The Big Fat Culprit

Before you ask—NO, I’m not pregnant. Just miserably bloated, but what’s new? I’ve mentioned my bloat issues before and talked about how I gained weight on my recent diet endeavor, but only my stomach grew measurement wise. Here I am today, 10 lbs above my regular weight, all of it in my abdomen. To give you an idea of how completely misshapen I am, all of me is a size 2, except my waist which is a size 16. That is not right or natural… not to mention comfortable! I dread getting out of my pjs these days, and I’m embarrassed to be seen. What gives? Why won’t this go away? I’ve been stressing and studying over it all day, and I think I’ve got the answer.
It’s been my experience on this journey of altering my diet that I typically instinctively *know* what food it is that’s causing me trouble as soon as I begin realizing there is trouble… the problem is I’m not usually ready to face up to it. For instance, it took me a year of being extremely sick from raw chocolate to come to a point where I was ready to give it up in order to feel better. Well, I’ve felt for some time that nuts are causing me problems. If I eat more than a few of them my abdomen feels terrible. As I’ve gone through this sugar elimination diet I’ve been eating more of them than usual for protein to balance my blood sugar. I was thinking back today to when my Dr. cautioned me about how bits of nuts can build up in your colon (this discussion took place because of a moveable lump I’ve had in my colon for almost a year, she thought it may be a tasty nut-filled diverticula). Then I was remembering a video I saw posted by Victoria Boutenko on youtube of a doctor talking about the link between fats and Candia flareup. So I sat down to google bloating and fat consumption and came across the general info that I am well aware of but wasn’t thinking of before about how fats take longer to digest and so they can cause sluggish digestion, resulting in bloating, gas, and constipation. Suddenly, my nutty little friends are not seeming so friendly any more. If you’re familiar with a raw diet you’re probably aware of how easy it is to overdo the nuts. Any desserts or prepared meals you eat are primarily composed of them. All of my favorite meals, and, oh yes, even my beloved ice cream are made of nuts. I’ve never worried about fat consumption on this diet because I figured at 5”7”, 117-120 lbs I need fat to keep from blowing away… but at this rate I may just inflate to the point I might rise up to Heaven like a balloon. I prefer the risk of blowing. Less humiliating. So, now I have another challenge before me. What do I eat? The ever present question for the past 2 ½ years. It used to be so easy: m&ms, ice cream, donuts! But those days are long gone, and here I am fine tuning my diet again, hoping for some measure of progress toward resolving this issue that has plagued me since I was a child. The no sugar thing really did help me so much, but not for the bloating. I’m sure the cheese I was eating is still partying with the nuts in my rather roomy colon (lots of air space). I’m now weaning myself off of eggs and have not eaten cheese in 2 days. This morning I had a raw vegan protein shake. They used to give me stomach aches, but I think it may have been caused by the banana I would blend into it, so I’m giving them another go to see what happens. I still believe I have a less common body type that needs low carb, moderate to low fat, and high protein. I’m now researching produce protein sources to see what my best bets will be food wise. I’m also contemplating attempting a liquid fast for several days next week to see if I can get some of the bloat down that way. That was never possible before because of my blood sugar, but I may be able to handle it better now. I will keep you updated as I wean myself from nuts… I will miss them sorely. But not as surely as my tummy feels when anyone touches it.

I look 6 months pregnant. Its quite depressing to have lost 73 lbs and still see this in the mirror everyday.

A blurry photo of me from behind (I dropped and broke ANOTHER camera, dang it!) to show that I am by no means overweight, its just my stomach.