Lower abdominal pain, upset toilet routine!

[beccah]

Hi all new here,

 

So I've had a failed attempt at Whole30 before where I couldn't cope with the lower abdominal cramping and toilet habits and had to stop as it was affecting my concentration at work.

 

For reference before doing Whole30 I never had stomach issues unless I caught a bad bug. I don't drink alcohol or coffee. I drink plenty of water (I think - always try to do 2 litres?).

 

I'm now on day 7 and since day 2 I'm experiencing the same lower abdominal pain, which doesn't go away on taking painkillers or heated compress. My poops are either not happening (not constipated, just not there) or diarrhoea (which burns!). I've not had a carb/sugar headache yet.

 

My meal plan so far has been:

 

Breakfast: Scrambled egg, smoked salmon, wilted spinach and grilled tomatoes, an orange OR

Roasted peppers, courgette, sweet potato and baked fish 

Lunch: Home made butter-nut squash soup OR

Tuna lettuce boats

cucumber and tahini or guac, blueberries

Dinner: cooked Zucchini spirals with home made cooked tomato sauce, cooked mushrooms, carrots and peppers OR

Whole30 Sweet potato shepherd's pie, OR baked salmon/chicken with sweet potato, carrots OR butter-nut squash soup

 

I thought eggs were the culprit as I'm eating so many more eggs but I cut them out on day 4 and the pain is still ongoing.

 

Before whole30 I ate pasta at least 3-4 times a week and had porridge or toast for breakfast. I also ate cheese almost everyday and had chocolate at least 2-3 times a week. I rarely ate meat - perhaps once a month. All the veggies I eat now are what I ate before with no issues.

 

Could the meat be causing this? Is this some sort of sugar withdrawal? What should I be changing in my diet to balance it? I find it hard to eat red meat as I don't enjoy it. I'm so close to throwing in the towel and could do with a pep talk!

 

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post!

**EDIT: I should add that I'm now cooking with animal fat for meals whereas before I would use oils.

[Carlaccini]

Sorry to hear that you are struggling.

 

Okay - no one on our moderator staff are medically trained professionals.  We can make some overall suggestions and thoughts based on our knowledge of the program but that's it.

 

You are eating quite differently from before so your body could be just having some difficulty coping.  You could benefit from taking a digestive enzyme.  Basically digestive enzymes are a temporary supplement that assists your body with building up the proper enzymes to digest certain foods.  Size this is a pretty big change for you - this could help.

 

FODMAP's could be an issue for you.  Basically the rundown on FODMAP's are cumulative.  So before you could be eating certain types of vegetables with out a noticeable problem but now since you are eating MORE of them - they are giving you an issue.  I have this issue with onions - a small amount every now and again I can have, have them 3 days a week and by day 3 I am rolling in gassy pain.  Before I had no known issue with onions.  But I wasn't eating them nearly as much as I would today.  I have gone through your meal list and highlighted the FODMAPS for you.

 

 

 

Breakfast: Scrambled egg, smoked salmon, wilted spinach and grilled tomatoes, an orange OR

Roasted peppers, courgette, sweet potato and baked fish 

Lunch: Home made butter-nut squash soup OR

Tuna lettuce boats

cucumber and tahini or guac, blueberries

Dinner: cooked Zucchini spirals with home made cooked tomato sauce, cooked mushrooms, carrots and peppers OR

Whole30 Sweet potato shepherd's pie, OR baked salmon/chicken with sweet potato, carrots OR butter-nut squash soup

 

 

I also noticed recently that I am quite sensitive to squashes - both butternut and buttercup (kombocha) give me issues 

 

I also note that most of your meals are lacking added fat.  Cooking fat does not really and truly count as most of the fat gets left behind in the pan.

 

I also noticed that some meals (usually the soups) you are missing protein.  Unless you have failed to mention that your are including shredded chicken or some other type of meat going into your soup - these meals are too light.  Include a protein.

 

Is it possible that the pains your are a symptom of being hungry?  Your Tuna Boat thing looks extremely light in vegetables.  Aim for 1 - 3 cups of veggies with every meal.

 

For more info on FODMAP's (a more comprehensive list you could say) look here: http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/08/modifying-paleo-for-fodmap-intolerance.html