# Lose Weight on IBS?



## reeveskm (Nov 9, 2011)

I have only been diagnosed as having IBS for the last 5 years but had issues through my teens especially. I was very athletic and stayed in great shape. I then had two surgeries on my abdominal area in my late teens/early 20s and my symptoms worsened. Long story short, I now suffer from frequent constipation, bloating, and gassiness.While I really only need to lose about 20 pounds, I want and deserve to be my healthy weight again. I got back there about 3 years ago spending 2 hours a day at the gym and eating small meals mostly of rice cereal, not sustainable...I only maintained for about 6 months. My doc has helped by regulating my hormones and checking other metabolic factors and placed me on vitamin D, iron, cymbalta, and a progesterone only birth control. I lost 3 pounds in a week's time just with that so things are better but...I don't want to have to eat only rice cereal and sugar free jello for the rest of my life. I want to get to my healthy weight using a sustainable amount of exercise and foods I can eat. Every "expert" I consult says eat more veggies, but I am afraid I will be sick all the time. I'm looking for a way to get healthy and STAY healthy. when I'm sick, I feel like a lead weight is in my tummy and its hard to be active. I know my biggest triggers are eggs, broccoli, and cow/sheep dairy.Any suggestions for trying to up my veggie intake and healthy up my diet without causing an attack?


----------



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Try some veggies.... green beans.. peas.. etc.. Plus salad greens and/or fresh spinach & kale etc.


----------



## CQ91 (Nov 23, 2011)

Dear Reeveskm,I too suffer from constant bloating, flatulence and chronic constipation, but I have reduced the severity of my symptoms, and have also lost weight by experimenting with diets and food elimination.If you want to increase your vegetable intake without making yourself bloated or gassy, I would highly recommend staying away from vegetables that contain raffinose. Raffinose is a trisaccharide that is found in vegetables such as broccoli, mushrooms, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, beans, peas and asparagus. The human body does not possess the enzyme α-GAL, which is required to digest raffinose. Instead, the raffinose passes into the lower intestine where it is fermented by gas-producing bacteria. This, in turn, causes us to expel this gas, usually as unpleasantly smelling (and embarrassing) flatulence. So, you already know that broccoli is a trigger for you, and this could very well be because of its high raffinose content. If you want to try a low raffinose diet, perhaps try to stick to these vegetables:•Carrots•Celery•Lettuce•Tomatoes•Cucumber•Pumpkin•Sweet Potato•Avocado•SpinachAlternatively, you can take a digestive enzyme supplement like Beano which contains the enzyme α-GAL, which will help you break down the vegetables that do have raffinose in them. Raffinose is not the only natural sugar that is gas-producing. Sorbitol, which may be present in your sugar free Jell-O is another naturally occurring sugar that is poorly digested. Like raffinose, sorbitol can be fermented by gas-producing bacteria, also leading to gas, bloating and constipation. Like raffinose and sorbitol, lactose is another sugar that acts in some people in a similar way. I have lactose intolerance, which means that I cannot tolerate most dairy products without bloating, constipation and gas. If you are looking for a diet that will help you lose weight and reduce your gas, bloating and constipation, I would highly recommend trialling the low FODMAP diet by Sue Shepard. To access Sue's dietary suggestions you do need to buy her book(s), or organise a consultation with her.If you do not wish to do this, perhaps you could try the diet that has worked for me. This diet consists of;•The above vegetables•Plenty of fresh fish and seafood•Meat and poultry, such as chicken, turkey, pork, beef, duck•Nuts; cashews, almonds, walnuts as snacksAlthough I am highly sensitive to lactose containing products (these being milk, cream, ice-cream, yoghurt and some cheeses), I have recently found that there are some cheeses that do not contain lactose, or contain a very small amount. After years of depriving myself of cheese (which I love!) I discovered that I can actually eat some cheeses without any ill effect. The cheeses that I now eat are Jarlsberg (swiss cheese), cheddar, tasty, and parmesan. I hope that my advice helps you.All the best,CQ


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Usually they say eat more veggies as they are lower in calorie and you can fill up on them and generally eat less food.You don't have to eat more veggies to lose weight. You can cut back the portion sizes of what you eat now by 25-50% of each thing and lose weight just fine on your current diet.I would try eating mindfully (no distractions pay attention to each bite, there are some good resources out there if you google for them) as that can help you feel full when eating less food.If there are some high volume low cal foods you like, focus on them. (like broth soups) as they tend to help you fill up faster.


