I'm having problems. page

[bdilla]

I have been actively pursuing the Primal lifestyle for eight months now. Before I started, I was having a digestive issue I was hoping would clear up: bloating.

I started Primal and hit the ground running. Within a week I was already doing IF. I lost about 40 lbs within three months, while allowing myself to cheat a little too often, as well as eating dairy, nuts, and drinking alcohol. I stopped cheating as much and fasted more regularly, and got to my lowest weight ever, which, at 6'3, was 173lbs. I felt a little more relaxed at this point, so I wasn't as strict and I allowed myself to cheat, again a little too often, and I consumed too much dairy. I gained about 12lbs.

Eventually I realized I had plateaued and was gaining, so about a month ago I cut out all dairy, all nuts, and all alcohol. I am back down to 173lbs. However, since cutting out these foods, I feel that my bloating problem has also gotten exponentially worse. It's literally to the point where, when laying down, my stomach feels so weird and uncomfortable that I honestly can not relax. My breathing feels tight and controlled, and it always feels like there's just shit stuffed to the brim in my stomach. Sometimes it even hurts. I can put my hands on my stomach and push and hear gas bubbles breaking and shit. I don't know what to do. I took the strongest probiotic I could find (Garden of Life RAW 85 billion); I consumed the entire bottle. It's actually gotten worse since then.

Not only that, but I feel as though my body is just done burning fat. I am not making the progress I am used to; although I guess that is to be expected when I'm getting to the last, stubborn fat. It's just that I have this pouch on my lower abdomen that is very unsightly. I've had it since before I was primal but it will not go away, no matter what I do.

I exercise 3-4 times a week. I sprint, I squat, I do pull ups, planks, push ups, bench press, and my job warrants that I stand or walk the entire shift, 5 days a week; on my off days I go to the pool. so I blow the slow moving out of the water.




I'm stuck at this body composition, even after cutting out the common problem foods, and I am bloated to hell.
Please help.

[Knifegill]

Dude, that just sounds weird. Does it stay bloated even when you're fasting? It could be so many things! Are you sure it's really your stomach? Not your liver or some other bloated, distended organ? Could be a fluid-filled cyst, a benign tumor, or any number of other goofy things. Does it change size? Is your stool ever bloody?

[Neckhammer]

At 6'3" 173 lbs maybe your just at a healthy weight for you. No use doing anything unnatural to alter it at this point IMO. If your lifestyle is healthy your weight will follow as such. I wouldn't worry about it, but if you want to reach some predetermined leanness then you will likely have to include intermittent fasting and some sort of macro counting. A short term ketogenic diet will help you to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass.

Sorry, just read you "symptoms". Fermented foods, especially home ferments are a million times better than any crap you can get in pill form. Like knifegill said any space occupying lesion could create that feeling and you could rule most of it out with a routine physical.

[bdilla]

I have been doing keto since I cut out dairy. I probably average 30-45g of carbs a day. and yes, it stays bloated when fasting; sometimes in extended fasts it even gets worse. Almost like a candida die off (haven't ruled that out). As for it being my stomach, I'm fairly sure, but I also won't rule any of those things out. The pressure that I feel when I push on my abdomen/stomach begins right in between the top part of my rib cage, at my diaphragm, and all the way down to right above my crotch. My entire midsection feels bloated. And no, my stool has never been bloody. I'm burping constantly, trying to relieve myself of the gas.

I also do IF on pretty much a daily basis, with extended, planned fasts here and there.

[BestBetter]

I have had a pretty chronic abdominal inflammation issue for going on a year now...I was convinced it was food related, but after doing every type of elimination on the planet (it seems), I still haven't totally pinpointed the problem. However, for me, there are some definite contributors:

1) Eating too much in one sitting. I'm a big fan of the 1-2 meals a day eating style, but my digestive system just can't handle that much food at once, regardless of what I'm eating. Smaller portion sizes help. A lot.

2)I'm very sensitive to fiber. The human body does not contain enzymes to digest fiber (cellulase). As a result, fiber must be fermented by bacteria in the gut. Fermentation produces gas. For me, this gas production means bloating and pain. I am making noticeable improvements on a low-fiber diet, which means drastic reduction in fruits and veggies (including avocado).

Extended fasts did not really help my bloating/inflammation problems, which was very frustrating. What is helping is to take ice baths/put frozen ice packs on my abdomen; I'm assuming the cold reduces the general inflammation in the area.

Have you gotten checked out by a doctor? I went to several gastroenterologists who were completely unable to give an explanation or offer help, but at least they were able to rule out anything that might require surgery or some serious measure. Might be worth getting checked out, just to make sure there's not some kind of infection or something.

[Cal.]

Read this: Gut Sense. It goes into detail on BestBetter's point 2 (above).

[zizou]

Could be case of Gastroparesis

[RitaRose]

A third vote for trying low fiber. Check out the Gutsense link Cal. mentioned.

[bdilla]

I'm going to try low fiber; I have an experiment planned starting after I complete my fast that I'm currently doing. I'm going to do three to four smaller meals, with only very low-fiber vegetables, one serving per day, for three days and record my results. I will post an update in this thread.

Also, I visited a gastroenterologist a few years ago. I had a GI done and he told me I had slight gastritis and esophagitis. I thought about this the other day, and made the decision to stop drinking coffee about three days ago. Even though I had bloating issues before the coffee, I know that the acidity is shown to worsen gastritis and therefore, bloating.

[fiercehunter]

Drink milk not yogurt or kefir; dairy free is just too hard to do long term so add it back & have some cheese also. Eat more fruit and less veggies. Have some coffee everyday & plenty of coconut oil and butter- as many tablespoons of both as you can stand.