candy bar in your mouth - it does not mean it will be optimal for the health and aesthetics of your physical form.

I'm learning to embrace oatmeal and made a delicious oatmeal/pumpkin bar with almond milk, puree'd pumpkin and steel cut oats. I'm crumbling a very small bit of it on my greek yogurt in place of my now missed granola...and its WAY WAY better for bod and the belly. (and i used cinnamon as a seasoning so its super yummy and flavorful).

I can't even begin to explain the confusion I was experiencing the past month...i knew i was a little bloated, but had no idea how much of this came from the increasing granola intake. I feel really relieved honestly. All the progress in my body is starting to re-appear again, i need to learn, learn, learn and read, read, read because the fitness and nutrition media bandwagon is too closely married to product marketing (i should know, i work in marketing).

I plan on listing some low cal/low fat snack options that won't increase your waistline, confuse your common sense or make your belly bloat. Tune back in SOON!

I shall miss you granola...

but you and I just weren't built to last!