I am new to raw foods and having just quit 12 years of bulimia about 2 weeks ago, you can imagine that with all of the changes my body is undergoing it's probably close to a state of shock. Because of the horrible stomach cramps that I go through after eating, a nutritionist recommended juicing all morning (veg only) and then avoiding all acidic foods, all fruit, all nuts and all grains! Needless to say this is difficult coming from a SAD diet.
Has anyone experienced difficulties with their digestion here when you made the transition to raw? I am CONSTANTLY in the bathroom yet I never seem to have bowel movements. It's like my stomach will not digest the food, it just sits in the lower half of my abdomen for far too long and its very frustrating! The only fat that I am eating is 1/2 haas avocado at lunch and sometimes the other half at dinner time. I am not eating over 1200 calories at this time, some days I'm sure it is half of that intake. She recommends colonics.....but that kind of scares me at this time. (plus I don't have that kind of extra money)
I don't mind hanging with this as long as it has gotten me through a very difficult stage coming from an eating disorder. But I have been researching constantly for similar experiences and have not heard anyone with the same issues. It's so bad that I can hardly go out because I have to urinate so frequently. Is this just my body adjusting to a sudden dramatic change?
Thank you for any advice and I will keep reading up on this! Love the "Post pictures of your food" thread too---it's great! I have much to learn!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2008 12:29AM by MY*ID.

You are not going to have a decent bowel movement until you start eating foods high in fiber.

If she recommends colonics she is not a real nutritionist.

I understand about the colonics but the raw veggies advice can't be bad and I have not had anything like the pains I was previously experiencing.

I am eating a TON of fiber. I am eating alot in quantity with raw veggies all day.
I ate 1 cup of blueberries before I stopped eating fruit and got horrible stomach pain from those.

Have you actually calculated your fiber intake? It might seem like a lot but not be. I get about 60 g per day, that's a lot. Never have a problem with the toilet stuff.

If you have stomach pains from blueberries, switch to something that doesn't bother your stomach, maybe melon, which most people tolerate better.

I eat a lot of lettuce, which is mild. Mostly veggie salads these days, with tomato, cuke, onion, walnut, olive oil, and vinegar and various other veggies depending on what's on sale or in season.

Just an FYI...

Some of us have more delicate or sensitive systems than others. It took me many, many months to have a complete bowel movement when I transitioned to 100% raw food. My foods sat in my stomach, I was bloated and in pain, my intestines felt constantly logged with food and I had no complete bowel movements to ease the way. And yes, I ate fiber, juiced, and drank wheatgrass too. Colonics did nothing because my food wasn't sitting impacted in my colon. My digestive system was in shock from the raw food transition and my body took a lot of time learning to adapt. For about 8 months I wasn't breaking down the food very efficiently. And I was already a vegan on a wheat free diet before I started.

If I would have known then what I know now, I would have added a lot more steamed vegetable meals to my diet in the transition period to all raw. Or at least have added 1 steamed vegan and veggie meal a day. I think cold turkey is harsh for sensitive people. Especially people with eating disorders.

Try all raw for breakfast and lunch and then add a cooked dinner if you are open to trying/experimenting with something digestively supportive to your particularly needs at this point in time. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, cold foods weaken the spleen ( raw foods = cold food even if they are warmed up...) and the spleen controls stomach function and bowel movements. If you have had an ED like bulimia for 12 years, no doubt your spleen has needed some support for a while and its highly probable that in your enthusiastic attempts at going raw you might have created a shock to your intestinal system which is why you are suffering so much.

Adding warm cooked foods and soups ( vegetable broths and lightly steamed veggies and or fruits) and teas might help massage your tummy from the inside and create more easefulness for the rest of your meals to be raw. Balance is critical for spleen function. And the spleen ( according to TCM, not the actual spleen organ..)likes and respons to warm cooked foods which should in turn help you increase your bowel function.

What I would also share is that acupuncture treatments and abdominal massage helped to ease my stomach pain and constipation too.

Best of luck...and peace of eating.

Choco

Thank you so much for your input and experience. Yes, my digestive system has been more than abused and I'm sure will take a long time to calm down. The last time I was able to break free from the disorder I last nearly one year (non-vegetarian but no refined foods, white sugar/flour etc) but gave up due to constant stomach pains. I feel much better this around and hope I can maintain. I am determined to beat this! Also, I love the whole basis of raw food and completely agree with it.

