What’s Actually Causing Your Bloating?

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  1) My bloated belly usually feels…

  • A.
    Soft and inflated, like a balloon filled with air
  • B.
    Hard and tight, like pressure building inside
  • C.
    Round and evenly distended, almost like a pregnant belly
  • D.
    Gassy and uncomfortable
• 2.
  2) Where do you notice the bloating the most?

  • A.
    Across the upper abdomen, under my rib cage
  • B.
    Mostly in my lower belly
  • C.
    All over my abdomen
  • D.
    It depends on what I eat
• 3.
  3) When does your bloating usually start?

  • A.
    Within about an hour after eating
  • B.
    It builds throughout the day and is worst at night
  • C.
    After specific foods
  • D.
    It’s there most of the time
• 4.
  4) What tends to trigger your bloating the most?

  • A.
    Almost anything I eat
  • B.
    Specific foods like onions, beans, wheat, or dairy
  • C.
    Even small amounts of food or water
  • D.
    Large meals or when I feel very full
• 5.
  5) How does your stomach usually look in the morning?

  • A.
    Relatively flat
  • B.
    A little bloated already
  • C.
    Very bloated
  • D.
    It depends on what I ate the night before
• 6.
  6) Is your bloating associated with gas?

  • A.
    Yes, I pass a lot of gas or hear gurgling sounds
  • B.
    Yes, and passing gas usually relieves it
  • C.
    Not really
  • D.
    Sometimes
• 7.
  7) What best describes your bowel movements?

  • A.
    I feel like I can’t fully empty when I go
  • B.
    I tend toward constipation
  • C.
    They change depending on what I eat
  • D.
    I go regularly but still feel bloated
• 8.
  8) Which of these experiences sounds most like you?

  • A.
    My stomach gets bigger as the day goes on
  • B.
    Everything seems to bloat me
  • C.
    Stress makes my digestion worse
  • D.
    Certain foods consistently trigger symptoms

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  The “Chronically Constipated" Bloating Pattern

  Your answers suggest your symptoms may align with a pattern I often see in women who are chronically constipated — even if you poop every single day.You might still be having bowel movements, but your transit time (the time it takes for food to go from mouth to toilet) is too long.This can create a type of bloating that looks like a big, distended belly that feels rock hard. It may deflate slightly after you poop, but it rarely fully flattens.This kind of bloating can also make you feel:feeling full for a long time after eatingstomach feels heavy or slowlow appetite or early fullnessnausea after mealsfeeling like food “just sits there”Why this pattern happens:Chronic constipation — especially if you've been experiencing it for several years — usually isn’t caused by just one thing.In my experience, it’s often influenced by a combination of four areas:Gut microbiome patternsCertain patterns in the gut microbiome can slow down gut motility and contribute to constipation.Nervous system dysregulationDigestion works best when the body feels safe and regulated. Stress can slow things down. Many women I work with are in a constant state of fight-or-flight, which can leave them constipated and bloated.Food and eating habitsThe timing of your meals, the types of fibre you eat, the texture of foods you eat, and how you eat your meals all influence how fast — or slow — digestion moves.Poor motility habitsModern life has us doing small things every day that slow down motility in the gut: rushing in the morning, wearing tight clothes, or constantly sucking in our stomach to make it look more “attractive.”Addressing these areas together is often the key to improving chronic constipation.What to do about it:First things first — you need to know your transit time.You can find this out with a simple activity at home:Eat ½ cup of corn kernels or sesame seeds, but don’t chew them well. Write down how long it takes to see them in your stool, and how many days you continue to see them.If your transit time is over 48 hours, this is considered a pattern of constipation.What to focus on:If you have this pattern of chronic constipation, you will benefit from focusing on:supporting gut motilityimproving elimination patternssupporting the gut microbiomebuilding digestion-supportive habitsNext steps:If this result resonated with you, the next step is learning what may actually be driving your constipation.I help women with chronic constipation understand their digestive patterns and support their gut so digestion can start working more comfortably again.
• 2.
  The SIBO-Related Bloating Pattern

  Your answers suggest your symptoms may align with a pattern I often see in women whose bloating is connected to patterns in the small intestine gut microbiome.Many women with this pattern describe their bloating like this:“Everything bloats me.”You may notice that your stomach feels relatively flat in the morning, but becomes more bloated as the day goes on.Bloating often starts about one hour after eating, and by the evening — especially after dinner — your stomach may feel at its most distended.This type of bloating is also often accompanied by:frequent gurgling or rumbling in the abdomenpassing a lot of gasbloating after foods that previously didn’t bother youfeeling like almost any meal makes your stomach swellFor many women, this pattern can feel confusing because foods that used to feel fine suddenly seem to cause bloating.Why this pattern happensIn some cases, this type of bloating is connected to patterns in the gut microbiome that create more gas production during digestion.When certain microbes ferment carbohydrates in the digestive tract, they produce gas.If this gas builds up faster than the body can move it through the digestive system, the abdomen can become distended and uncomfortable.This is why bloating often increases as the day goes on — more meals mean more fermentation happening in the gut.What to do about itWhen bloating is connected to patterns in the gut microbiome, simply removing more and more foods usually isn’t the long-term solution.In fact, constantly cutting foods can sometimes make the gut more sensitive over time.Instead, one helpful first step is to identify which carbohydrates may be fermenting the most in your gut right now.You can try this simple experiment at home:Choose one high-fermentation food that you eat the most often (for example: onion, garlic, beans, apples, or wheat products) and remove it from your diet for 3–5 days.Then add it back in and pay attention to what happens in your body over the next few hours.If your bloating noticeably worsens after reintroducing it, this can be a clue that your gut may currently be fermenting certain foods more than it should.This doesn’t mean you can never eat that food again — it simply means your gut may need support before it can tolerate it comfortably again.Women with this pattern often benefit from focusing on:improving gut microbiome balancesupporting digestion so food moves through the gut properlytemporarily reducing highly fermentable foodsrestoring tolerance over timeNext stepsIf this result resonated with you, the next step is understanding what patterns in your digestion may be contributing to your symptoms.I help women explore their digestive patterns and support their gut so digestion can start working more comfortably again.
• 3.
  The Stress-Sensitive Bloating Pattern