----------



## ccinami (Jul 18, 2004)

reeveskm said:


> I have only been diagnosed as having IBS for the last 5 years but had issues through my teens especially. I was very athletic and stayed in great shape. I then had two surgeries on my abdominal area in my late teens/early 20s and my symptoms worsened. Long story short, I now suffer from frequent constipation, bloating, and gassiness.While I really only need to lose about 20 pounds, I want and deserve to be my healthy weight again. I got back there about 3 years ago spending 2 hours a day at the gym and eating small meals mostly of rice cereal, not sustainable...I only maintained for about 6 months. My doc has helped by regulating my hormones and checking other metabolic factors and placed me on vitamin D, iron, cymbalta, and a progesterone only birth control. I lost 3 pounds in a week's time just with that so things are better but...I don't want to have to eat only rice cereal and sugar free jello for the rest of my life. I want to get to my healthy weight using a sustainable amount of exercise and foods I can eat. Every "expert" I consult says eat more veggies, but I am afraid I will be sick all the time. I'm looking for a way to get healthy and STAY healthy. when I'm sick, I feel like a lead weight is in my tummy and its hard to be active. I know my biggest triggers are eggs, broccoli, and cow/sheep dairy.Any suggestions for trying to up my veggie intake and healthy up my diet without causing an attack?


I have had IBS-A(alternating between constipation and diahrea) for over 16 years. I cannot break down fiber of any kind. The only vegs I have had any luck with has been yellow squash, carrots, beets- steamed to death! No value to that! I recently purchased a juicer(the kind for everything, not just citrus). I love it! For the first time in all these years I am able to get the beneficial vitamins and minerals of raw produce without the fiber. I have to run my juice through a tea strainer after I make it to be sure there are no bits in it. I am having better luck with fruit than vegs so far. But I slowly try tiny bits and increase if there is no bad effects. Be careful which veg you use, if it was gassy before it may still be gassy after-such as onions, cabbage, cucumbers, brocoli, caulifower, sweet potatoes and many more. But maybe in a raw state in small amounts it may be easier.There are a lot of IBSers out there like me who cannot have the fiber others recommend without great pain and difficulty. This is a desperate attempt to get something nutritious in me, but it's working. I don't know if it helps me lose weight(I could use to lose at least 10 lbs). I am trying to excerise more but the IBS itself is a constant interuption! If I get 3 times a week in I am doing very well and no two weeks are the same. It is very frustrating so I understand your feelings! As far as meats, the zero fat version is always a better choice, animal fat is often an IBS trigger too. I use cod or haddock and boneless skinless chicken breast- baked. That's it the others have too much animal fat in them and are hard for your body to break down. As for nuts - an absolute no go for me, WAY too much fiber! I have enjoyed almond milk though and it's benefits-calcium and vitamin E. ps I see you are using rice cereal as a regular food. Rice is a constipater. That is why it is in the BRAT diet to use after children have had bad bout with diahrea. BRAT= Bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. I deliberately use rice after I go to stop the reaction and the going too much. Bananas are not constipating but coat the stomach and sooth it. Toast is dry and absorbant and therefore binding - helps your system reform the stool back to normal. I don't know why applesauce is in there. I always thought apples were a food to make you go more, not less.? I hope something in all this info helps you! Just go slow and be careful with your foods as you try them. You sound like you are in better shape than me so I think you may have better luck than me in this. CC


----------



## KJL (Mar 19, 2012)

Some great info here, I've been struggling to lose weight lately too after dropping quite a lot of weight previously.Guess I need to keep trying!(I tried making a soup with allowed low-fodmap veg and that just made me flare right up. Any ideas why that would be? I'd used carrots, red pepper, some herbs and gluten free veg stock.)


----------



## paraAdrian (Nov 5, 2010)

I love to exercise two so what I do I go to the gyms even feeling a bit sick the only was I don't go to the gym is when my abdomen distension is just to much to handle . I try to be active the days I feel a bit better witch are very little but I try .


----------

