IBS issues and eating more

laurenelizasmith01
laurenelizasmith01 Posts: 2 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Getting ready to see the gastro MD. Here's my issue.
I'm 23, F, and active. I run 3 x a week, perform heavy compound weight-lift around 4-5x with a few CrossFit classes here and there.
BMR: 1434
Total Macro split average: 115-120 p, 180-200 carb, and 35-50 fat depending on the day. My calories are focused on whole foods--not that you need to know that. Calories from day to range from 1000-1650 depending on hunger levels. I generally aim for my BMR.

Lately, I have been having a lot of pain in my stomach. This has been an ongoing issue prior to my drive to build muscle. My fiber is around 44 grams, and i try to drink 4 liters of water. I don't know what to do, really. I don't have an appetite, though I know I should eat. If my goal is to build muscle and get stronger, is it worth not tracking for a while?

If you have had severe stomach issues in the past, what helped?

Replies

  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    I suppose it depends on what you are willing to deal with. If you have severe stomach issues I'd start by seeing a doctor, as you're doing. If he diagnoses you with something possibly diet-related, like IBS, then you can try an elimination diet, perhaps using a FODMAP diet (Google it). The idea is to eliminate all the foods that could be causing your issues and once the symptoms have been eliminated slowly add foods back in to see if you can figure out what caused the issues in the first place.

    Obviously it's a slow process but it also doesn't preclude fitness. The good news is that most meats, as long as you watch the seasonings, are almost never the cause of something like IBS. So, as long as you're not a vegetarian, you can still easily get enough protein for muscle building. Then it's just a matter of choosing foods that give you the carbs and fats you need while avoiding foods that are often problematic.


    The other approach is to try eliminating likely causes of digestion issues one at a time. Sort of the opposite of what I just wrote about. For example, fruits. Fructose causes issues for lots of people, so eliminating those from your diet may ease, or eliminate, your symptoms. If you go two weeks without fruit and you don't notice any difference, reintroduce fruit and try to eliminate some other often problematic food in your diet.

    At any rate, I'd worry about this after you see the doc and he can run some tests. No use stressing over this until you know what it is your fighting.

    Digestion issues suck! I feel your pain, sometimes literally. Good luck!
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    I'd be inclined to see what your Gastro MD suggests. There is little point in asking us what may be the underlying cause because we can only make guesses. I would expect the MD to take various tests to exclude allergies and intolerances and obvious things, with modern testing. (I tested negative for diary issues with one Doctor yet using another system I was positive for casein reactions so the quality of the tests is vital). I fear there can be many causes of IBS symptoms discovering your personal causes using Medical direction is the very best way.

    That said, IBS can be histamine induced, or caused by a compromised digestive biome, may be reduced dietary enzymes and even food intolerances and allergies some common like gluten and casein, others less so, like soy with reactions to oxalates or salicylates which are natural substances within our foods but for some reason some of us react where as the majority do not, this is why getting to the base of your personal issues is essential. The more complicated a situation is where a functional perspective will probably show best rewards.

    FODMAPS can be a good starting point but I discovered it does not address all possible problems, mine cross referenced. Then we all know that major food eliminations are unhealthy because we can expose ourselves to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

    Wishing you all the very best. I hope you see the specialist soon.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    I agree with the above comments - really it's down to what the doctor says after necessary tests.
    As someone who does suffer from gut issues, I'd suggest that you may be eating too much fibre - it's not always the best way to address conditions such as IBS. But really, it's probably best not to make massive changes to your diet until you have a diagnosis. Good luck!
  • JRsLateInLifeMom
    JRsLateInLifeMom Posts: 2,275 Member
    IBSD/Colitis/Spastic Colon chronic diahreah until after my so s birth here too. Talk to the doctor might be something new your eating take a look at your food journal elimination method. Hydrate maybe grab some Powerade drinks. A lot more fiber can help some hurt others . Might even be a vegetable are you eating cabbage? Gassy foods can hurt.
  • lukejoycePT
    lukejoycePT Posts: 182 Member
    laurenelizasmith01 wrote: »
    Getting ready to see the gastro MD. Here's my issue.
    I'm 23, F, and active. I run 3 x a week, perform heavy compound weight-lift around 4-5x with a few CrossFit classes here and there.
    BMR: 1434
    Total Macro split average: 115-120 p, 180-200 carb, and 35-50 fat depending on the day. My calories are focused on whole foods--not that you need to know that. Calories from day to range from 1000-1650 depending on hunger levels. I generally aim for my BMR.

    Lately, I have been having a lot of pain in my stomach. This has been an ongoing issue prior to my drive to build muscle. My fiber is around 44 grams, and i try to drink 4 liters of water. I don't know what to do, really. I don't have an appetite, though I know I should eat. If my goal is to build muscle and get stronger, is it worth not tracking for a while?

