Hi Igw20!
Maybe this 'bloating' is just accumulation of fat around the middle. As Joan said, bread can cause added fat on the belly. All carby foods (fizzy drinks, potatoes, crisps, biscuits/pastries, sweets, cereals, beer etc..) all fall into the category of belly fat producing foods.
But if you have a bloated and uncomfortable feeling, you may be eating too much at one meal. Drink water to fill yourself up.
If you have gas, you need to work harder at becoming regular. And the best way is to increase your fluid intake; water being the best and most natural source. And of course, increasing vegetables. If you eat plenty, you will have no room and no desire to fill yourself up even more with 'bad foods'.
Here is a British article about a study that states that 10 vegetables and fruits per day are the new 'norm'. This is not some extreme or far out diet. It is what every human being should eat in a day. (Consider that a banana for example is 2 servings, an apple is 1.) For optimal digestive and overall health, this is the recommended.
hat means one has to fill thatbreakfast smoothie blender with let's say: half an apple, some berries, celery and a handful of fresh, green spinach whichmakes for a good and delicious choice. That and some walnuts and almond milk for protein thrown in, and maybe a bit of vanilla make an excellent start to the day.
A little bottle of vegetable juice packed in with your lunch is also an easy serving. My daughter took a big salad to work every day for years because she wanted to be slim...and healthy. And she succeeded. She wanted me to make her lunches so I put about 8 (small amounts) of veggies into a portable bowl; carrot shavings, cut up celery bits, green lettuce (never iceberg), cherry tomatoes, cucumber, chopped red pepper bits, a beet and sprinkled dry parsley. I put the dressing in a tiny one ounce sealable cup which I put inside the salad bowl. For protein, you can put chicken pieces leftover from dinner, hard boiled eggs, even cheese if you can tolerate it. That's the way not only to lose weight but to be healthy..and look attractive with a healthy complexion, bright eyes, shiny hair. Of course you can add more to it if you find this is not enough food. Mayb eyou are very active in which case you need more caloreis in a day. You just don't want to be eating lots of bread and other carbs if you are losing weight. They only make you crave.
As far as bloating goes, keep regular by taking Fybogel or some other source of natural psyllium. It is not a drug. Personally I keep regular by taking magnesium glycinate or magnesium citrate (2 -3 tabs) at bedtime and I empty my large colon completely. If you do this, you won't have trapped gas. You should 'go' every morning, a full, 1 foot long, easy to pass stool. If you have to strain or the stool is small and/or sinks to the bottom of the bowl, you are constipated and that means you are keeping a lot of undigested (rotting) food inside you. And this can give you problems.
Good luck with your diet and your digestion.
Robin