Terrible stomach pains since starting diet

[floppyjogger]

I started dieting 3 weeks ago, aiming to lose about 1.5lbs a week so nothing drastic. I've lost 7lbs so far which is all good but i'm really suffering with the most terrible waves of stomach cramps in my upper stomach (under ribs).

I've cut out a lot of my snack carbs like pastrys, pork pies, cakes, endless crisps and swapped for fruit, beans and salads.

The pain was so bad last week my G.P sent me for a scan to rule out gallstones, but the scan showed nothing

Can a diet change cause pain if i'm not starving myself?

I get this too. Like you I had a scan for gallstones and it was clear. I get waves of cramps in my upper abdomen and feel really sick, although I never actually am sick. I think for me it's possibly a combination of indigestion and trapped wind. I haven't found a cure but some things that help with the symptoms are: laying on my back with my knees bent and a hot water bottle on my abdomen, Gaviscon liquid, Deflatine tablets to suck and plain warm boiled water.

Its very frustrating because the nausea makes me feel as though i have to eat, like when i had morning sickness!!

I've tried buscopan and that pink slimy stuff but nothing seems to work, maybe i'm destined to be a chub but i'll try deflatine and see if that eases it

I get this too when I do a VLCD or just a really low card diet, hence I can't really do them any more. Once I got it so bad and nothing helped and I prayed (and am non-religious!) that if the pain would stop, I'd never do a hardcore diet again! So I just have to try to do the sensible healthy eating, 1200 cals a day and exercise. It's slow going and I'm prone to lapses, but if I do more of week of anything stronger, the agony comes back under the ribs. Sorry not to have a cure for you. If you find one, let me know!

This is interesting because I am studying at the moment. Can I ask have you always had a highly processed diet and only recently changed to quite a unprocessed diet and that's when the problem started?
To me it sounds like an insufficient digestive system or ineffective digestive system. This is because it's never had to work so hard to break down natural food. If you have had a diet high in processed foods it basically passes through whole with no real work to be done by the stomach to remove the nutrients (because there aren't any). Now that you are feeding it with good, wholesome foods it has a hell of a lot of work to do to pull out the nutrients that it needs.

My recommendations would be to chew until the food is completely smooth with no bits in it at all, drink loads more water, eat pineapple as it has enzymes that help to break down the food, eat slowly, walk for 30 minutes every day or start up some exercise.

Yes, i've had a totally processed diet until swapping to a more mediterranean diet.

Oily fish, leaves, olives, pulses and beans are now on my shopping list, so a total change.

I will try pineapple and see if it eases things but i had to have 2 pieces of toast last night to try and settle my stomach again.

Its a relief to see i'm not the only one suffering, i thought i was having a heart attack last week, the pain was so intense

I forgot to mention leafy greens too! Lots of fibre is why you are experiencing this. It is like your insides are like "shit I've got to do some work now!" and it WILL get better.

I think you've probably increased your fibre intake too rapidly, if you've gone from a diet based on a lot of processed carbs.

I'd cut right back on the fruit and pulses, and focus on meat/fish/eggs/cheese to start with, with a little bit of veg/salad.

I used to suffer from IBS and was told by the hospital to increase my fibre intake. When I did that, it made my symptoms worse! The consultant said, very matter of factly, "oh yes, sometimes that happens"

What's stopped my IBS is being low carb (which means high fat and medium protein)