Help with Low FODMAPs diet please!

[Applejack56]

I have been asked to do this low FODMAP diet by my dietician for 8 weeks. But I just cannot stick to it. I am a very busy social worker and I have a habit of letting myself go 'too hungry', then I reach for crisps, chocolate and take-away chips! Help! How can I make this work for me?

[Teaholic]

What’s a food map diet? Take munch with you wherever you go. ( stuff you can eat) I try and get ham or chicken to snack on when I’m out working x

[S11m in reply to Teaholic]

I don't know if it helps, but:

The term FODMAP is an acronym, derived from "Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols". They are short-chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine. They include short-chain oligo-saccharide polymers of fructose and galactooligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and maltitol.

[S11m]

How does the system work? Do they set you impossible, time-consuming or unpleasant tasks... and then blame you if you do not comply to the letter?

Do you think they are trying to help?

What do you have to eat or not eat?

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Hello, Applejack56, and welcome to the forum

I think you need to be talking to your dietician about your difficulties with this, while remembering that the highest compliance needed will be short term (though I know 8 weeks must seem long). The only other thing I can say is that, as with any other eating plan, planning is key and especially someone with a demanding and unpredictable job, as yours presumably is. Letting oneself get too hungry wrecks any healthy eating plan.

I hope some other members who are, or have been, following a FODMAP diet will respond to you and share their experiences.

This is a busy forum so to explain how it works and help you find your way around, I'll give you our Welcome post healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... I recommend joining a weekly weigh in and you may like to use the Daily Diary for your meal planning.

Please also read our post on online privacy and security, especially as you have left your post unlocked healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

I hope you can find the right balance with your prescribed diet

[Tiggerr]

Hi Applejack and welcome.

Is there some reason why you have to follow something that most people aren't, as in, do you have some specific dietary requirements that need to be met?

Regardless of that answer, my first suggestion is to start making time for yourself. I'm guessing you're out on the road a lot and from anything I've seen you're run off your feet.

If that's true, you probably need to start looking at pre-planning your meals. That is, batch cooking on your days off into Applejack portions that can be frozen down and taken out in the morning, ready for when you get home.

If you've no time during the day to grab a bite that matches your requirements then how about making yourself something tasty before you go for work or even the night before.

You can do this but I suspect that you need to start caring for yourself more than you do

[PandQs Maintainer 3st 7lbs]

Hi Applejack, I didn’t know what low FODMAP was and having read about it, can’t really help as my LCHF relies on nuts and cheese which are to be avoided for you. So the only small contribution I can make is to suggest you look for a supply of Montezumas 100% cocoa bars - there’s no lactose or artificial sweeteners which are on the list I read you had to avoid.

[PandQs Maintainer 3st 7lbs]

P.s. can you have boiled eggs as snack? Very filling and highly portable if you preboil a quantity.

[Dietbunny2 7lbs]

It sounds like you've got a bit of a challenge ahead of you there applejack but I'm sure that you can rise to it with some planning ahead, though I appreciate that life at the moment probably seems too hectic to add anything more to it! I was intrigued by your question and found this healthline.com/nutrition/fo... which I hope you might find useful, as it lists many foods high in FODMAPS to cut back on and even more usefully also lists those that you can substitute. Good luck with it all

[Purple48_RBH]

Hi there

I followed the FODMAP diet - it takes a bit of getting used to and quite hard to get your head around! But once I did the benefit was worth it. I downloaded an app (if you want details let me know) that gave me lots of useful information and identified which foods you can and cannot eat using a traffic light system. I found lots of good recipes on Pinterest too!

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Purple48_RBH]

Hi, Purple48_RBH, are you wanting to lose weight and join the forum or are you here to offer support? You are very welcome, either way

[Sweetpea57 Restart Jan 2024]

Hi my work colleague did this diet properly and lost lots of weight. Ut is very restrictive, she bought recipe books, and looked things up on the internet. She has lots of weight but more importantly has stopped experiencing the spasms, pain and side effects by cutting out the foods they recommend to avoid. It's something you need to make the choice about....you can eat, but only sticking yo what you are allowed.

