day 4 - food grosses me out, nauseous, bloated

[Maria45]

Hello.  I am very overweight.  I have no desire to eat anything, food looks gross to me, I'm nauseous, and EXTREMELY bloated.  Do I have to eat 3 meals a day or can I eat 2?  Any tips on dealing with the bloating in my stomach?  (This is very strange to me because I was doing Paleo before this so I was not expecting as much of a change.)

[slc_melissa]

Can you list out a few days of what you have been eating - specific meats/ veggies / fats and approximate portions as they relate to the meal template?  

But-

Are you drinking enough water?

Are you salting your food?

Are you eating way more of something than you were before?  Culprits of bloating can include: nuts, cruciferous vegetables, coconut products.

[Maria45]

Thank you for helping me, Melissa.

I am mostly eating chicken and eggs for my protein.  For my fats, I'm eating green olives, avocadoes, and cashews.  I am also using a little cashew milk or walnut milk in my coffee, so I may be heavy on nuts.  I think that I've been eating a variety of vegetables.  Here are the most common:  mushrooms, onions, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, leeks, tomatoes, zucchini, and cauliflower.  I've been following the template with the hand size protein, vegetables surrounding it, and a fat.  I will admit to eating a whole avocado instead of half.  On the second night, I was so tired that I ate a banana and a pear for dinner, but that was an exception that I have not made before or since.

You mentioned nuts and cruciferous vegetables causing bloating.  Maybe those are my issues.

I have been using a new Whole30 Approved Indian sauce called Malabar.

I am drinking a ton of water and I don't use much salt.  Most people salt their food when they have dinner at our home because we use so little of it.

My mom thinks that parsley tea may help me.

Thank you.

Maria

[slc_melissa]

Everyone's different, but from my personal experience, and i would try out things in this order:

I would try cutting back on the nuts/nut milk first.  (Like, maybe 1 serving every third day or so.)

Are most of your veggies cooked or raw?  (Cooked can help with bloating, definitely cook cruciferous veggies, peeling veggies like zucchini)

It's also possible that some foods in small-to-moderate amounts don't bother you, but you eventually reach a limit - I'm thinking of the eggs here specifically.  Maybe try to rotate some proteins if there is anything else you like.

If it's still a problem in a bit, you may want to look at avoiding high FODMAPS foods.  For instance: https://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/  (Onions, Cauliflower, Mushrooms, and Cashews all make this list.)  (Also, there is no one list for FODMAPS - it seems like all the lists are a little bit different.)

Also, some bloating is not uncommon early on as your body adjusts, but I'm sorry that you're feeling so miserable!  Good luck.

(About the salt - a lot of people on Whole30 need to make an effort to add salt to their food - cutting processed tends to change salt consumption quite a bit.  And salt is necessary to help stay hydrated, which helps with bloating.)

I also think it'd be worth giving the parsley tea a try, if that sounds good to you.  Peppermint or ginger tea can also help with nausea.

[Maria45]

Thanks, Melissa.  I truly appreciate your help!  You've given me a lot to think about and many things to try.  I'm going to cut down on the onions, which seem to be a major problem in fodmap.  Thanks for sending me the link!  I am going to cut down on the eggs as well.  I can rotate more proteins as you suggested.  I'll try adding some salt to my food.  Again, a lot of great suggestions to try....

Thank you!

Maria

[slc_melissa]

Oh, some people also take digestive enzymes with some success, but since I don't have a specific brand recommendation or what exactly to look for, I was hesitant to suggest it at first.....but if you try multiple things and in a week or two are still having issues, that might be something else to look into.  

Oh yeah, and final recommendation: try to have fun with the process!  I know it can be a lot, but you're doing great!