Cleaned up my diet & now suffering terribly for it, can you help?

[StoneBasket]

I have 3 stone to lose & after years of putting it off, I'm now in the mindset to really do it. I used to eat a good healthy diet, 3 meals a day but my downfall was waaay too many crappy snacks on top - think like 3 twixes after a meal, plus crisps etc I'm now a month into my new regime, no snacks at all, lower carbs (but not cut out) & plenty of vegetables, salads, plus fish/meat, no pasta/bread/cake/biscuits. My stomach doesn't like it one bit. I've had to cut down my portion size because I get massive bloating after eating anything. I still get a bit of heartburn & I feel absolutely drained energywise. I often have to go for a sleep after eating because I'm so tired. The food I eat now is the food I used to eat before for main meals, so why does it suddenly cause me so much discomfort? I thought I'd feel revitalised cleaning up my diet but I feel waaay worse than before. The only good thing is I am losing weight steadily.

Any ideas to help me? Many thanks

You could try taking a decent probiotic? Maybe your gut just needs rebalancing. It might take a while to get used to not having so much sugar.

I ate healthy meals before, I just ate crap on top also. I don't understand why my gut gets the hump with every meal now.. I'll have a look at probiotics.

I’d second a good probiotic. Are you eating more pulses? It takes a while to get used to and can cause some initial gastric turmoil.

If you feel lacking in energy, maybe try a few more calories. It’s easy to do that healthily, and makes weight loss slower but more sustainable. I can’t do low carb as I get so tired.

It may be die-off or change of gut bacteria. Probiotic is a good suggestion. May be worth trying cutting out gluten for a bit to see if that has any impact on you? Try watching what the health, game changers and forks over knives to explore more plant based ways of eating perhaps? (Am not saying go vegan). Are your carbs refined? I get sleepy if I eat too much bread/pasta/jacket potato. Are you taking a multi vitamin and mineral?

Just seen your comment about carbs sorry. Are you eating enough carbs of the good kind?

Try peppermint tea after eating. Does wonders for my bloating

If you were eating a lot of sugar then it could be candida? I see people talk a lot about that.

Also a good probiotic.

Is there anything you're eating a lot of as a result of the changes like gluten or dairy?

What are you drinking?

I only drink water as I can't stand tea, coffee or alcohol. Someone asked about gluten but I'm having almost no wheat-based products. I have wild wholegrain rice or quinoa or a very small portion of potato for carbs. I don't really know what candida is, so I'll look that up. I do take a daily multivitamin.

Fennel tea works better than peppermint tea if you are suffering too much from bloating. Also eat more cooked than uncooked. Cook the veggies, and don't eat lettuce for the time being.
If your new plan is causing a lot of issues then you need a regime change. May be switch to 16:8 intermittent fasting. Its easy to follow one you cross the first two days, you can still eat 1-2 of your favourite foods and you won't suffer from bloating because your digestion system will have plenty of rest.

I forgot to say, I'm doing 16/8 though I find it hard. Things were so much easier when I was eating crap..

Sainsbury's do a fab Peppermint and Fennel tea that i swear by when bloated.

I really want to get this sorted as my dh is sick of my moaning..

You may be too low in carbs or fibre. Deficiencies in those could cause the symptoms you describe. It's surprisingly difficult to get all the fibre you need from non-starchy vegetables. Could also be issue with prebiotics or simply dehydration. If you cut the carbs you need to increase fluid intake. Finally,you might be lacking salt in your diet.

I suffer with bloating too so I'll try the teas. Which probiotic would people recommend?

stonebasket I experienced similar following similar action last August!

My poor body

Linseeds played havoc with my system as did several other seeds

I have found kefir and peppermint tea has helped

Plenty of water too

What probiotics do people recommend ?

You have my sympathy it is awful

I don’t think you can change diet like that and expect your stomach to just adapt overnight though.

Are you doing any exercise alongside it? A walk every day can do a surprising amount to help with bloating

Boots do good own brand probiotics. Could it be lactose intolerance? Boots also do a tablet to help with that (I’m not working for them, honest).

Some people actually have trouble digesting too much fibre. I would try cutting back a bit on the veggies and whole grains. Also maybe go up to 14:10 on the fasting and take things more gradually.

Your gut bacteria were accustomed to eating crap and sugary food, now they're not getting that so the Sugary bacteria are dying off. The Healthy bacteria will mulyiply to fill in the gaps soon but there's always an adjustment period. Try a good probiotic, lots of water and herbal teas. Add things like chia seeds to keffir. This is great for your gut bacteria, as is apple cider vinegar as a salad dressing (or slightly watered down as a shot if you are super hardcore!)

Can you pinpoint a trigger food, such as onions, dairy, or tomatoes? Even though you were eating the same meals before they constituted a smaller % of your diet then, so any food intolerance wouldn't have had such a big impact.

The feeling of low energy could be due to the reduction in sugar - this will even out after a while.

I have the same f I go for a long time without food or eat too little. I don’t have a gall bladder so have excess acid. I need to Eat something to soak it up.

Does this bloating happen after your first meal following a 16 hour overnight fast? In which case, I think you could try breaking your fast with a small piece of protein. Half a cold boiled egg for example. Then eat your meal. I have noticed similar symptoms in a 16:8 FB group and that calmed the stomach. As others said, it's likely due to gut bacteria that previously lived off all the sugar. Keep persevering. It will get better and you'll feel great. Are you taking a vitamin D supplement?

Similar happened to me particularly with salads and apples for some reason. I cut right back on them and built it up from literally a leaf or two.