    If you have had severe stomach issues in the past, what helped?

    It's got to be your gut. I can't give you a clear idea unless i saw your exact food intake but my guess is you are intolerant to something.Might be oats, or some kind of grains. Maybe try eliminating certain foods from your diet. e.g try not eating oats for a month and see how you feel.

    Do you ever fast?

    Always tracks your macros, you'll just end up fat otherwise. You don't need to consume a huge amount of calories to add muscle. Just a few hundred over your maintenance calories should do the trick.
  • autumnNicole5329
    autumnNicole5329 Posts: 12 Member
    Hey so I’ve done a lot of research on IBS and a lot of people get some relief from stopping gluten and dairy. Have you tried that?
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    I have IBS-D variety. That amount of fiber would be very problematic for me. I can tolerate about 25 grams a day.
  • jmackkk
    jmackkk Posts: 37 Member
    I will second the glutten. I used to have terrible stomach issues. Talked to some folks and began eliminating foods and then added them back in to see what happened. Im glutten and dairy intolerant with some random irritators thrown in. At the end of the day its not the worst thing ever to be stuck eating proteins, veggies and fruts lol. I was always getting upset stomach from whey protein’s regardless of the brand. The random headaches also went away. It makes gaining weight harder and peanutbutter has to become your friend(certain brands). Good luck
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    laurenelizasmith01 wrote: »
    Getting ready to see the gastro MD. Here's my issue.
    I'm 23, F, and active. I run 3 x a week, perform heavy compound weight-lift around 4-5x with a few CrossFit classes here and there.
    BMR: 1434
    Total Macro split average: 115-120 p, 180-200 carb, and 35-50 fat depending on the day. My calories are focused on whole foods--not that you need to know that. Calories from day to range from 1000-1650 depending on hunger levels. I generally aim for my BMR.

    Lately, I have been having a lot of pain in my stomach. This has been an ongoing issue prior to my drive to build muscle. My fiber is around 44 grams, and i try to drink 4 liters of water. I don't know what to do, really. I don't have an appetite, though I know I should eat. If my goal is to build muscle and get stronger, is it worth not tracking for a while?

    If you have had severe stomach issues in the past, what helped?


    @laurenelizasmith01 I was about the same age when my IBS started and finally 40 years later it resolved after it defining my life all of those years.

    When 63 with poor health already my health really started to crater and I could feel life slipping away faster and faster. Then I was faced with starting an Rx med that was going to help with pain in the short run but not better health in the long run so I decided to go with a radical move in my case. I decided to finally change my Way Of Eating since I was dying anyway.

    This is not something most are willing to do that ask me how did I as an old man get my health back on a more positive track after 40 years of failing health. I do not know if what I did will work a stranger or not but here is what I did hoping to prevent our 16 years old kids watch me slip away wondering if that was their future as well.

    On a hunch I cut out all foods containing added sugars and or any form of any grain. The first two weeks was pure hell and I wondered if I was going to die but I did know carbs are not required to stay alive. After two weeks my insane cravings of a lifetime just started to fade fast and my reward was my pain was dropping like a rock for the first time in 40 years. At the time I was clueless to why my move from high carb high fat to low carb high fat was working.

    About 6 months in it hit me I was going to the bathroom on my terms instead of the terms of my IBS.

    Now in 2019 I still eat LCHF. Health and health markers are better than 30 years ago.

    Where my Way Of Eating is right or wrong for you I do not know. What I do know if you too can find a WOE that will make IBS go away for the rest of your life then life will be better for you. I now realize my WOE was a factor in driving my Ankylosing Spondylitis for the past 50 years.

    Please keep in mind the below article is not something I suggest you DO but I do suggest you read it. Today is the first time I have seen this article but recovering my gut microbiome I now know was key to my good pain management and health recovery. 5 years later I still eat high calorie as I did when losing the 50 pounds and maintaining that loss for the last 4 years.

    https://healthline.com/nutrition/microbiome-diet
    The Microbiome Diet: Can It Restore Your Gut Health?

    IBS can only exist if we have a lot of inflammation going on. How to make the inflammation go away to never return is not the same for everyone so it will take some trial and error on your part. I have not had one day of IBS in charge of my life in well over 4 years now. Read about body inflammation and figure out what works for YOUR body. The 'opinions' of me and others are not what you need to hear. YOUR own body will tell you its 'opinion' on what you eat. Listen to it because it does not want IBS any more than you do.

    Best of continued success in life.

