coffeetime (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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lifting_heavy_things2014-02-23 12:41 pm
coffeetime) wrote in lifting_heavy_things2014-02-23 12:41 pm
dietary downer
No matter how great the rest of my body feels when I'm eating fewer carbs and more protein and vegetables, my guts HATE it. My IBS has gotten so much worse in the past two years. I'm now on yet another medication to try to control it, but the thing that helps the most is just not eating anything with fiber, especially vegetable fiber. Low-fiber vegetables include cucumbers and zucchini. (Before anyone asks, yes, I've been tested for celiac disease and I've been thoroughly examined inside for IBD, and I don't have those things.)
I was sort of limping by and still eating other things that I really love, like kale (well cooked), carrots, a few bites of sweet potato (any more than that and I'd pay), green beans, spinach, gai lan, bell peppers...all the good stuff. But then I came down with norovirus and couldn't eat much of anything for a couple of days, and it went on and on for most of a week during which I survived on toast and frozen french fries (anything I could keep down/in, really). I saw my doctor near the end of this period, for the purpose of discussing new meds and getting the prescription, and he said that if I'm unable to tolerate the meds I could "consider the Atkins diet." ACK. I think this will actually not work for me, because Atkins allows all kinds of stuff that my gut won't tolerate, such as broccoli and garlic. Later I talked with a sympathetic co-worker who has similar IBS and she let me know some of her diet survival skills, which include eating no vegetables except lettuce, spinach and carrots, extremely small amounts of fat, and lots of white refined carbs, because even brown rice or a slice of wheat toast gives her hellacious pain. Is this my next step? My husband, a biologist, points out that I'll "get cancer" eating like this.
I just want to have a nice chopped salad and a big piece of fish; is it so much to ask? Apparently it is, because a meal like that means 24+ hours of cramps, pain, gas that stays in my clothes for up to an hour, and numerous runs to the bathroom. Imodium slows but does not stop it. This makes a lot of activities hard, such as working my office job (my poor co-workers, OMG) and going to the gym (hard to deadlift if you've got the runs). So ever since I got sick, even though I'm not in bed anymore, I've continued eating like an invalid: toast, pretzels, rice, baked potatoes (no skin), cheese and yogurt. I tried eating an egg and ended up with nausea for an hour. I made a burger one night and was up half the night dealing with the side effects. So, essentially sick-people food. Eating like this, I have almost no pain, and no other symptoms.
The thing that bugs me the most: how am I going to maintain a healthy weight and muscle mass as I get older (I'm 48 now) and get stronger, if I have to live on white carbs and cheese? I have seen several dietitians in the past few years, all of whom have answered, "Gosh, I don't know."
I was sort of limping by and still eating other things that I really love, like kale (well cooked), carrots, a few bites of sweet potato (any more than that and I'd pay), green beans, spinach, gai lan, bell peppers...all the good stuff. But then I came down with norovirus and couldn't eat much of anything for a couple of days, and it went on and on for most of a week during which I survived on toast and frozen french fries (anything I could keep down/in, really). I saw my doctor near the end of this period, for the purpose of discussing new meds and getting the prescription, and he said that if I'm unable to tolerate the meds I could "consider the Atkins diet." ACK. I think this will actually not work for me, because Atkins allows all kinds of stuff that my gut won't tolerate, such as broccoli and garlic. Later I talked with a sympathetic co-worker who has similar IBS and she let me know some of her diet survival skills, which include eating no vegetables except lettuce, spinach and carrots, extremely small amounts of fat, and lots of white refined carbs, because even brown rice or a slice of wheat toast gives her hellacious pain. Is this my next step? My husband, a biologist, points out that I'll "get cancer" eating like this.
I just want to have a nice chopped salad and a big piece of fish; is it so much to ask? Apparently it is, because a meal like that means 24+ hours of cramps, pain, gas that stays in my clothes for up to an hour, and numerous runs to the bathroom. Imodium slows but does not stop it. This makes a lot of activities hard, such as working my office job (my poor co-workers, OMG) and going to the gym (hard to deadlift if you've got the runs). So ever since I got sick, even though I'm not in bed anymore, I've continued eating like an invalid: toast, pretzels, rice, baked potatoes (no skin), cheese and yogurt. I tried eating an egg and ended up with nausea for an hour. I made a burger one night and was up half the night dealing with the side effects. So, essentially sick-people food. Eating like this, I have almost no pain, and no other symptoms.
The thing that bugs me the most: how am I going to maintain a healthy weight and muscle mass as I get older (I'm 48 now) and get stronger, if I have to live on white carbs and cheese? I have seen several dietitians in the past few years, all of whom have answered, "Gosh, I don't know."
no subject
Luckily for humans, as omnivores, we can exist and survive on a wide variety of diets. Our bodies can make muscle from fat and carbs and most foods (even potatoes) contain protein.
Since you posted to ask -- I'd suggest using an app like "food allergy detective" to get a better list of what's tolerated (I know IBS isn't the same, but the app's a symptom tracker) and as for the trying to get more antioxidants, I'd talk to a dietician about what sweetmeats (organ meats) may be tolerated if you're open to trying them. Sweetmeats are way more nutritious than muscle meat and can have more vitamins, etc. than vegetables and fruits. It's why many hunter-gatherer societies can survive and thrive.
no subject
no subject
I really like chicken liver for some reason (when cooked it reminds me of a tasty mix of mushrooms and cheese curd) and I hate beef liver. Totally different to me. My mom told me I used to get it from her when I was as young as 5, so not a new thing.
no subject
For the record, I do love onions and I miss the way they give body to a dish. I can sub in asafoetida when I'm making chili (zucchini, not beans; carefully seeded tomatoes, etc.) but the finished product has the wrong texture. Although at least I can tolerate it.
I love to cook, which makes this even less fun.
no subject
It's not the first thing I'd recommend reintroducing, because most offal is pretty rich and that can be hard to digest when you're recovering from any kind of stomach illness -- if eggs are still making you nauseous, liver certainly will.
But if you get to the point where you want to try offal, I'd be happy to have my brain picked.