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Bloated or weight gain


Greek to me

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I haven't weighed  myself.  Honest.  But every time I look in the mirror, I swear my face looks bloated like I've gained weight.  No GI distress, no other symptoms.  Getting over a cold.  Just puffy looking face and upper body in my perception. My meals have been pretty consistent and I"ve cooked everything so I know the content.

 

No sugars, no processed foods, Very limited nuts

Here's an example from today:

 

breakfast staple - Eggs (3) with veggies for breakfast and avocado

Lunch has been cioppino (seafood stew) with veggies and sweet potato/cauli puree, almond butter

Dinner has been salmon patty, sweet potato cauli puree; roasted cauliflower, ghee on veggies or some Greek olives.

 

I historically rarely if ever salted my food so for me to eat Greek olives - man..they pack a salt punch.  But other than this, I'm not salting much else. 

 

Any ideas what could be going on?

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Ok, Amber...Today I had proof in the pudding.  Couldn't zip up my jacket and my pants were tight.  What the heck?!  And I can't forget the fact that my face looks a bit like a teenagers. AND..yesterday full energy level crashed today...BIG TIME.  And because everyone goes this direction....it's not that TOM.  What gives?

 

Getting miserably discouraged here.

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What day are you on?

Any chance you're eating a compliant food that your body just doesn't like? I bloat up with any nuts - even just a handful, eggs, citrus, compliant sausage, etc. Just because it's compliant doesn't mean you won't react in weird ways.

Any chance your TOM is early? Many women find a change in food can trigger a change in cycle.

Just throwing some things out there that I've had to figure out.

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Thanks for the thoughts.  Day 9 today.  I keep wondering if its something I am eating.  I am not eating many nuts compared to what I used to...it's almost zero.  Could Sweet Potatoes do it?  I've eaten eggs (not in this quantity) for a long time and they have never bothered me.  I don't eat meat so it's basically fish and eggs. 

Definitely not that TOM.  Menopause. 

 

Ugh!

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Thanks.  I think if it were just GI bloat I wouldn't be concerned.  This is full body bloat.  Arms, middle, legs, face.  Full body.  That's why I thought it might be weight gain.  Even family members have commented that I'm gaining weight (they don't know about Whole 30 yet).  None the less, I'll keep riding the tide and maybe re read the chapter on hormones in ISWF.  Appreciate the support and insights!

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I am eating Greek olives and they are salty. But no more that 5/day and less than that the last two days. I rarely salt my food but have added a little to follow recipes. Not a salt junkie.

I'm definitely not overdoing water. I'm happy to get in 6-8 glasses a day.

Funny thing, I remember when I first started the program 9 days ago, I felt like I was diuresing. So that's why I was surprised by this.

Could hormones despite the lack of that TOM do this? If so, judging from my teenage acne, I'm betting that is the culprit.

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Cutting out too much salt can be very unhealthy - your body will start holding on to fluid after a few days. When you aren't eating much processed food, you will actually be getting very little.

I'd suggest adding a good quality sea salt - I've read that you need at least 1/4- 1/2 Tspn per litre of water you consume to replace what you lose.

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Ditto on the salt! You likely need more. Sounds counter-intuitive, I know.

The first time I did the whole30, I was bloated for 2 weeks. It gets better, really. And yes, what you describe sounds like water weight. At least that's how it affects me. Then all of a sudden, boom, it started dropping off!

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Just chiming in:  Are you already quite thin?  Too thin, perhaps?  Gaining a bit of weight could be what your body wants to do.

 

BUT, my first Whole30 seemed to cause some initial belly bloating and weight gain, too.  Nothing huge, but a change in how clothing fit.  It was very frustrating.  Unless you are salting like CRAZY, you are not taking in too much.  I actually had to start using more salt when I went Whole30 to keep my blood pressure up (naturally low at 90/50 pre-Whole30).  You could try measuring the appropriate amount of daily salt into a small dish and using it throughout the day to get an idea of how much you actually use?

 

My thought about the bloat/gain is that my body is adjusting to some serious changes.  The flora is upset.  The way I utilize nutrients has been changed.  Things are resetting and altering and it will take more than 30 days to find a new normal.  The last thing I wanted to do was gain a few pounds, but I will take it if it means regulating my moods, hormones and relationship with food.

 

Try adding a digestive enzyme and/or probiotics if you are not doing so.  It is certainly possible that you are eating a food that does not agree with you, but I'd focus on working through the 30 days as well as you can and then spend some time with an elimination diet afterwards to weed out problematic foods if you are still experiencing trouble.

 

Good luck, and keep up the hard work!

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Thanks Ladies. Amber do I add that salt in top of the other salt I'm getting. I've really never salted things so its a huge transition for me!

 

As Amber said, if you have properly cut out processed foods you are probably getting almost no salt. I actually got very dizzy when I first started eating this way because I wasn't getting enough salt. I add sea salt to just about everything I cook now.

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It is perfectly natural for you to feel bloated while your body is making changes.  I felt like I was bloated looking too around that same time.  I am on day 17 and feeling much better and not having that feeling like I am expanding.  I feel like my clothing is fitting looser now and that I am on the upside of this!  I remember panicking that my pants were tight until I remembered that it could be a possibility with this process. 

 

I hope you start to feel that "magic" soon!

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I'm right with you. I have less than a week until completion of the Whole 30 and I have seen (or felt) no changes in my body—in fact my jeans are tighter. It's frustrating because the two people I'm doing this have lost 15 lbs each! However, before I started I had chronic hip and back pain and that is very nearly gone. GONE! I am waiting until I'm sure that it is totaly gone and hope to start running. It's frustrating, and I can get really down, but sometimes I just try to let go of how I "look" (or think I look) on the outside and instead focus on how I feel on the inside. I plan on continuing with the eating plan past the 30 days so we'll see what happens once the running starts. Glad I'm not alone though!

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I didn't go back and read all of the replies, but does anyone question if the bloat is due to a huge increase in the amount of animal protein many of us eat when we do the Whole30 or Paleo in general?

 

I know, for me, I increased my meat intake quite a bit and I just wonder...

 

At the end of my first Whole30 attempt, I found I felt much better if I threw 1-2 nearly vegetarian days into my week. 

 

I am again looking 4 months pregnant at the end of the day (on day 3).  Very familiar situation I find myself in.

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I didn't go back and read all of the replies, but does anyone question if the bloat is due to a huge increase in the amount of animal protein many of us eat when we do the Whole30 or Paleo in general?

 

I know, for me, I increased my meat intake quite a bit and I just wonder...

 

At the end of my first Whole30 attempt, I found I felt much better if I threw 1-2 nearly vegetarian days into my week. 

 

I am again looking 4 months pregnant at the end of the day (on day 3).  Very familiar situation I find myself in.

 

This can be part of the problem yes which is why digestive enzymes are often recommended for people not used to eating a lot of animal protein. 

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  • 3 months later...

I'm just finishind Day 4 and I'm feeling bloaty and like I'm gaining weight too. I just don't get it. I need to lose about 35 lbs. so I'm seriously starting to worry that I'm gaining weight. I am really struggling to not get that bathroom scale out and weigh myself. I read all the comments on here and I'm grateful for them. They've warded off the desire, at least for now, to get on the scale. Thanks!

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I began another Whole30 (my 4th attempt) 5 days ago, and again I am gassy and bloated.  Taking away either sugars, dairy or grains really must affect my system.  I am trying not to think of the temporary gas as a negative, but instead as a sign my GI tract was in need of serious help… 

 

Do not weigh yourself when you feel this way!  

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