    IBS has nothing to do with inflammation. It's not an inflammatory disorder like ulcerative colitis or crohn's disease. Stool and blood tests of people with ibs show no inflammatory markers.
    I suffer from ulcerative colitis and do notice a slight improvement when I eat things like kefir and live Yoghurt. Diet is important with ibs but everyone is different and there is no one size fits all.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    I agree with the recommendation to reduce your fiber intake. Also, if you are getting a lot of fiber from vegetables, it might help to have some of them well cooked to make the fiber more digestible. I have had some IBS issues and do believe that eating high amounts of insoluble fiber makes my symptoms worse, as does a high FODMAP load.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    @comptonelizabeth I think your first sentence above may not be medically factual across the board.

    https://aboutibs.org/gut-bacteria-and-ibs.html

    "A number of research studies report a role for inflammation in the bowel’s inner lining (mucosa) in IBS. This is low-grade inflammation and far less than that seen in the true inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Interestingly, it has been found among patients in whom there was nothing to suggest that their IBS began with an infection. What suddenly causes this inflammation is not clear. It may be that subtle changes in the bacterial population in the intestines are driving it.

    Some people with IBS may be genetically predisposed to an exaggerated inflammatory response to normal bacteria. While this theory of IBS is in its infancy, there is already some evidence for the extension of the inflammatory process beyond the confines of the gut wall. This could explain some of the symptoms such as tiredness and fibromyalgia that may occur in IBS sufferers.

    For some time, various studies have suggested the presence of changes in the kind of colonic flora in people with IBS. These changes in the flora could lead to the increase of certain bacterial species, which themselves produce more gas and other products of their metabolism. This could contribute to symptoms such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

    Summary
    Many recent findings add to a growing body of evidence to suggest that IBS may result, at least in part, from a dysfunctional interaction between our gut flora and ourselves. This leads to a low-grade inflammation in the gut wall that may spill over into other areas of the body."

    That's interesting, thank you. I'm only going by what I was told when, after years of ibs, I developed ulcerative colitis (coincidentally - the one doesn't automatically follow the other) Aside from new symptoms which I won't elaborate here (!), the clinical changes included raised inflammatory markers in blood and stool tests which had not previously been present. I was told - by more than one consultant - that classic ibs doesn't normally include inflammation and in fact calprotectin levels in the stool of people with ibs is often lower rather than higher than normal.
    My understanding of ibs is that it's a syndrome - a set of symptoms - rather than an actual disease, but it was over 15 years ago when I last had it and nearly 40 years since I was diagnosed so I accept that research has moved on!
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    comptonelizabeth wrote: »
    GaleHawkins wrote: »
    @comptonelizabeth I think your first sentence above may not be medically factual across the board.

    https://aboutibs.org/gut-bacteria-and-ibs.html

    "A number of research studies report a role for inflammation in the bowel’s inner lining (mucosa) in IBS. This is low-grade inflammation and far less than that seen in the true inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Interestingly, it has been found among patients in whom there was nothing to suggest that their IBS began with an infection. What suddenly causes this inflammation is not clear. It may be that subtle changes in the bacterial population in the intestines are driving it.

    Some people with IBS may be genetically predisposed to an exaggerated inflammatory response to normal bacteria. While this theory of IBS is in its infancy, there is already some evidence for the extension of the inflammatory process beyond the confines of the gut wall. This could explain some of the symptoms such as tiredness and fibromyalgia that may occur in IBS sufferers.

    For some time, various studies have suggested the presence of changes in the kind of colonic flora in people with IBS. These changes in the flora could lead to the increase of certain bacterial species, which themselves produce more gas and other products of their metabolism. This could contribute to symptoms such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

    Summary
    Many recent findings add to a growing body of evidence to suggest that IBS may result, at least in part, from a dysfunctional interaction between our gut flora and ourselves. This leads to a low-grade inflammation in the gut wall that may spill over into other areas of the body."

    That's interesting, thank you. I'm only going by what I was told when, after years of ibs, I developed ulcerative colitis (coincidentally - the one doesn't automatically follow the other) Aside from new symptoms which I won't elaborate here (!), the clinical changes included raised inflammatory markers in blood and stool tests which had not previously been present. I was told - by more than one consultant - that classic ibs doesn't normally include inflammation and in fact calprotectin levels in the stool of people with ibs is often lower rather than higher than normal.
    My understanding of ibs is that it's a syndrome - a set of symptoms - rather than an actual disease, but it was over 15 years ago when I last had it and nearly 40 years since I was diagnosed so I accept that research has moved on!

