Indigestion

[Marassa]

I'm starting Week 2 tomorrow and so far it's going great, except for one thing. I still have terrible cravings for something sweet after meals, so I'll have a bit of dried fruit or a Larabar or coconut creme with raspberries, that sort of thing. And it ends up giving me terrible indigestion. I just got the book and haven't read it thoroughly yet, but I don't see anything in there about food combining, such as fruit with (or just after) protein. I'm not ready to give up my fruit as dessert - any other ideas for overcoming this issue?

[ShannonM816]

You're not going to like this, but -- give up the "dessert." Even if it's totally compliant, you're continuing an unhealthy habit. Part of the point of a W30 is to change not only what you eat, but the psychological aspects of your eating habits. As long as you keep having something sweet after dinner, you'll keep craving something sweet after dinner. And, you're getting indigestion -- which sounds like your body is saying, I don't like this. So stop.

 

Having said that, dried fruit can cause indigestion in some people. So can nuts (from the Larabars). And some people have trouble with coconut. So, you know, any of those foods could be the culprit.

 

You're fine to eat fruit, up to one serving with each meal, although they really recommend keeping it to two servings a day. You won't find anything about food combining in the book, but fruit should be a part of your meal, and it should be something you have in addition to the 1-2 palms of protein, 1-2 thumbs of fat, and 2-3 (or more) cups of vegetables at each meal recommended in the template.  To help with the cravings, eat at least the minimum from the template, and maybe extra protein and fat. You'll be more satiated after your meal and likely won't want the fruit. And lose the dried fruit. It's usually sweeter than fresh fruit so it's feeding that sugar dragon more than even fresh fruit would, and it's less filling, so you're likely to eat more of it. (Think of raisins vs grapes. I can eat a handful of grapes or a handful of raisins -- but that handful of raisins is likely twice as many grapes than the handful of fresh grapes.)

 

Also, Larabars are allowed on W30, but they're supposed to be used in emergencies -- as in, you're out somewhere, hungry, and there is nothing else that's W30 compliant to eat. They're really just candy bars. Healthier than a Snickers bar, maybe, but they're just candy bars. And they definitely feed that craving for more sweets. I know. I had one one day when I was out running errands and was gone longer than I planned, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and wanting another one. That was days ago. I still want another one. 

[Judybopp]

Hi all,

 

Today is my Day 20 on my first Whole 30. I had a strange night last night which is affecting me today. Last night I had indigestion for the first time in 19 days. I realized that I indulged a little too much in the sweet honeydew melon and watermelon I had with my yummy dinner. I'm used to eating smaller portions and when I 'over ate' on the fruit, my body rejected it. It was awful!

 

I've done really well so far with the W30 plan but last night, I don't know what happened. I can tell you, I don't want that indigestion pain again so I will be mindful of how much I'm eating.

[Physibeth]

Moving this post to the troubleshooting section of the forum.