Weight gain and IBS

[Huggit1]

my story is long, so I will keep it concise. I have had IBS with urgency since I was a teenager getting progressively worse when I started work. I have tried lots of things none of which resolved things. Currently I take 4 Imodium per day if I have to go anywhere as a precaution, if I try to not take them I may have an accident this doesn’t happen often but when it does it affects me mentally so I go back to taking the Imodium. Sometimes when I am home I have to take them as well just to work from home normally. My weight has gone up steadily to the highest ever as I try to eat bland white foods which are a lot better then whole grain or lots of fruit and veg. I am constantly trying to lose weight and am currently doing a local authority weight loss program but as with all weight loss programs it’s up the fibre eat your fruit and veg which ends up in a mess. I have tried protein drinks but they are all full of fibre and sweeteners too! So how can I lose weight and live normally with IBS I am going round in circles. Nothing works! Oh and I have tried fodmaps but I react to quite a lot of fodmap foods. Sorry to write such a negative post I am really quite a positive person.

[Luisa22]

I completely understand. I am not overweight myself but probably slightly underweight, but what you say that I can 100% relate to is the advice we are given about "eat lots of fibre, eat your 5 a day....etc etc" That's impossible for me sadly even though I love those foods.

My only help has been to lower my fibre intake, though I still do eat some veggies.

But it's had to be white food for me too for a while now. I feel much healthier on that food. Occasionally I can eat a bit more fibre but not daily.

I also get it about the Fodmap foods. All of them do not suit me either. I couldn't manage on the strict low Fodmap diet, though did try it for 8 weeks a while ago. I naively imagined that I could eat ALL the low Fodmap foods and be fine with my IBS, so got stuck in. Ooops...nope.

But weirdly I found some high Fodmaps caused me no problems at all.

What came out of that was I managed to tailor my diet to suit me and can manage to eat fairly healthily even though I have to stick with "white" for most carbs I eat. I can forget those lovely bowls of salad we are all encouraged to eat!

But proteins are fine and cause me no problems.

I actually discovered that white basmati rice has a good list of nutrients. Some of the numbers are low for some nutrients, but one or two are a quarter or so of the daily RDA ! But paired with other foods white rice is not as bad as I thought.

Potatoes also contain potassium even when peeled, so that's not too bad either.

Everything has to have added fibre nowadays, and I find that a bit annoying.

I cook everything simply from scratch, so I know what's happening. I adjust whatever I can eat or not according to how my gut is behaving. Gone are the days when I could eat what I like. Now my toilet results every morning dictate what I can have for dinner later! Grrr.

I would suggest taking a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement A-Z, daily, and possibly a B complex. So that's a safety net for you if you have to eat a restricted diet.

How to lose weight? I am probably the wrong person to ask as my body is the opposite. I have to eat to keep my weight stable. I hope someone here will have some helpful suggestions for that.

Oh and...beware of Quinoa. It looks "white" but it isn't. It is high fibre and always makes me "go" a bit too much.

[Huggit1 in reply to Luisa22]

such a great answer! Thank you so much!!! I always feel judged by health professionals but knowing someone else has to navigate foods like I do makes me feel better!! Sorry that you are in the same boat too though. I am going to sit down later and work out what is safe and not safe for me. Interesting about basmati rice who knew??

[learning2me in reply to Huggit1]

Hi, Similar problems with weight gain here. I have IBS and Type 2 Diabetes and eating well for both is nigh on impossible. I feel as though I'm juggling so many medical needs and problems as I have a Brain Tumour which leaves me with balance issues, affecting my mobility. I have also recently been told I'm very anemic, so having iron infusions as taking iron tablets is a no no with IBS.

Considering how much time I spend on the toilet, I shouldn't be gaining weight as everything goes straight through me. I'm also struggling to identify triggers for my IBS, as it seems to be food combinations that affect me.

Too many balls in the air at once? Which should be my priority?

[StrugglingAirHostess in reply to learning2me]

I'm so sorry to hear you have a brain tumour, sending prayers 🙏 I thought it was worth mentioning when I saw about type 2 diabetes and I hope I'm not overstepping the mark here but have you heard of Dr Michael Mosley? Seriously look into his books especially the fast 800? He actually reversed his own diabetes which I believe was type 1 through diet and there's lots of proven evidence that shows that what Michael Moseley suggests can prevent and reverse illness.

My mum has stage 4 uncurable breast cancer. This time last year she was given 1-2 years to live. She radically changed her diet with the help of Michael Moseley's books especially the fast 800 and 1 year on she's still here and thriving. Just wanted to mention 🤗

[Luisa22 in reply to Huggit1]

Well you know, white rice is a staple food usually eaten daily for most of the asian people so it has to have something going for it.

However I have heard there can in some types of rice. be minute traces of arsenic. It depends where it's grown. Basmati rice from India, Pakistan and California have much lower levels, and rinsing rice first, then cooking in plenty of water, and draining away the excess water lowers the level even more. (which is the way asians cook it.)

[xjrs]

I feel the need to write a slightly broader answer than just about the weight gain. First of all, no one should be in the position having to have 4 immodium a day for so long. Unfortunately, from personal experience and from the research I have done, the longer you go on, the more food intolerances you acquire, the less you are able to eat, which means that you end up restricting your diet so much that the health of your gut gets worse and so the cycle of not being able to eat even more continues.

