Feeling bloated on a Veg Whole30

[onlyifchased]

I am doing a vegan Whole30, so quite different than most people here. The only change I have made to a true Whole30 is that instead of animal protein, I am getting an equivalent amount of protein from soaked and pressure cooked legumes. This means 1-1.5 cups legumes instead of 1-2 palm-sized servings, and other than that I'm following the rules and the meal template.

 

I am on Day 10. This is what I ate yesterday, pretty typical day for me so far:

 

Breakfast (6:30am): 1 small sweet potato with ~1Tbsp tahini and lemon juice, 1 cup black beans, and about a cup of potatoes/cabbage/onion/carrot in spices

Lunch (11:45am): homemade eggless mayo (2 thumbs worth) with: 1 cup chickpeas + 2 cups total raw carrots, celery, grapes 

Minimeal (4:30pm): potatoes/cabbage/onion/carrot in spices + closed handful chickpeas, total of 1 cup food

Dinner (8pm): 2.5 cups chili (black beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, beets), topped with 2 thumb sized portions of cashew butter thinned with lemon juice

 

I have a long day so, I eat a minimeal when I don't have pre/post workout meals.

 

Why am I so bloated? I am accustomed to eating legumes this often and prepared this way, so surely that can't be it? The biggest change from my typical diet is breakfast. I used to eat oatmeal every morning. I think that the oatmeal helped me "go" if you follow me, now I'm not going as often as I used to, and when I do it's very loose.  Other than the bloating/digestion issue I feel great though!

[ladyshanny]

 

Breakfast (6:30am): 1 small sweet potato with ~1Tbsp tahini and lemon juice, 1 cup black beans, and about a cup of potatoes/cabbage/onion/carrot in spices

Lunch (11:45am): homemade eggless mayo (2 thumbs worth) with: 1 cup chickpeas + 2 cups total raw carrots, celery, grapes 

Minimeal (4:30pm): potatoes/cabbage/onion/carrot in spices + closed handful chickpeas, total of 1 cup food

Dinner (8pm): 2.5 cups chili (black beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, beets), topped with 2 thumb sized portions of cashew butter thinned with lemon juice

 

It's definitely hard to say.  Legumes are certainly known for causing bloating and if you are changing your gut flora by avoiding certain foods you were familiar with and adding any new ones, it's possible that the legumes are an irritant.  Gas is formed in the large intestine, it's possible that whatever you were eating before was irritating enough to your digestive system that you were having quicker transit thus leaving less time for the breakdown in the large intestine. (I have no scientific background, just guessing).

 

Besides the large quantity of legumes you're eating, you're also eating fairly high in FODMAPS (note, beans are high in Oligosaccharides...the "O" in FODMAP) which can cause gas and bloating for sure.  I've highlit your FODMAPS above.  You might consider cutting back or eliminating fodmaps and see how you do.

 

Edited to add: nuts are also notoriously hard on your digestive system so the tahini and cashew butter may not be doing you any favours either.

[Carlaccini]

I am also seeing quite a bit of raw veg - so that combined with the high FODMAP foods might be giving additional problems - so maybe eat all your veg cooked? That might be a place to start as well.

 

Also nuts and nut butters are a bit hard on the digestive system as well - so maybe play around with other fat sources?  

[Tom Denham]

This is a different issue than the one you raised, but I think important to mention. One cup of lentils or beans does not offer as much protein as a palm-size serving of animal protein (beef specifically). You would by my rough, non-vegan calculations need to eat at least 2 and maybe 3 cups of legumes to get as much protein as you would eating a palm-size portion of animal protein. So you may not be getting enough protein with your current plan. I don't think this would cause bloating, but you do need your protein. 

[onlyifchased]

This is a different issue than the one you raised, but I think important to mention. One cup of lentils or beans does not offer as much protein as a palm-size serving of animal protein (beef specifically). You would by my rough, non-vegan calculations need to eat at least 2 and maybe 3 cups of legumes to get as much protein as you would eating a palm-size portion of animal protein. So you may not be getting enough protein with your current plan. I don't think this would cause bloating, but you do need your protein. 

 

Yes this is definitely an important issue! You're right, I am estimating my palm would be 4-5 ounces of chicken, so 25-30g of protein. That's my rough, non-ominvore calculation though. That's about 2 cups of black beans, or 1.5 cups of lentils. Lower protein legumes would require as much as 3 cups. On the other hand, the Whole30 book actually says that (paraphrasing) plant-based proteins are ultimately bad for you, so vegans should try to keep their daily protein intake to the RDA of ~50g, limit plant proteins, and keep their expectations in check as far as building muscle or lifting weights. Experimenting with myself personally for years as a weightlifter, I've found I do just as well on ~90-100g of plant-based protein per day as I did as a meat-eater. So, I have chosen 1-1.5 cups of legumes per meal to allow me to hit that target. If I stop making gains in the gym, you bet I'll add more protein!

 

 

I am also seeing quite a bit of raw veg - so that combined with the high FODMAP foods might be giving additional problems - so maybe eat all your veg cooked? That might be a place to start as well.

 

Also nuts and nut butters are a bit hard on the digestive system as well - so maybe play around with other fat sources?  

 

I actually eat raw veggies pretty rarely. Wouldn't be that hard to eliminate them entirely. Since that's the easiest change, I'll probably do that first!

 

It would be pretty easy to reduce my nut consumption too, as long as that doesn't include coconut. Should I also reduce my consumption of seeds, like tahini?

 

 

It's definitely hard to say.  Legumes are certainly known for causing bloating and if you are changing your gut flora by avoiding certain foods you were familiar with and adding any new ones, it's possible that the legumes are an irritant.  Gas is formed in the large intestine, it's possible that whatever you were eating before was irritating enough to your digestive system that you were having quicker transit thus leaving less time for the breakdown in the large intestine. (I have no scientific background, just guessing).

 

Besides the large quantity of legumes you're eating, you're also eating fairly high in FODMAPS (note, beans are high in Oligosaccharides...the "O" in FODMAP) which can cause gas and bloating for sure.  I've highlit your FODMAPS above.  You might consider cutting back or eliminating fodmaps and see how you do.

 

Edited to add: nuts are also notoriously hard on your digestive system so the tahini and cashew butter may not be doing you any favours either.

 

Interesting theory about the quicker transit. That might explain it.

 

I have to say, I'm not enthusiastic about reducing my FODMAPS! That is pretty much a list of all my favorite vegetables! I will try reducing raw veggies and nuts first, and see if I start feeling better. If that doesn't work, I guess I will go down the reduction of FODMAPS path. Just need to find a replacement pre-WO snack instead of cashews...

[praxisproject]

I'm not a vegan but as an easy swap I'd go for some extra virgin olive oil over the nut and seed butters.

 

I find if I have too many nut/seed butters, instead of other fats, I feel bloated (if you use unhulled tahini, this can be extra bloating for some).

[onlyifchased]

Thank you everyone for your advice! I have started to dial back on the seeds/nuts etc. but I'm already feeling MUCH better.