IBS - Gluten/Lactose Intolerance - Calcium Intake

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kerstinpearce
kerstinpearce Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Recently I've been diagnosed with IBS and found I am gluten intolerant and potentially some dairy & certain fruits are also a problem.

Cutting out these problem items has been a huge challenge for me with my bread heavy and lots of pasta lifestyle!

Truth of the matter is that I have probably been suffering for well over 25 years and just didn't realise what the cause was.....I didn't know anybody with it and thought IBS was a problem where food went straight through you which I most definitely did not have!

(I must also add here that my GP's have failed to diagnose me many times over the years as I do not tick the boxes on their "list"; it took a private doctor to realise what ailed me and order blood tests)

I've been overweight for most of my adult life and really struggled to lose weight regardless of what I did....I have always joked about my incredibly slow digestion and insisted it was my body being very efficient at holding onto food until every ounce of goodness and calories was extracted, whereas most skinny people I knew were in some cases "twice a day" people compared to my "twice a week" if I was lucky!
.....within a month of kicking the gluten and cutting out the most suspicious high FODMAP fruits (that I'd gleefully been eating most days in the belief I was doing good; apples, pears, water melon and mango); I am now a "daily" PLUS I'd lost 6lbs without really doing very much else!
I simply cannot believe how much better I feel in myself.

I've spoken to many people who have said similar, for years they'd been bunged up with wheat/gluten and these fruits really do not help some people with their digestion...
..a simple apple a day in my case is very bad, I'd never suspected that was a major cause of my common trapped wind cramps that I just accepted as normal!

Since then I have gotten engaged and am getting married July 2018...with the small success I had already achieved my motivation has shot up and I am now over a stone lighter!
However I still have just over 2.5 stone to lose to reach my goal....but this now seems achievable whereas for years I have just been so despondent.

I have heard a lot about "clean eating" and am new to this idea, I have also discovered that gluten free products are mostly disgusting...bread is a real disappointment...but the pasta is ok in moderation.
Toasted, the bread is "ok", but it's just not satisfying to eat in the same way bread is..you may as well just not bother.

Alternatives to sandwiches for lunch and tasty GF dinners aren't really an issue, but what on earth do you have for breakfast if you don't have toast or cereal, need to avoid those probiotic yoghurts and can't face grapefruit?

Well I have discovered that a simple smoothie is actually very satisfying and is now my breakfast of choice nearly every day - furthermore I think this will be permanent, even apres diet!

I whizz up 200ml of Unsweetened Almond Milk and a couple of desert spoons of plain skyr with a handful off fruit (strawberries or blueberries this week), and I still have my cup of coffee (with 1/2 sugar as I just cannot give that up).

My calorie count is about the same as my coffee & a piece of toast with spread, but when I look at the nutrition screen on MFP I have realised just how truly awful my previous breakfast was in comparison to my smoothie and I am ashamed.

I have also discovered the idea of "well that shake won't fill me till lunch" is IN THE MIND, as a piece of toast is not that fab in reality it was just habit....but I do take some celery/cucumber/carrot batons etc to pick at around 10.30 which sorts that out.

I'm fast approaching 50 and my cousin who is not much older than me has been diagnosed with Osteoporosis....her similar 20 year cycle of failed dieting has left her calcium levels dangerously low....with this in mind I was worried about my calcium intake and have been keeping an eye on it, especially as I have to avoid quite a few dairy items I previously ate.

And that is how I discovered skyr....I seem to be able to tolerate it as a dairy product, I don't have a lot of it...but then you don't need a lot. It's very high in calcium and lower in fat than greek yoghurt!

Would love to hear from anybody else who has lovely ideas for IBS friendly low calorie meals and anybody who is on a similar path of discovery

Kerstin

Replies

  • purplepadres
    purplepadres Posts: 36 Member
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    I have IBS-D, primarily caused by a dairy intolerance. My doctors just wanted me to take prescription medication, but I wanted to get to the root of it, and put myself on an elimination diet for a month to see if I could determine where my sensitivities were. I used to eat a lot of yogurt, whey protein, etc. Now my breakfasts consist of a variety of items. This week it's a spaghetti squash casserole with veggies & sausage. Sometimes I make a meat & veggie hash, and sometimes I just have dinner leftovers from the night before. Breakfast doesn't have to be sweet (cereals, pastries, etc.). As for the rest of my meals, I keep things relatively simple. Tonight's dinner will be shredded chicken thighs, greens, and mashed sweet potato. I eat gluten in moderation. While I'm sensitive to it, my tolerance is higher than it is for dairy products, which I must completely avoid. It takes some time to adjust. I thought I'd never be able to live without bread or dairy, and I've shown myself that I can.

    Oh, and as far as calcium, a lot of your leafy greens are good sources of calcium, but if you're concerned with a lack of dietary calcium, you could always take a supplement!
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
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    Definitely try an elimination diet and try to reintroduce certain items if you haven't already, I have IBS but only certain wheat products get me, normal wholegrain bread is fine as is pasta, however I have pain with supermarket pasta salad and microwave pasta like lasagne also thai sticky rice but I'm fine with other rice. Also annoyingly bananas set me off and I identified coffee as a trigger before I was diagnosed because the pain was immediate and excruciating. I am also okay ish with most vegetables but if I have too many in one sitting like a big veggie stir fry or vegetable curry than I can get a fair bit of pain, same with anything to fibrous in large amounts like bran flakes, fruit and fibre etc. I do think over processed foods can be a trigger for me so eating fairly clean does help.

    The problem I found with IBS mostly is if I got hungry I would be ruined for the rest of the day so HAVE to have an afternoon snack between lunch and dinner, for some reason I would try to eat my way out of the pain because eating gives me temporary relief and I'd end up overeating which lead to weight gain. I will have to say though losing weight, especially increasing exercise and identifying my trigger foods has really calmed my symptoms.

    What works for me is having a small breakfast, small lunch, small snack around 3 or 4pm like a bowl of soup and a normal sized dinner, also I can only go 250 cals below maintenance a day on average and not get pain, sometimes I can go under 500 maintenance if I do exercise, but I can't over restrict too much so keep in mind it may be slow going. Also I go for a weekly deficit rather than a daily one so on some days if I need to eat more or above maintenance it is usually cancelled out by a better day when I've exercised more and kept within my cals. Good luck!

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