GI problems

[Tintypographer]

Hello have not been on the forum before.   I have always eaten pretty healthy.   I do cross fit multiple times per week and have no problems with sugar.   I have no weight problems or diabetes or blood pressure.  I never drink soft drinks or processed junk food.

 

I have been on whole 30 complete for 10 days now and starting day 6 I have had the most painful cramping, bowel movements, nausea and internal discomfort I've felt except for the fewer times I've had food poisoning 

My diet in shifting to whole 30 has cut out my morning unflavored Greek yogurt, any milk, any sugar that came from anything but what is in foods such as watermelon or grapes.

A typical day is breakfast of a whole pork sausage sourced from a local farm with no sugar or grain fillers, an egg we get from our chickens, handful of pistachios, two cups of watermelon, and a shot of espresso I prepare and copious water.   This is always about two hours after my morning workout.  That's the same diet I normally eat but I typically have berries and non sugar and non flavored Greek yogurt with it. And I often used to have a cappuccino made with espresso and whole milk about 8 oz total

Lunch has been meat such as grilled pork, salmon, chicken in a single serving, copious lettuce, handful of almonds, grapes and if I'm hungry more watermelon or cantaloupe. Also plenty of water

 

That's very typical as well however I typically have some type of bread with a sandwich and the meat in normal diet.  

I used to do a snack of either cheese and grapes or cheese, cashews and melon but I've cut that out for just a few grapes and some nuts if I'm hungry.

 

For dinner I always have a giant salad with avocado, lately it's been squash or brussel sprouts either grilled or fried in avocado oil and meat is typically grilled or crock pot cooked with spices.

I track all the foods in nyfitness pal.

 

Some changes, I've quit my typical snakc of tortilla chips and salsa which was a dream, have not had any pizza even though I love a slice and no granola or protein bars.   Also no breakfast sandwiches whcih were always an English muffin with egg, sausage and cheese    the diet has now cut out the cheese and English muffin.

 

I have also had no sugar carefully scrutinizing all ingredients and reading up, no bread or grains, and no milk, yogurt or cheese or dairy.

 

I didn't do this to lose weight, I have some anxiety and sleep problems and someone suggested this diet.

 

I'm concerned because the cramps and poor bowel movements are getting more often and seem to be worsening.   I don't normally have this discomfort.

My workouts have not changed and i wasn't looking to improve them.   I'm almost 50 and I run, lift, bike, swim and exercise routinely.   I typically followed a Paleo diet with some exceptions for yogurt which I love, the sandwiches and granola and dairy such as cheese in moderation.   

I know my water intake is good because I have not changed it and I have to drink plenty in our hot.climate.   I track water with my fitness pal.

Is this something I shoulf just push through the pain or was this possibly not a good idea?

[kirbz]

One thing that immediately jumps out is that it looks like you are consuming a lot of nuts, which are known to sometimes cause digestive distress. The recommendation for nuts is a closed handful every couple of days. It sounds like you are having multiple servings each day. Since they commonly cause digestive upset in a lot of people, perhaps that is the culprit? Other items that can cause upset are raw vegetables and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts). 

For any of these (nuts, raw vegetables, and crruciferous vegetables), are you consuming a significantly different amount that you had previously? 

I hope this issues clears up for you! Best wishes! 

 

[Tintypographer]

Yeah, not sure.  I know it's painful and way worse than the way I was feeling before the diet started.  And being on the toilet that often isn't healthy to me.

 

Hopefully it evens out but this may not have been the best choice for me

 

[Tintypographer]

Last night and this morning were horrible.   Dinner was typical fajita chicken skipped all the usual sour cream and tortillas and cheese and no beans or rice, fajita chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and some grilled squash and peppers.   Plenty of water and no chips or salsa.   I've eaten this many many times but usually include beans, rice and tortillas.   Skipped those completely.

 

Last night the cramping, loose stool and horrible pain was so bad I was wishing I was dead.   This morning I couldn't do my deadlift workout or mile run.   

 

Is it normal that this diet puts you under to the point you can't workout?

 

Not feeling very hungry this morning at all.   Still having some pains.

 

What exactly is this doing to help me?