  Your answers suggest your symptoms may align with a pattern I often see in women whose digestion is strongly influenced by their nervous system.This type of bloating often looks like the most “pregnant” type of bloating.Instead of just feeling gassy, the abdomen becomes evenly rounded and full, starting high underneath the rib cage and extending downward.Some women also notice something called “guttering” — a small indented groove just under the rib cage while the rest of the abdomen is distended.You may notice things like:a round, evenly distended belly that looks several months pregnantbloating that starts high under the rib cagebloating triggered by even small amounts of foodsometimes feeling bloated even after drinking waterthe severity of bloating depending on what and how much you eatWhy this pattern happensThis type of bloating is often related to something called abdomino-phrenic dyssynergia (APD).Normally, when food or gas enters the digestive tract, the body adjusts by:relaxing the diaphragm upward to make room for the stomachgently relaxing the abdominal wall to accommodate the stretching stomachWith APD, this coordination changes.Instead of moving upward, the diaphragm pushes downward, while the abdominal wall relaxes to an exagerrated degree.This causes the contents of the abdomen to push outward, creating the rounded, distended belly many women notice.Because of this muscle coordination pattern, the bloating can happen even when there isn’t a large amount of gas or food present.This is also why the abdomen may:become distended after eating even small amounts of food feel bloated after drinking waterbecome more distended as the day goes onFor some women, this pattern can also appear alongside pelvic floor dyssynergia, where the muscles involved in bowel movements don’t coordinate properly.Both patterns are influenced by how the nervous system regulates the muscles involved in digestion.What to do about itOne helpful first step is to slow down the transition into meals.Try this simple habit:Before eating, take five slow breaths and allow your shoulders and stomach to relax.Then begin your meal slowly, paying attention to chewing and posture.This small pause helps signal to the body that it is safe to digest food.Women with this pattern often benefit from focusing on:nervous system regulationslowing down during mealsimproving breathing and posture while eatingsupporting digestion through consistent daily habitsmodifying the size and texture of meals so that they don't trigger distensionNext stepsIf this result resonated with you, the next step is understanding how your digestion and nervous system may be influencing each other.I help women explore their digestive patterns and support their gut so digestion can start working more comfortably and consistently again.
• 4.
  The Food Fermentation Bloating Pattern

  Your answers suggest your symptoms may align with a pattern I often see in women whose bloating is related to how certain foods ferment in the gut.With this type of bloating, the stomach may feel relatively normal before eating, but begins to swell within one to three hours after meals.Many women with this pattern describe it like this:Certain foods make me look immediately bloated.You may notice things like:bloating that begins after specific mealsfeeling gassy or needing to pass gas frequentlyrumbling or gurgling in the abdomenbloating that improves after passing gas or having a bowel movementcertain foods consistently triggering symptomsCommon triggers often include foods that are naturally more fermentable, such as certain fruits like apples, beans, onions, garlic, wheat products, or dairy.Why this pattern happensDuring digestion, bacteria in the gut break down certain carbohydrates.This process is called fermentation, and it naturally produces gas.For some people, certain foods ferment more quickly or more intensely, producing more gas than the body can comfortably move through the digestive system.When this happens, gas can build up in the intestines and cause:abdominal bloatinggasrumbling or gurgling soundspressure in the abdomenThis type of bloating often improves when the gas moves through the digestive tract.What to do about itA helpful first step is to identify which foods are triggering fermentation for you right now.You can try a simple experiment at home.Choose one food you suspect may trigger bloating — for example onions, garlic, apples, beans, or wheat products — and remove it from your diet for 3–5 days.Then add it back in and observe what happens in the next few hours.If your bloating noticeably worsens after reintroducing the food, this can be a clue that your gut may currently be more sensitive to fermentation from that food.This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to eliminate the food permanently.Often the goal is to support digestion and the gut environment so foods become easier to tolerate over time.Women with this pattern often benefit from focusing on:identifying high-fermentation triggerssupporting digestion so food moves through the gut efficientlyimproving overall gut microbiome balanceNext stepsIf this result resonated with you, the next step is understanding what patterns in your digestion may be contributing to your symptoms.I help women explore their digestive patterns and support their gut so digestion can start working more comfortably again.