    Actually we are just in the infant stage of most medic research it seems when we look at the lack of medical solutions of long standing nature but it is moving forward to some degree. Factors of epigenetics and the gut microbiome as they become better understood should help move research forward faster. I lived with IBS for 40 years but 6 months after I cut out added sugars/sweeteners and all forms of all grain and got heavy into coconut oil my IBS vanished in early 2015 and has not returned so far. My body inflammation has dropped since Oct 2014. Best of continued success.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited June 2019
    laurenelizasmith01 wrote: »
    Getting ready to see the gastro MD. Here's my issue.
    I'm 23, F, and active. I run 3 x a week, perform heavy compound weight-lift around 4-5x with a few CrossFit classes here and there.
    BMR: 1434
    Total Macro split average: 115-120 p, 180-200 carb, and 35-50 fat depending on the day. My calories are focused on whole foods--not that you need to know that. Calories from day to range from 1000-1650 depending on hunger levels. I generally aim for my BMR.

    Lately, I have been having a lot of pain in my stomach. This has been an ongoing issue prior to my drive to build muscle. My fiber is around 44 grams, and i try to drink 4 liters of water. I don't know what to do, really. I don't have an appetite, though I know I should eat. If my goal is to build muscle and get stronger, is it worth not tracking for a while?

    If you have had severe stomach issues in the past, what helped?

    I've read through the conflicting 'advice' you've been given. The one and only thing you should be heeding is to see your doctor, which you are.

    In the interim CHANGE NOTHING about your diet or routine. Getting into an "Oh, let me try this!" mindset could be very damaging.

    What I do suggest is that you continue tracking everything you eat. The information may come in handy when you see your doctor and/or a registered dietician.

    Keep us posted!

    Edited to add: How much longer until you see the specialist?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    laurenelizasmith01 wrote: »
    Getting ready to see the gastro MD. Here's my issue.
    I'm 23, F, and active. I run 3 x a week, perform heavy compound weight-lift around 4-5x with a few CrossFit classes here and there.
    BMR: 1434
    Total Macro split average: 115-120 p, 180-200 carb, and 35-50 fat depending on the day. My calories are focused on whole foods--not that you need to know that. Calories from day to range from 1000-1650 depending on hunger levels. I generally aim for my BMR.

    Lately, I have been having a lot of pain in my stomach. This has been an ongoing issue prior to my drive to build muscle. My fiber is around 44 grams, and i try to drink 4 liters of water. I don't know what to do, really. I don't have an appetite, though I know I should eat. If my goal is to build muscle and get stronger, is it worth not tracking for a while?

    If you have had severe stomach issues in the past, what helped?

    I've read through the conflicting 'advice' you've been given. The one and only thing you should be heeding is to see your doctor, which you are.

    In the interim CHANGE NOTHING about your diet or routine. Getting into an "Oh, let me try this!" mindset could be very damaging.

    What I do suggest is that you continue tracking everything you eat. The information may come in handy when you see your doctor and/or a registered dietician.

    Keep us posted!

    Edited to add: How much longer until you see the specialist?

    Agreed. Stomach pain can encompass such a wide variety of possibilities, and what will help one could aggravate another. There's no way anyone here can tell if you are dealing with IBS, food allergies, ovarian cysts, an ulcer, or any of the other possibilities. Hopefully the doctor can give you a quick answer!
  • Silkysausage
    Silkysausage Posts: 502 Member
    I reduced fibre and water intake, increased stomach acid with digestive enzymes/betaine HCL, apple cider vinegar with water in between meals.

    Increased number of meals, smaller portions. Chewed food properly, no liquid with meals but before or after by half hour.

    My issues were connected to underlying hypothyroidism, once that was supplemented the IBS went.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    snickerscharlie wrote: »
    laurenelizasmith01 wrote: »
    Getting ready to see the gastro MD. Here's my issue.
    I'm 23, F, and active. I run 3 x a week, perform heavy compound weight-lift around 4-5x with a few CrossFit classes here and there.
    BMR: 1434
    Total Macro split average: 115-120 p, 180-200 carb, and 35-50 fat depending on the day. My calories are focused on whole foods--not that you need to know that. Calories from day to range from 1000-1650 depending on hunger levels. I generally aim for my BMR.

    Lately, I have been having a lot of pain in my stomach. This has been an ongoing issue prior to my drive to build muscle. My fiber is around 44 grams, and i try to drink 4 liters of water. I don't know what to do, really. I don't have an appetite, though I know I should eat. If my goal is to build muscle and get stronger, is it worth not tracking for a while?

    If you have had severe stomach issues in the past, what helped?

    I've read through the conflicting 'advice' you've been given. The one and only thing you should be heeding is to see your doctor, which you are.

    In the interim CHANGE NOTHING about your diet or routine. Getting into an "Oh, let me try this!" mindset could be very damaging.

    What I do suggest is that you continue tracking everything you eat. The information may come in handy when you see your doctor and/or a registered dietician.

    Keep us posted!

    Edited to add: How much longer until you see the specialist?

    Echoing this, especially when gluten is concerned. You MUST be eating gluten to get accurate test results for celiac.

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