Bloating on day 4??

[Bearclaw]

So I'm very early on in the game, on day 4. I haven't felt the "hangover fatigue" or the "sugar dragon" murderous state, things I should have experienced. I know Whole30 reacts differently with everyone, but I'm really concerned that my bloating is occurring so early. I'm not joking when I say even SWEATPANTS feel a little tight on me. I looked in the mirror while I was changing to see what was up and let me tell y'all, it's like someone surgically inserted a balloon underneath my stomach. I'm not lying, it's grossly distended and I'm genuinely concerned this isn't normal.

After reading through some posts, some people said nuts are not my friend during Whole30, at least as a snack on my own. I'm a college student and sometimes breakfast is a struggle to get in because of my schedule so I grab dried fruit and my favorite nuts (cashews). Could it be the nuts, is this kind of bloating normal?

[ShannonM816]

Some bloating early on is normal, especially if this is a pretty big change from how you've eaten before, but nuts can definitely cause bloating and other digestive issues. Other possible culprits include eating lots of raw vegetables; eating cruciferous/brassica vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, or kale (and if you eat these raw, that can be a double whammy); or not drinking enough water.

Short term, try limiting nuts to not more than every other day, and try to have more cooked vegetables than raw. Longer term, adding in probiotics may help -- there are probiotic pills, but check ingredients, or you can try fermented foods like raw sauerkraut or kimchi or other vegetables, or you could try kombucha.

For grab and go breakfasts, assuming you have a kitchen/fridge (if you live in a dorm and don't, this might be a little harder), you could spend some time on the weekend pre-cooking things like egg muffins or fritattas or breakfast casseroles that you could either heat up quickly or eat cold; meatballs; salmon cakes; or just cook a bunch of chicken, burger patties, or hard boiled eggs, and roast a bunch of vegetables, separate them out into serving size containers, and then either heat and eat or eat cold. Or if it's cold where you are, you might look at making a big batch of some kind of vegetable soup, heating it up while you get ready in the morning, and carrying it in a travel mug or thermos to eat on your way to class. Add some avocado, olives, or a big dollop of mayo for some fat. In the long run, you'll feel better if you get in a full breakfast each day rather than relying on dried fruit and cashews. It does take extra time and planning, but if you cook over the weekend, it doesn't have to make your weekday mornings any longer.
 

[Highlander17]

Hi Shannon, 

 

Thank you for the great information. can you explain a little more about the the relationship between water and bloating? 

 

Thanks!

[ShannonM816]

It's less specifically for bloating, and more that drinking plenty of water helps stuff move through the digestive system more smoothly. So, if your bloating is gas, the water may not help, though it probably won't hurt, but if you're at all constipated, and that's contributing to you feeling bloated, the water can definitely help. (And ironically, if you say you've got diarrhea, you'll get told to drink more water/fluids too, mostly because with diarrhea you can easily end up dehydrated, so it's good to replace as much of the fluid you're losing as you can.)

[Bearclaw]

Hi Shannon, thank you for your reassurances! This is definitely a massive change from how I used to eat (fast food up the wazoo, what's a vegetable?) so that could be it. I'm definitely drinking plenty of water too. I don't live in a dorm room anymore (thank god, I'd go crazy) but that just makes things more hectic in the morning because I have to leave even earlier than normal!

Noted on the nuts. They're just a quick and easy go to snack for me because I'm still trying to figure out this "eating a whole meal so you don't need a snack" thing. I'll try to find something that's equally satiating.

That might be it on the vegetables, but the only raw types I've eaten so far is sugar snap peas and celery. I'm a super picky eater and honestly despise cooked veggies because of the mushy texture...

[yogajen]

Shannon, You mentioned kombucha. Is there a brand that doesn't have sugar? I'd love to learn how to make my own as well!

[KaylaRae]

On 1/13/2017 at 8:00 AM, yogajen said:

Shannon, You mentioned kombucha. Is there a brand that doesn't have sugar? I'd love to learn how to make my own as well!

I am on day 4 as well and the bloating is pretty rough. So a lot of this is helpful. I read in the whole 30 day by day ( I think it was that book) and It said as long as Sugar isn't in the added ingredients then it is ok to have. I have been drinking the Aqua ViTea Kombucha and that doesn't have added sugar. But the only way to make Kombucha is a butt load of sugar because you need to feed the healthy bacteria. The fermentation takes a lot of sugar out. So as long as there isn't any added sugar in the ingredients then it should be fine. I have been drinking so much of it for my bloating and it helps a lot! Not so much on day four but for the most part it has lessened the bloating feeling. I did start making my own Kombucha because of how much I drink and that is more helpful because you get to add as much or as little sugar as you want to your brew. Just don't add more to yours after the first Fermentation.