just bloated!

shakybabe

what foods are bad for causing bloating and which are best for helping it?

no matter how much I exercise or how little I eat my stomach stays bloated. my arms are skinny can see bones round my elbow (doesn't half hurt if I bang it!) my legs are shapely with all pedalling on passive trainer bike, I've lost weight in face, neck and loads off my boobs but my stomach is still bloated. I look more like a skinny pregnant person than an overweight in general if you get what i mean.

I'm starting to wonder if I have IBS or something? I'm already gluten free.

coral_b

Sounds like me with my IBS. I tried FODMAP diet which eliminates a lot of food groups and re-introduces them slowly. I found my ,main trigger for bloating and sickness is milk, also as a basic start cutting out onion and garlic; from what I know they are killers for a lot of IBS sufferers.
Trust me; I feel your pain. Even if it turns out not to be IBS you could be a little intolerant to certain food groups so always worth going through elimination of groups.
Good luck- it's really not easy to deal with but it can be managed if you work out triggers. xx

shakybabe

i have mushrooms and onions alot in curry's, shepherds pie etc... are mushrooms bad for bloat? I thought I'd heard they were and wondered if there was a list of foods to avoid anywhere?

coral_b

Yes! I try to avoid mushrooms, too!
What i've found works for me is that I can have a few of the "bad" foods just not all in one go.

http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/

If you go to that link there is a very long list of "don't eat" foods- I find i'm ok with some such as broccoli and honey, but others I still cut out now i'm not really following it exclusively. I've found i'm ok with wheat/ gluten in small doses so if i have a few days then I have a few days off. I'm actually terrible for it. It really is trial and error. Also weirdly, Bell pepper is on the ok list but that gives me stomach cramps. Lactose free milk is a saviour! Feel free to add me- but I warn you, some days I just eat what i want and live with a hot water bottle and peppermint tea to make me feel better!

Hildy_J

Hi,

It could be that for your body your stomach is the last place to lose? We all store our fat differently. If so it WILL come off, just stick with.

Also.. those doggies on yr profile pic, how cute? *melts*

shakybabe

I've been losing weight for a while now adn had reached my goal weight but even then my tummy was out of proportion to rest of me.

I have got underactive thyroid and seen mentioned the 'doughy abdomen' which it fluctuates to been like dough to rock hard and bloated.

It's embarrassing I have to either get bigger jeans that are miles too baggy on legs or maternity jeans of the correct size to allow for tummy bloating!

..the puppy in pic is now 1 year old and same size as my elderly dog on the right..lol!

coral_b

Do you get any other symptoms? If you get stomach cramps/ sickness/constipation or diarrhoea they can all be symptoms of IBS- if it's just bloating it could be a number of things. I get cramps bloating pains and sickness, but people can get all of or just 1-2 of the symptoms. Sadly IBS isnt really a definite diagnosis- its just process of elimination of other causes x

Hildy_J

I have got underactive thyroid and seen mentioned the 'doughy abdomen' which it fluctuates to been like dough to rock hard and bloated.

Really? That's not fun - who needs THAT in their lives - must be uncomfortable, too, I imagine? Will it improve with your thyroid meds?

Why do puppies have to grow up. :sad:

Ang108

Bloating has very little to do with the quantity you eat, but with the kinds of food that cause bloating. You should try and figure out what foods makes you bloat, avoid those and then eat normal quantities of " safe " food.
Also, are you sure that you are not confusing extra fat with bloat ? It is very possible that maybe the last couple of pounds of fat you still need to lose are concentrated on your abdomen and have nothing to do with bloating.

shakybabe

I have got bad stomach cramps tonight and constipated. Today had lot of veggies that are on the bad list actually.

I had slim fast shake for breakfast.. pork & vegetable casserole for sunday dinner veggies were cauli, broccoli, carrot, swede, onion, celery, peas. I had about half the pan and other half has tomato & chilli soup in to make a chunky vegetable soup for tomorrows dinner.

Also had another slimfast at teatime. I've been going mostly vegetarian but only usually eat cauli, broccoli, peas, carrots, swede, onions, mushrooms, peppers... I use quorn instead of meat sometimes but do sometimes have meat when can afford it. I like fish too. I don't eat bread much but when do its gluten free bread and try and stay off potatoes & rice.. (use cauli rice with curries).

coral_b

If you're in pain, and bloating, I would definitely say it sounds like IBS, but i'm just a sufferer, maybe a visit to the GP? I would definitely try eliminating some things from the list- look back over your diary too and see if you can see a pattern; maybe use the "notes" section at the bottom to keep track of symptoms (duration,type, how long after food etc)- then if you keep getting pains and bloating after certain foods it maybe will help identify triggers. It's a lengthy process but after about 5 months I know exactly what I can eat and can predict when i'll suffer- it has also meant i've finally lost some weight as my body isn't in over drive trying to fix all the issues caused by what I'd been stuffing in my face.
The worst thing is that it isn't consistent, for instance I suffer after about 20-60 minutes of eating the food so I found triggers pretty quickly as the pattern was apparent. However a lady i know suffers about 2 days after (basically when the food had sat in her gut and started to ferment- gross, but makes sense!).
Good luck! Try not to over-read as it can make you stressed which ironically can bring it on worse (If it is IBS) you just have to figure out what works for your own body. oh.. and little and often helps rather than large meals. Peppermint tea helps painful stomach cramps. All the best!
(Sorry this information over load)