I Just Don't Want To Even Eat

[aedixon]

I'm headed into my 5th month since going gluten free now. It seems like the past few weeks every single time I eat something I feel bloated afterward. I've started eating such little bits at at time; a banana for dinner, yogurt and fruit for lunch, cereal as a snack, or maybe just some plain chicken and a veggie for dinner. Does this get better? I'm starting to enjoy a growly stomach because I don't feel bloated when I'm hungry.

I just ate some white rice and steamed sugar snap peas for dinner and it seems strange that I would feel bloated after just that!

*sigh* Any suggestions??

Before going gluten free I used to get teased by friends and boyfriends about how much I obviously loved food!

[eatmeat4good]

Carbs may be hard on your system right now. Meat and vegetables are the only food you listed not high in carbs.

Banana and rice are high. I try to eat more protein than anything. Vegetables next and just a little rice to help get it down.

I know what you mean about not wanting to eat.

I'm at five months too.

Eating mostly nuts, meat and vegetables.

Some days better than others.

[gf-soph]

I'm headed into my 5th month since going gluten free now. It seems like the past few weeks every single time I eat something I feel bloated afterward. I've started eating such little bits at at time; a banana for dinner, yogurt and fruit for lunch, cereal as a snack, or maybe just some plain chicken and a veggie for dinner. Does this get better? I'm starting to enjoy a growly stomach because I don't feel bloated when I'm hungry.

I just ate some white rice and steamed sugar snap peas for dinner and it seems strange that I would feel bloated after just that!

*sigh* Any suggestions??

Before going gluten free I used to get teased by friends and boyfriends about how much I obviously loved food!

I do know what it's like to feel bad after eating anything, for me it lasted more than 18 months after going gluten free before I found the right elimination diet that helped me. I used to say that if I had the choice to stop eating and stop the pain I would, as I had so much pain all the time. It can get better!

I would recommend keeping a food diary as you can have delayed reactions to foods, so you may blame it on one meal but it was caused by another. I also know that when I eat my 'safe' diet it can still take days for the bloating to go away, so it can be cumulative.

In the long run it's not good to eat so little, you are risking nutritional deficiencies and messing with your metabolism. Food is the fuel for your body, you can only run for so long on a minimal diet. Treat this like a scientific experiment - form a theory about what might work, and try it out. If that doesn't work, try the next idea until you hit the right combination. I know it's hard but there is likely to be some combination where you can eat a much fuller diet without the problems.

Good luck

[RiceGuy]

One thing I can add to what has been said thus far is that you might try some digestive enzymes. The right ones can really help with digestion, and bloating too. NOW Foods makes a decent one called "Digest Platinum", and Doctor's Best also makes one which I've found to be effective. There are others which should work too, and depending on the particular cause for your symptoms, some may work better than others. But one thing I know to look for is that the enzymes should be derived from microbes, as these are the kind which can withstand the acidity of the stomach.

I agree with the statement about carbs not digesting well. I've found certain ones can really be tougher than my intestines are ready to handle. The resistive starch in bananas might be too difficult for your digestive system right now. If you desire a grain of some kind, try some others instead of rice, such as buckwheat or millet. Just do make certain they are tested for possible gluten contamination.

[Tigercat17]

I'm headed into my 5th month since going gluten free now. It seems like the past few weeks every single time I eat something I feel bloated afterward. I've started eating such little bits at at time; a banana for dinner, yogurt and fruit for lunch, cereal as a snack, or maybe just some plain chicken and a veggie for dinner. Does this get better? I'm starting to enjoy a growly stomach because I don't feel bloated when I'm hungry.

I just ate some white rice and steamed sugar snap peas for dinner and it seems strange that I would feel bloated after just that!

*sigh* Any suggestions??

Before going gluten free I used to get teased by friends and boyfriends about how much I obviously loved food!

I would really make sure your not getting cross contamination from any vitamins, over the counter drugs, prescriptions or processed "gluten free" products. This happened to me & it took me so long to get better. Vitamins are the worse for stating that they are gluten free when they aren't completely free of gluten. Some can add Barley but remove the protein that causes us to react. But all of us react to this anyway. They can still place the gluten-free label right on them. I know...it's crazy.