For many people, their IBS can be related to an imbalanced microbiome (bad bugs dominating over good and giving symptoms). The best things for a healthy microbiome is fibre and eating lots of different types of plant foods. Can you see the problem? The fibre and veggies that you are unable to eat, provide feed for the microbiome. When your microbiome isn't fed well, bad bugs are more likely to take over helping symptoms to continue. Once you are stuck in the restricting loop, it becomes difficult to get out of it and improve the health of your gut. I know, I've been there. I was also in your shoes when even the low FODMAP diet stop working i.e. there were hardly any FODMAPs I could eat and I even started reacting to low FODMAP foods.

The thing that got me out of this loop has been Alflorex probiotic, which has been scientifically studied for IBS. It contains a specific strain of Bifdobacterium which is normally passed from mother to the baby during a natural birth to prime the gut's defences. It also helps to digest complex carbohydrates (fibre), producing a by product called acetate which feeds the good bugs, whilst kicking the bad bugs into touch. You may find that after or during a 3 month trial, your symptoms settle. Once this happens, you can slowly reintroduce more foods into your diet, whilst keeping a food diary. Note the best diet for the microbiome is the Mediterranean diet.

If this doesn't work you could ask for a test for BAM (bile acid malabsorption) which produces persistent diarrhoea. If Alflorex makes your symptoms gradually worse and worse over time, speak to your GP about SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) - this is a rare condition which has a set list of causes. If you don't have one of the causes you won't have it. Plus the cause needs treating, otherwise it will keep coming back. Avoid discussing this with anyone other than a GP, since there has been a whole industry generated around this and they will suck you dry without making you better.

I suppose in summary, if you manage to get your symptoms under control and you can eat a wider range of foods, you might find the weight loss easier, because you will be able to eat more foods such as complex carbohydrates and fibre that keep you fuller for longer.

[Februarygirl in reply to xjrs]

Thank you xjrs for your response. It makes so much sense and although I have heard of Alflorex, the way you described how it works in a clear and simple manner means that I now understand exactly what goes on in the gut.

Nothing seems to work for me so I now take Amitriptyline which although it doesn’t work any more it helps the Imodium work better. I take the Imodium when I’m either going out for a meal or even coffee with friends or going to be somewhere where a toilet isn’t really close to hand.

I’ve tried the FODMAP diet which didn’t seem to make any difference and the Nerva self hypnosis course which I really enjoyed but it didn’t make any difference either. I no longer drink alcohol or anything remotely fizzy and have drunk peppermint tea for years with only the odd decaffeinated coffee every so often. I will now try Alflorex and expand my diet a little. Thanks again.

[StrugglingAirHostess in reply to xjrs]

This!! 🙌 I'm currently trying to re educate myself and I think a food re set can happen based on what I'm reading therefore the ability to eat fruit and veg again. Most foods even ones that claim to be healthy are ultra processed and stripping the good bacteria from our gut. I won't go on but I think the penny is starting to drop for me.

[Oribow7]

Sorry to hear you are struggling so. I too am trying to lose weight, but only two weeks into slimming world diet and l have had 3 separate flare-ups of tummy cramps! I believe this must have been caused by a big increase in my fibre intake from fruit and vegetables. I put a question out to SW forum and two replies l received are worth trying. One was to increase water intake, big time! Another to avoid raw food as much as possible. I have been alternating my lunches with pasta and white rise (will use basmati from now on). After draining the pasta/rice I add grated/soft cheese and a little mixed veg and make a sauce using ketchup, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard and tomato ketchup, and a dash of chilli sauce. I also add whole tomatoes to the pasta or rice towards end of cooking. It's very filling and allowed on SW diet, and no measuring or calorie counting. Hope this helps! Take care 🤗

[StrugglingAirHostess]

I feel your pain with this and you have my sympathy.

I'm in a similar battle and constant bloating and struggling with weight loss really affects my mental health. Sometimes it doesn't matter how well I eat I still wake up bloated and at times I end up with the 'why do I bother' attitude and end up eating not great therefore a bit of a viscous circle.

I take a probiotic from Holland and Barrett which helps my IBS symptoms, it's called probio7 and in a purple packet, it somewhat helps the bloating as well.

I understand the veg and fruit thing. I LOVE veg and would eat it every day if it wasn't for IBS. How are you with salad? Thankfully salad doesn't seem to affect my IBS at all and that's my way of helping get healthy meals in when trying to lose weight.

It is a mind field and I'm currently trying to re educate myself completely with food. I'm trying to include fasting as well which has a lot of health benefits but I work as a flight attendant with very long work days so if it's not IBS bothering me it's that I'm starving because of long shifts etc.

Sorry I don't have much advice, just wanted to contribute as I know how awful this can be when you're trying so hard to lose weight but IBS makes it so difficult and I often think people don't understand and just think it's excuses. Good luck anyways x

[Sparrow58]

Hi Huggit1 Sorry you are having a bad time. 4 lopermide a day does seem alot. I take 1 when I am going out and this gives me constipation. I also cannot have too much fibre or fruit and veg. It's so difficult to manage weight when you can only eat your "safe goods " and they are not always the healthiest but they do not upset you. I take a probiotic which is helping a bit.

Do you exercise? I am not into going to the gym etc. So I walk. I always try to go in the afternoon as IBS is bad in the morning. Exercise is also good for stress and anxiety.

It is difficult to balance eating healthy to manage weight and eating for our IBS. So we can get out the front door.

I wish you all the best x

[Robotkitten]

Hi, have you tried low fodmap, I did it with my dietician and am now in control of my ibs, no flare for 3 months, I now know what to avoid, Gluten, Mannitol, Sorbitol, any artifical sweeteners, and GOS... Its worth the effort