Cut out wheat and restricted dairy- toilet problems. TMI!

[cupofteaplease]

I cut out wheat about 3 weeks ago, and have restricted dairy to only having milk in my tea.

The benefits have been amazing- I never feel bloated, don't crave snacks like I did and already I can tell that I have lost a little weight. I'm even sleeping better- all in all, I'm very happy.

However, and this is embarassing, I have developed very loose stools... I end up going for a poo almost every time I go to the toilet, and it's like water sorry for the TMI.

I have never had this issue before, I only ever went to the loo about once every 3 days before and it was always the opposite to what I am experiencing now. Is this normal? Should I be adding anything to my diet to replace the wheat and dairy?

Any suggestions?

What are you having instead of wheat products? Its good to have things like oats and rye - makes your diet more balanced.

Are you sure that there is a problem with dairy in the first place - if you're still having it in tea it would suggest that there isn't a problem - I can't tolerate milk in anything, even a small amount in cooking.

Great with the weight loss, if that's what you wanted!

BTW I would think 3 days is probably not great...

Sounds like you have made a massive change to your diet and so it is not surprising that your body is reacting to the changes.

Refined, processed food (bread, biscuits, cake, white pasta etc) can all have the effect of slowing down your digestive system.

What have you replaced them with? If you are eating a lot more fruit, veg and wholegrains then that is another change for your body to accommodate.

Give it some time to adjust - and as misstlethrush said try some oats, rye and whole grain rice etc.

Oh sorry, I should have said- I dropped thes form my diet FOR weight loss, not because I am intolerant. But, I have noticed such a vast improvement in my general well being so I'm putting that down to the wheat!

No you're probably right about the 3 day thing.

Typical day would be:

Breakfast: Low fat wheat-free apple cake with a cup of tea. On a weekend I may have scrambled eggs with tomato.

Snack: piece of fruit

Lunch: Soup with Walkers Baked crips, or salad with salmon/crab sticks

Snack: piece of fruit or handful of nuts and dried fruit

Dinner: Jacket potato with salad and oily fish.

Evening snack: nuts and dried fruit or dairy-free choc buttons (don't snack every evening though!)

I don't really eat meat. I drink about 6 cups of tea per day and drink at least 2 litres of water.

What am I missing from my diet that could be causing my loose tummy? You mention oats, but I don't have time in the morning for porridge and ryebread makes me feel sick!

Sorry notsoclever, I cross posted with you! Whole grain rice is a good idea- I could add that to my evening meal instead of jacket potato (which I'm assuming is wheat-free, I'm new to this!)

I'm not sure that its what you're missing but what you're eating that's causing the loosness. Dried fruit - often a cause - and I see you're having potentially 2 lots of this - salad - likewise - and even increased fruit can do this too. I wasn't necessarily suggesting rye bread - ryevitas good with lunch too. I like doing rice salads and stir fry with rice when I'm on a diet.

Breakfast - muesli - normally oat based, lots can be wheat free or make up your own with some rolled oats, dried fruit and chopped nuts. If you don't want to have milk on it try soya or rice milk, or even fruit juice (I suggest apple... fruit juice on breakfast is an acquired taste but its fine once you've got used to it!). I would think that this would probably give you a better long-lasting breakfast than a processed apple cake...

2 or 3 times a day really isn't unhealthy btw (I had a discussion with a friend who is a medic about a similar subject recently and it seems people often fall into two camps and I think that you have made a rather dramatic relocation from the far side of one to the far side of the other ifyswim )

mashed potato, white rice and bananas are foods that could help with the loose stools. Try and balance out all the fruit and veg with a bit of stodgy food to bind you up a bit.

Thanks for the advice- and mistle, I have definitely swapped camps!!

fruit and nuts will make you go to the loo a lot. I have IBS and really can't eat much of them as I won't ever leave the bathroom .