To combat belly bloat [1], I have a few things in my arsenal, including drinking tons of water (close to a gallon a day [2]), limiting my sugar and refined carb intake [3], getting my fill of fibre every day [4], and daily intermittent fasting [5]. I also take probiotics every day, as recommended by my doctor who I saw when I was having extreme tummy issues about two years ago.

I pop one probiotic every day [6] and have gotten into the habit of taking it with my lunch. I'm a fan of Ultimate Flora [7], either the 50 or 30 billion. I love that I can travel with them because they don't need to be refrigerated.

Why I Stopped For 2 Weeks

Combining all these things has helped me finally feel like I have control over preventing my belly bloat [8]. It's an amazing feeling. Until one day, when I didn't feel so amazing. That's when I realised I hadn't taken a probiotic in two weeks. Why? It wasn't a glamorous reason — I ran out. I was getting ready for a trip and when I went to pack my probiotics, I realised I was down to my last pill, and I had forgotten to pick up a bottle.

What Happened?

When I got back from travelling for a few days, I actually felt fine, so I put off getting more. Maybe it was a waste of money, and I could save the $28 a month (that's $336 a year!) for something else (more fitness gear, please!). Maybe the other debloating techniques I was doing daily were enough.

After about seven days, my stomach started to feel off. I had been eating less healthy than usual with the warmer weather — lots of vegan ice cream, dinners out, s'mores by the campfire — so I just thought I felt crappy because of that. After a few days of cleaning up my diet [9], I actually didn't feel any better; I felt worse.

It had now been almost two weeks without taking probiotics [10], and every day I felt a little more bloated and gassy. By the end of two weeks, I was uncomfortably bloated [11] and had a hard time sleeping because of gas pains. I was shocked. The only thing I had really changed was not taking probiotics, so could that be the reason? I hopped in my car and picked up a bottle to find out.

Now What?

After just five days of taking my beloved probiotics, I started to feel more like myself again. My belly was less puffy, it felt less gurgly, and my digestive system was — ahem — becoming more regular. I couldn't believe one tiny little pill had this much impact on how my belly felt.

For me, taking probiotics regularly definitely makes a huge difference. I aim to take them daily, but found that I'm OK if I skip three or four days — if I go any longer, my belly begins to suffer. Because I know now probiotics definitely do what they say they do, I always keep a new bottle on hand to avoid another unplanned probiotic break.