Two weeks into your New Year’s Resolution and you’re already ready to give up.
The secret is out: your New Year’s Resolution left you more bloated and miserable than ever because you bought into the New Year’s Resolution “ways.”
One day in December, while doing sprints on the dreadmill treadmill, I came across an article in my Health magazine called, “Yes! The Most Filling Foods.” The heading proclaimed, “Eat more and get slimmer – we promise – by shopping from this list of truly satisfying, cravings-curbing foods.”
Seemed like a hefty and awesome promise, so I read on.
The article stated,
What makes some grub extra satisfying? “Fiber and protein can help,” says Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet. Getting more bang for your bite matters, too: Low-energy-density foods, which yield big portions for few calories, “allow you to eat more without gaining weight,” Rolls says. Want some of that? Make room for these secret-weapon picks.
These “super-weapon picks” included: baked potato, bean soup, eggs, Greek yogurt,apples, popcorn, figs, oatmeal, wheat berries and smoothies (each of these items is expanded upon below).
These food-based promises are ones I believed and adopted each January for most of my life. They always fell short, and I was always more miserable than before.
Based on those promises, along with several other promises aimed at the New Year’s Resolution-ers here are….
15 Reasons Why Your New Year’s Resolution Left You More Bloated Than Ever
{Note: I’m writing from the perspective of the individual with IBS and/or IBD. I’m not talking to the person simply trying to live healthier. If just being healthier is your goal, then many of the ways to live healthier likely apply to you.}
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- You are now eating Green vs. Brown Bananas. I’ve become much more keen on Dr. Oz as of late. I think his show is headed in the right direction, but sometimes I shake my head. Recently, he scared everyone away from my brown bananas with his segment on Resistant Carbs. You may have watched it, and in the process you were mad at me for always talking about brown bananas when Dr. Oz said, “Green bananas contain less sugar, more fiber and healthful resistant starch than ripened yellow bananas.“For the 800th time, though, the reason we eat brown vs. green bananas is because they contain less starch and more sugar that has already been broken down for easier digestion.
- You decided to go “Gluten Free,” and headed straight for the “Gluten-Free” aisle. You made it your resolution to stop eating gluten, but instead of taking the time to find the whole, real foods that naturally contain no gluten, you went straight to the “Gluten-Free” aisle. There are several reasons why this resolution left you miserable. Here are 4 of them.
- Baked Potatoes. They are a starchy nightshade, and the combo can make you miserable.
- Bean Soup. Beans – enough said, but bean soup will obviously contain legumes and who knows what the rest of the “soup” will contain?
- Eggs. In theory these should be okay, unless you are allergic. That said, the egg white is very mucous-forming, and thus those who work with me keep egg whites out for awhile. Some find that they are, in fact, intolerant to it. Rarely is anyone intolerant to the egg yolk.
- Greek yogurt. For one, it’s not all made the same. Some Greek yogurt has a ton of additives and flavoring added to it. Even the Greek yogurt that is plain and consists only of various (good) bacteria strains might not be what your aching gut needs at this moment. At the end of the day, commercial Greek yogurt is still less-than-top-quality dairy.
- Apples. If you eat them with the skin on, the extra fiber might be making you bloated. Even if you don’t eat them with the skin on, apples are a high FODMAP (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides And Polyols) food.
- Popcorn. It’s “popped” corn. Corn is a top intolerance. It’s a starch. It’s hard to digest for many. Furthermore, a lot of commercially-popped popcorn has various oils and soy derivatives that might also make you ache.
- Figs. Some people have a hard time with the sugar in figs; others have a hard times with the hundreds of hard seeds they contain. Either way, for someone just starting to heal, they might not be your best choice.
- Oatmeal. Is it gluten free? Even if it is, it’s still a grain, still a starch. It’s amazing if you do not have gut issues (as a matter of fact, I recommend it to most of my “non-Gutsy” clients), but if you have a hurting gut – I’d caution eating it.
- Wheat Berries. These would be a horrible idea for my Gutsy friends. In case you didn’t know, a Wheat Berry is a whole grain form of wheat; tons of fiber, similar to other whole grains. I’d love to cook and bake with these, but if I want to stay bloat free I’ll refrain.
- Smoothies. This one depends. I’m a fan and advocate of smoothies, but just not in the first few days/weeks probably. Why? Read: Is My Fiber Helping or Hurting Me? Smoothies are packed with so many things the Gutsy girl could benefit from, but if the gut is nowhere healed, you might suffer from the extra-oomph a smoothie provides.
- You went on a diet; starting counting calories and cutting fat. <– this one is HUGE. This is one that can be combined with any on this list, and will do more damage to your digestive system. Gut healing is not a diet. If you fall victim to societies ways and beliefs about restriction on calories and that all fat is bad because it’s all created equal, you will continue taking steps backwards.
- The gym became your only BFF. Fitness is good. Moving the body is great. Setting goals is inspiring. But only focusing on your time in the gym, the number of calories you burn at the gym and how you can “beat your longest time” spent in the gym will only set you up for misery. Remember, overexercising puts stress on the body. Those with IBS and IBD need to manage stress daily.
- You made too many New Year’s Resolutions. Everyone wants to have something they strive for, something to make them feel like the A+ version they truly are. But if you made too many New Year’s Resolution, that left no room for YOU to take care of YOU. You must really learn to rest, relax and enjoy more. The digestive system will thank you.
I don’t blame you for doing any of the above during these past two weeks. It’s hard being Gutsy when the rest of the world is simply trying to be “healthy.” I get it. I really, really get it. Like you, I did not appreciate or enjoy going my own way vs. the Resolution-ary way these past couple of years.
But I’ll tell you this, the puzzle pieces fit together much more nicely when you go your own way, seek your own answers and practice these ideas based on experience, not theory.
And if you need some extra help? It’s right here. (p.s. Just one spot left for the Premier IBS and IBD Healing Program.)
Love your guts,
SKH
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