[Edith0 Visitor]

Hi Applejack56, when I was diagnosed with IBS I was referred to a dietician and followed FODMAP and still do to a certain extent. I am also a social worker so understand the pressure and stress that entails. I found that organising my workload so that I had an hours space in the day to have lunch really helped and soon managers and colleagues got on board and understood that I needed the space. I prepared lunch in advance following the diet and just did not buy prepackaged/preprepared or fast foods, if I didn’t know what was in it I wouldn’t eat it so back to cooking from scratch. I used weekends to prepare meals too, things like lasagne, stews/casseroles and soups, all one pot meals that could be divided up easily. Things like jacket potatoes can be done in advance and reheated in the work microwave one of my favourite fillings is crayfish tails and mayo. So I think the key message is organisation and preparation. FODMAP really works and helps to identify quickly the problem foods so do stick to it, I know it looks daunting at first but you will feel the benefit. Good luck.

[Craftyperson]

Hi I had to do the fodmap diet and it made a big difference to my proplems. Did the dietician not give you any books saying what could and couldn't have and what could have in small quantities? I've you've got gut problems it's worth sticking to and just avoid pre packaged food and make your own. Take a packed lunch with you from what can have.

[Hidden]

Apologies for the long post in advance, but.. I've had to go FODMAP due to a sudden onset of gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance combined - IBS.. I'm not overweight although it does help with losing weight because you effectively have to stop eating cereals, bread, cake, biscuits, etc which all convert to sugars in the body (see bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b... ). I actually have to ensure I eat enough to keep my weight up. But my penalty for slipping up is massive tiredness, a crippling gut ache for a day and just generally feeling miserable. So, I've been on it for a couple of months now - it's not a diet so much as a 'way of eating'.

The weird thing with FODMAP is that nothing is black and white. If you look at ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fo... you'll see nuts are not off the menu completely. Cashews are high FODMAP (not good) but peanuts are low FODMAP (good) - who'd have thought?

Ultimately, if you have any kind of gastro problem, you have to keep a food diary and figure out through trial and error what works for you and what doesn't.

I do plan a little more now - I make some carrot and coriander soup which can last all week in terms of microwaving a portion at lunchtime. I eat a lot more eggs, fish and meat and take bananas, brazil nuts and walnuts with me as snacks. Basically most processed foods are off the menu - which is healthy in itself. But I am fortunate that my favourite salt and black pepper crisps are not off the menu! (hooray for small victories)

I can't even drink fizzy drinks now (apart from a small amount of slimline tonic) because that plays havoc with my gut.

Breakfast - I've had to stop my old routine of a mix of All Bran, bran flakes and Alpen with raspberries and semi-skimmed milk. I now changed to a small amount of gluten free granola (from which I have to pick the raisins - they're a definite no-no for me), a sliced banana and kiwi fruit (sometimes some raspberries), and some full fat Greek yoghurt. The way Greek yoghurt is made gets rid of the lactose, so it's ok - other yoghurts have lactose.

Dark chocolate is ok for me, milk chocolate is not. So a square of dark chocolate is a treat.

Some sweeteners are ok, some are not. Coffee is ok but only weak tea, not strong..

And I can't eat many of the gluten free 'treats' you see in the supermarkets because they have other high-FODAMP ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup. I don't bother trying to have GF 'copies of traditional treats - most GF cakes are pale imitations of the real thing, so I just have some fruit or nuts. As CraftyPerson says above, taking a packed lunch will help you avoid the wrong foods, and it will also help avoid those 'grabbing for processed food treats' which in turn will help control your weight.

I hope that helps - it is a matter of trial and error, and keeping a food record does help, but you will feel better for doing the FODMAP diet in more ways than one - you have to focus on those benefits, not the negatives of 'not being allowed snacks I've always eaten'. I absolutely loved raspberry jam doughnuts but they're such a no-no I don't even miss them now when I see them. They're like a long-lost ex-girlfriend - we had some good times together but those days are over.

Good luck, and yes, as mentioned by CraftyPerson above, work with your dietitian.