I'm almost embarrassed to write this thread because I know there are so many lame old wives tales and useless tips and tricks about minimizing belly bloat. Buuuut...I was just curious if anybody had some legitimate from-experience advice.

First of all, I know there are no magic foods that burn belly fat. No tricks to fight genetics and produce washboard abs. I know you can't spot reduce, etc etc etc.

My wedding is 16 days away. Now that Thanksgiving is over (you may have seen my thread about MY Thanksgiving dinner...hehehe), I can focus on eating perfectly on plan up until the wedding.

I have not been outside of maintenance limits since I reached it. I'm not worried about losing any last minute pounds or fitting into my dress or anything of that sort. But I do have a bit of a pooch. Even on my "skinny days" I have that blob of pudge right under my belly button. I'm pretty sure it's just a genetic/inherited pouch of fat that would be the very last thing to disappear even if I starved myself down to nothing (no that I would EVER do such a thing). But I also still eat a relatively carb-heavy diet. I have heard many o' times that eating low carb can minimize belly bloat. I know my pooch isn't going anywhere, but I think there's some belly bloat that is within my control.

So starting now, I have 16 days to eat clean for a flatter belly, haha. Any suggestions? Lower carbs? I'm already avoiding sodium and processed foods.

I spent 4 days hiking in New Hampshire over the summer. I noticed a reduction in my belly at the end of the 4 days. So you could try that.

I swear that since I stopped drinking alcohol this round of dieting has resulted in losing fat in my abdomen MUCH faster than I ever remember it disappearing in the past.

Congratulations on your weight loss *and* your upcoming nuptials; I'm sure you'll look gorgeous no matter what!!

100 oz of water a day and eat clean - I mean clean - nothing processed, only whole foods and good fats (nuts, avocados, etc.). Whenever I'm 100% clean my belly shrinks. Other than that *know* that no one but you is going to notice that little bit of belly - I promise congrats and good luck - you deserve it!

Water, water, water... no salt.

Personally, I cannot have anything carbonated(diet sodas, sparkling water, etc.) or else I get terribly bloated for a day or two... even a half can of diet soda will do this to me. If I do get bloated from something carbonated, cutting out such beverages for a few days helps tremendously.

I don't know if you drink anything that's carbonated or not, but if you do, cutting out the carbonated stuff for a while might be worth a shot.

Oh my gosh. I didn't realize you were getting married so quickly. I'm so happy for you.

As for the belly, hmmm. Well women really are not supposed to have flat, flat bellies. Not sure where that *myth* came from.

I can't help but think though, that those heavy splurge days of yours aren't helping the situation. It just may take a good couple of weeks for it to dissipate after a day of over-eating. You of course know yourself better than anyone... 16 days of super, duper clean eating is your best chance. I know you enjoy bigger meals, but for the next 16 days, maybe don't have such heavy meals at night.

You are going to be one beautiful (skinny, yes skinny!) bride. I sure hope you post some pictures. Congratulations!!!

Oh Robin, I absolutely know that my beloved splurge days and big night time meals, not to mention my relatively carb-heavy foods, are NOT setting me up for success on the flat belly front, haha. Any other time, I'm fine with this, having a flat tummy isn't THAT important to me. I'd rather stick to a lifestyle that I love than worrying about getting my stomach as flat as possible. Buuut, I figure I can stick with it for these few weeks for my wedding.

So far my plan of attack is completely eliminating processed foods (which is fairly easy, I don't eat much anyways). Nothing carbonated. Lowering carbs as much as possible. I'll probably still have my oatmeal for lunch, but dinners will be lean protein and non-starchy veggies. Throwing out all salt (since I prepare most of my food from scratch, I know the salt content of most of my food). I'm going to try my darndest to stick to small meals throughout the day, and definitely no more splurge days until the wedding (actually, the wedding will be a splurge day, lol). My bridesmaid suggested I do a liquid diet for a day or two before the wedding (still consume the appropriate amount of calories, just in soup and smoothie form), but that seems a little excessive.

And thanks, I'm THRILLED. I cannot wait I love my dress, it's fairly unusual, but it's classy and slinky. It has kind of an Old Hollywood look to it. I'll post pictures for sure!

Limit salt and dairy. Both of those things will bloat you.

I'm not sure about the bloat, its sounds like you have a good plan. I just wanted to say:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

You will be a very beautiful bride, even with a little bloat or not

Besides what everyone else has said - I'd highly recommend adding green tea and seaweed for stomach bloat. The green tea really 'cleans' you out - it keeps everything SUPER regular. And seaweed is this magical food - just as it does in the sea - it traps toxins and also has been proven to bind to fat, causing the body not to digest it. I would buy those burrito sushi wraps and then for dinner, fill them with brown rice and veggies. Its actually super tasty and SO healthy and clean.

Anyway, those are the two foods that reduce my stomach bloat and make my skin glow. But, the seaweed may cause a bit of diarrhea at first - just a warning! Its not painful - but your body has to get used to it.

I agree with so much of what has been said -- lots of water, no carbonated bevs, low alcohol. I do not agree with going all-liquid before the big day. Those last few days can be exhausting and stressful and for me, an all-liquid diet might very well be too dramatic a change. Also, soups tend to be high in sodium so you could be sabotaging all your good efforts!

For me, higher protein is the key to rebounding from bloat. Lots of cottage cheese and greek yogurt for snacks, salad topped with chicken or tuna, eggs for breakfast. And there's always spanx. I love me some good spanx.

And please do post pics. I am so happy for you!

Just say yes to Spanx!

About cottage cheese . . . I've started to incorporate it into my diet over the past couple of weeks (I never used to like it), and have been surprised how high in sodium it is. My supermarket brand, lowfat cottage cheese has 25% of my recommended amount of sodium per serving. Is there such a thing as low sodium cottage cheese?

Megan - Congratulations!

Breads (things with gluten, actually) make my belly bloat. I don't know if you're eating breads but if you are, maybe that's something else to eliminate for the next 16 days.

When I don't eat gluten, my belly shrinks, when I do, it puffs out again.