I will definitely try out one vegetable soup per night. I have been raw during the days 100% and only juicing in the morning. I will try some melon tomorrow. (I hated the thought of the whole summer going by and not even having watermelon.)

I had come across info on something called "Spleen Qi" deficiency or something like that and the symptoms sounded just like what I'm going through.

Thank you again for your help!

My intuitive feeling is your stomach is healing (from the years of purging) and your HCL is out of whack. Try drinking 2 tablespoons of apple cidar vinegar (ACV)in half a glass of water 2-3x per day. Make sure you get the Braggs brand w/mother as this is truly raw ACV. Start with smaller measurments maybe and test the waters. I have a feeling this will help with your digestive system while eating raw foods in the interim...as you transition. GSE (grapefruit seed extract) may help as well, particularly if you have yeast build up in the colon. This may be controversial on this site, but perhaps take some vegan probiotics for a time and see how that helps with moving your bowels. You may need to heal your entire digstive tract from the mouth to your anus you know? I have a feeling you're also lacking in healthy flora in your gut. Try visualizing your food moving through your digestive system easily and effortlessly as well. The mind is a powerful healing assistant. Blessings to you and best wishes.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2008 05:35PM by rawangel.

Ok-----so I gave watermelon another try on Saturday morning and then ate 1 banana at noon. Well, since that afternoon--everything has gone haywire. I've blown up like a balloon and my digestive system has literally shut down. I had severe cramps and bloating on Sunday night and it has not gone away at all. I have been eating only raw and steamed veggies since then, some pureed--nothing else. No meats, grains, fruit or fat since then. I am in terrible pain and although normally small in size--now look like I am 6 months pregnant.

I am assuming that I am constipated although I really have no idea what is going on. The food is not leaving my stomach but I am urinating very frequently (about 2x an hour). This lasts through every night.
Since I am now scared to eat solid food--I just had watery miso soup for dinner. Should I go on a vegetable juice fast until this clears up?

Can anyone offer any advice? I'm sorry to keep bringing this up but I've really had a hard time with this and want to stick to it.

I practice food combining and meal timing as a way to improve my digestion and get the maximum benefit from the foods I eat. I practice a simple form of food combining mostly just paying attention to keeping fruit and veggie meals separate. The meal timing is done by waiting on a slight return of hunger signal before eating again. Before I learned to do this I had digestion problems.

I have been VERY strict with myself about proper combinations. I had only **Tried** the melon and 4 hours later the banana as a test to see if I could handle them and I can't. Otherwise I have had no fruit and ONLY vegetable meals (most raw, some steamed and pureed into soup)

Long term ED's can cause gastroparesis, a paralyzation of the gut. I have this.
Blended foods would be best such as smoothies because they are already broken down before they enter the gut. This isn;t medical advice, I just see so many symptoms that you have, just wanted you to know about it.

Gastroparesis literally means paralyzed stomach. It is a devastating condition that is fairly common among the diabetic population, although it can be caused by a number of other factors as well. Gastroparesis results in delayed emptying of food and liquid from the stomach. Once food is ingested, it often sits in the stomach for hours or even days because the stomach does not contract very well, if at all. Gastroparesis is one of the most difficult gastrointestinal disorders to treat. There are limited treatment options, but uncontrolled Gastroparesis can have serious consequences including malnutrition, dehydration, and weight loss. Many doctors know very little about Gastroparesis so often newly diagnosed patients do not understand their condition or the treatment options available to them. G-PACT will address many of the questions and concerns that patients may encounter.


Symptoms - people can have one or all:

Symptoms of Gastroparesis often imitate those of other GI disorders which can make diagnosis difficult. Patients may complain of one or more of these symptoms:

Early satiety after a few bites of food

Nausea (especially after eating)

Vomiting (often undigested food from hours or even days before)

Abdominal Pain

Hiccupping

Excessive belching

Bloating

Constipation

Weight Gain

Weight Loss

Loss of Appetite

Malnutrition

Dehydration

Heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux which is not controlled by acid suppressants

Erratic blood glucose levels


WendySmiling in Oklahoma
www.16weeks2health.blogspot.com
12/17/10.......240/155/125

I think you have come to the right diet. Raw Foods helped me with my food issues.

It also is in the mind. I suggest looking up Byron Katie and downloading some worksheets you can find free only fill out that pose questions to question your food/body image fears.

It helped me so much.