And not all gluten free packaged food are completely free of gluten. There are some companies that are better than others, but just because something says "gluten free," doesn't always mean it's completely free of gluten. Everyone has different levels of sensitivity, so it might take you a while to figure out what your level is. And if you haven't already, eliminate all processed foods and eat fresh veggies, meats & fruit and keep a food journal. Once you role out all the processed foods & just eat fresh whole foods, than I would add in a processed food one at a time once a week to see if you have any reactions. This way you'll be able to track down any foods that you are reacting to and you'll start to see a pattern. I always react the next day, so this always helps me a lot.

I know it's a lot of work, but believe me it's so worth it! It took me a long time to figure it out & I'm still learning something new every day. Keep reading these forums. There is so much great information in here! The members on here are so much more knowledgeable than the any of the doctors and they are so helpful.

I hope you feel better!

[healinginprogress]

I'm only two weeks in and I feel the same way, I've said a few times "maybe I'll just stop eating". But I'm a person who really likes food, as well, my bf's in the past have always liked that I actually EAT!

Anyways, I didn't know that carbs could be difficult to digest when healing?

[aedixon]

Yeah, I know. I now have a new bf who's worried about my NOT eating! I'm like, "NOooooo! You don't understand! I WANT to eat!!!" Thanks for all the suggestions. Just knowing I'm not alone is worth millions. I don't want this drama! It's not me!

I think I may write up a "stages of mourning" for the newly gluten-free. Stage one: Bursting into tears in a bakery. Stage two: Feeling a desire to starve rather than eat. Stage three: ?...

[healinginprogress]

Yeah, I know. I now have a new bf who's worried about my NOT eating! I'm like, "NOooooo! You don't understand! I WANT to eat!!!" Thanks for all the suggestions. Just knowing I'm not alone is worth millions. I don't want this drama! It's not me!

I think I may write up a "stages of mourning" for the newly gluten-free. Stage one: Bursting into tears in a bakery. Stage two: Feeling a desire to starve rather than eat. Stage three: ?...

Stage three: Not wanting to share gluten-free food.

LOL

Yeah, my fiance was with me through the worst, I ended up in the hospital twice, needing rehydration...I've lost weight from the disease, and I was so frail and weak that he told me he was going to fatten me up so that it would create a "fat buffer" so it's not so dangerous the next time I get sick LOL I'm still not asymptomatic (just two weeks in) but my appetite has returned for the most part, and he was very happy to see that!

[horseshoe]

I think I may write up a "stages of mourning" for the newly gluten-free. Stage one: Bursting into tears in a bakery. Stage two: Feeling a desire to starve rather than eat. Stage three: ?...

I like your stages of mourning idea.

On the topic of your problem: I totally agree with the food journal idea. I've pretty much been eating the same things this month, adding in something new every now and again. I recently added in corn tortillas and though didn't feel bad immediately after eating one, did notice that I felt worse later on at my next meal where I was just eating things that didn't give me a problem. I know the tortillas are 100% guaranteed gluten free (a celiac friend of mine made them for me) but I think that they are too processed/have too much stuff in them for my digestion at the moment. Everything else I eat is very simple. It's stressful and depressing to not be able to eat some things right now, but I think it'll be worth it in the end.

Baby steps.

[Jill0711]

I'm sorry that you are feeling this way. It is how I felt prior to my diagnosis and I did stop eating almost entirely (which is not a good thing).

I actually had a couple of followup questions about digestion in general. I would think that proteins and fibrous fruit would be harder to digest than carbs, but I'm certainly not a doctor. It just makes me think that I have been going about this the wrong way. If you had to pick 5-10 foods to eat at the start of the gluten-free journey to promote healing, what would you pick as the best things to start with? I think I'm ready to start a whole foods only trial, but I'm not sure what foods would be the best.

[nuttmegs17]

I'm new here but thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. I'm currently on an elimintation diet and in the process of being formly diagnosed(who knows with what).

One of my initial diagnois was/is IBS....my doc said surprisinly enough fruit/veggies are THE WORST for someone with IBS as the fiber is hard to break down etc. He suggested juices/smoothes to help break the roughage down. The body trying to break all that stuff down leads to excess gas/pain. I know...like what CAN we eat?! Geesh.

[lexusca]

;)I hear ya on the not wanting to eat thing. I thought it would be an instant fix stop eating gluten and poof feel better,but some very wise people here have mentioned other food intolerances that may or maynot rear their ugly head. I love food that is why I became a chef. Now I am looking at food as though it is the enemy. I know that this to shall pass and my guts will thankme for it. Feel better and know there are alot of us newbies out there probably feeling the same way