[laura_juggles]

24 minutes ago, Tintypographer said:

Last night and this morning were horrible.   Dinner was typical fajita chicken skipped all the usual sour cream and tortillas and cheese and no beans or rice, fajita chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and some grilled squash and peppers.   Plenty of water and no chips or salsa.   I've eaten this many many times but usually include beans, rice and tortillas.   Skipped those completely.

 

Last night the cramping, loose stool and horrible pain was so bad I was wishing I was dead.   This morning I couldn't do my deadlift workout or mile run.   

 

Is it normal that this diet puts you under to the point you can't workout?

 

Not feeling very hungry this morning at all.   Still having some pains.

 

What exactly is this doing to help me?

A ) this is not normal. 

B ) Sounds like it's time to dial it back *hard* and treat this like you have a stomach bug (it could be a stomach bug...). Make yourself some boiled or steamed potatoes, have some broth, maybe *maybe* some soft scrambled eggs. Give your digestive system a chance to rest with some really easy foods. Take a couple rest days from the workouts. 

It also looks like you've completely cut out starches and replaced them with fruit? 

[Tintypographer]

Thanks LJ

I haven't cut out starches.   I had a part of a potato shredded a few days ago and cooked with some paprika and salt and pepper with avocado oil.    This was a small add to breakfast.   The potato was fresh and wasn't from some hash brown preserved thing.

I'm afraid it's a response to the cut out of the dairy especially the yogurt.   I've always had dairy in my diet and can't ever remember when I didn't have milk as a recover drink and unflavored Greek yogurt and cheese with foods.

I really didn't embark on this to make a major change, it was recommended on so many CrossFit forums.   I don't think it's a stomach bug but who knows.

 

Thanks

 

 

[laura_juggles]

I wouldn't really say having had a potato a couple days ago doesn't mean you've largely cut out starches. 

I am no doctor, but your symptoms sound like they could be either a FODMAP issue or a fructose malabsorption. 

Are there any particular meals that did *not* cause you to have an upset stomach in the last couple days?

[SugarcubeOD]

On 8/19/2020 at 10:23 AM, Tintypographer said:

I'm afraid it's a response to the cut out of the dairy especially the yogurt

If you think this is what it is, you could try taking a digestive enzyme.  If you google 'whole30 digestive enzyme' there are plenty of previous forum threads and discussions about this.

[Tintypographer]

Thanks all, I'm not sure.   I guess I'm really struggling about what this is supposed to do for me.   I'm close to giving up.   Before I was feeling very healthy, running and working out daily, high energy levels, no health problems and a good diet.   I had sugar maybe once  a year at a birthday party and that's jt.   I started this one on a discussion with CrossFit about shifting to a full whole 30 from paleo.   I am on the toilet all day every day, can't workout, horrible cramping and internal problems that just won't go away.    

 

I know the website treats this like a "Cancer is hard but this is only 30 days" but this really truly sucks!    I'm so sick of running to the toilet, missing my workouts and having loose stool.   Is there some actual clinical data somewhere in a randomized study that shows this diet is actually good for a population?   I'm not talking about forums with good notes about taking digestive enzymes.   I know I should "fight through this" but its painful to me internally and I'm losing weight in a non good way and I can barely get through a 6 mile run without running into a park bathroom.

I think this truly isn't for everyone and I'm one of the ones whom it is not for 

[SugarcubeOD]

sorry you're having such a hard time!  I would go back to what @laura_juggles asked about if there were days that you were not feeling terrible and if you can remember what you ate.  Eating whole foods such as protein, veggies, fruit and fat in itself is not unhealthy.  If there is something you are eating a lot more of that doesn't suit your particular body, then it can defintely have some unpleasant effects.  There has never been a 'randomized study' of this way of eating.  We cut out certain food groups for 30 days, eat whole foods and then add back in things to see how they affect our bodies.

Did you look up the suggestions from Laura above regarding FODMAPS and Fructose Malabsorption? Being triggered by FODMAPS is actually a fairly common issue which we often only find out when we up our intake of these items with the removal of other foods for the 30 days.

[Tintypographer]

I just had to give up and go back to my normal Paleo centric diet.   I wasnt having any problems before at all and without somehtjng that I was having I'm on the toilet every day and can barely keep enough liquids and solids in me to stay healthy let alone workouts.   The CrossFit open is coming up soon and this is really hurting me.