Increase in fiber causing bloating?

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kelsiiibee
kelsiiibee Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been eating a lot more vegetables the past 2 weeks and I am constantly bloated and full.. I am wondering how long does it normally take for your body to adjust to all this fiber?

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  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Are you upping your water intake too? You can always take some gas-x or beano to ease the adjustment too.
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
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    I second upping the water intake but what really helped me with the bloating was increasing my dietary fats.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
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    What types of vegies are you eating, and how are you preparing them?

    Perhaps try less fibrous ones, and cook them well, as opposed to raw or lightly cooked?
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
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    remember not all veggies are high fiber. You may need to go high fiber and push things through.
  • kelsiiibee
    kelsiiibee Posts: 5 Member
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    I can usually only get my self to drink around 72oz a day.. Most of the veggies I eat are raw, so could that be the issue? It's mostly just feeling extremely full.. so I haven't been eating as much as I should every day because of how bloated I feel! Usually broccoli, carrots, celery and spinach are my go to veggies.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited May 2017
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    So you are getting full on veggies and not hitting your calorie targets? Sounds like you need to supplement your veggies with some fat/protein.

    Get a high calorie dip for your raw veggies
    Steam them and add butter.
    Eat Chocolate or peanut butter

    72oz of water is not bad, not your problem.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    Do you need to be eating so many veggies? Especially it sounds like of a fairly restricted selection.
    I eat a lot of carrots to try and make myself fuller - if I achieved that, I'd be happy and stop there! :)

    More of the same 'healthy' foods won't, alas, make you 'healthy +1'.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
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    Here's healthy +2.... if I'm feeling bloated, I'll add chia seeds to my yogurt for a couple of days. If they don't push things through, nothing will.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    kelsiiibee wrote: »
    I can usually only get my self to drink around 72oz a day.. Most of the veggies I eat are raw, so could that be the issue? It's mostly just feeling extremely full.. so I haven't been eating as much as I should every day because of how bloated I feel! Usually broccoli, carrots, celery and spinach are my go to veggies.

    Raw broccoli in particular causes problems for a lot of people.

    You can cook veggies...they're just as nutritious if you're not cooking them to death and in some cases, cooking releases more nutrients and generally makes them easier on the stomach.

    Also, if you're eating so much veg that you can't get in your other nutritional requirements, then you are eating too much veg...it's good and all, but it's not like you're going to get extra credit or anything...and if they're crowding out other nutrition, that's no bueno.

    Lastly, upping your fiber quickly can cause a lot of discomfort and eating too much fiber in general can cause a lot of discomfort...
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,267 Member
    edited September 2017
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    How about fats, as others mentioned? You need some to benefit from the fat-soluble vitamins in your veggies. Shoot for at least 0.35-0.45g daily per pound of goal weight, some with each veggie-containing meal. Olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocados are some plant-based sources, if that matters.

    If you recently went from minimal veggies to lots, that can be more problematic than increasing gradually. Part of the issue is adapting to more fiber, part of that is gut microbiome, The latter takes time, but eating some probiotic foods may help a little - live-culture yogurt, kefir, sauerkeaut, fermented pickles, kim chi, miso, etc.

    I agree with those who suggest cooking more of your veggies for at least a while, and strongly agree that you also need adequate protein (opinions differ, but I subscribe to the idea of 0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight daily).

    While there theoretically could be such a thing as eating too many veggies (i.e. if it displaces other needed nutrition), the bar for that is pretty high. Some mainstream nutrition authorities are now suggesting 10 servings of veggies and fruits daily, and I frequently eat 12-20 servings without problems (and while meeting/exceeding the other macro goals mentioned above). What can I sasy? I love my veggies! ;)

    Edited to add: Some exercise, especially something that includes bendy-twisty midsection movements, may also help. First thing in the morning helps get things moving. Maybe Google for yoga exercises targeting digestive system.

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