Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great start to the week! I sure did because I got in my 5 mile run yesterday!!!! Although I had no IT band pain, I did have some pain in my left heel, so basically I am not attacking all possible injury points as best I can to make it to race day!
Just FYI, this post may contain a little TMI (too much information) or some triggering words for anyone with an ED, so feel free to just come back tomorrow if you’d rather not read ahead! I won’t know 🙂
I realized last week when I was typing up my training update that I hadn’t talked much about food (other than WIAW) in quite a while! As many of you know, I was told last October that I need to cut gluten, soy, pasteurized milk and white sugar out of my diet. I completely cut out everything but white sugar up until about a month ago. I’ve been using pasteurized milk on occasion in coffee. Lol okay more than on occasion currently.
However, I am still having constant issues: extreme bloating, gas, other things I just can’t bring myself to say on this blog… haha. Let’s just say I had to run back home in the middle of that 5 miler and then head out again to use the restroom…
It just never seems to go away, which is why I’ve determined I probably have IBS. I’ve had both an upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy to make sure it wasn’t anything especially serious (colitis, cancer, etc). With everything ruled out I don’t really know what else to do. I even stopped taking my birth control two months ago to see if that was the problem (as suggested by my doctor), but nope.
Personally, I am at a loss. I know I try and look like I’ve got it all together on the blog, but I certainly don’t. I experience some level of symptoms nearly every day. I don’t know if stress had made it worse recently (probably) but I do find that I feel so much better when I’m happy and busy doing things with people. For example when I was out of town for ten days my symptoms were practically non-existent.
I’m sharing all of this because 1) some of you may be experiencing similar issues and I hope I am someone you can relate to and 2) some of you may have suggestions! I will take any at this point.
I also came clean a couple months agoabout my problems with binge eating. It happened with me because for well over a year I was over-exercising an under-eating. Binging resulted as an emotional and physical response to that abuse (granted, looking back over my life I’ve always had various episodes of binge eating, just nothing that lasted this long). Although it still occurs on a rare occasion, or in much more subtle forms, I have made a ton of progress with it. I find that when I’m busy then it’s not as much of an issue. I’m also eating way more healthy fats than I ever was before, and in the morning, which I know has also helped a ton.
Beyond eating right, I have had some great friends that support me (many I met through blogs) and becoming more spiritual has made a big difference as well. Knowing that everyone is made to be different and I am perfect exactly how God made has been my mantra whenever I feel out of sorts.
It’s definitely a never-ending process and I still have slip ups, but I’m happy to say that despite these I’ve made huge strides. I just hope that I can KEEP improving, especially with the stress of school, GOTR, marathon training and blogging on me this semester!
Remember, if you ever have more personal questions or stories you’d like to share you are always welcome to e-mail me at peaceloveandoats@gmail.com !
Anyone dealing with similar issues?
I totally feel you on the stomach issues, they suck! Cutting out all of my allerges and intolerances has helped me a lot but on occasion I still have weird flares that seem to have unknown causes. I know for a fact that stress will upset my stomach and that there is hardly anything I can do about.
One thing to try might be cutting out caffeine. I had to do that when I first cut out all allergens and it seemed to help. Now I can drink coffee on most mornings but also can tell when it’s going to upset my stomach (before I even drink it) which is really helpful. I think the caffeine affects a lot of people with IBS so it might be something to try if you’re willing to give up your caffeine fix!
I’m not sure it’s the caffeine, or maybe I just need to eat limited amounts. I have a small cup of coffee every morning, and I usually don’t have problems in the morning. But I have thought about giving it a try.
I was also going to suggest caffeine. I cut out all caffeinated soda and coffee over 10 years ago and very rarely have issues anymore! I can drink caffeinated tea but not more than one cup a day or bad things happen.
I always have random stomach issues, but I don’t know if it’s enough to cut anything out? But stomach issues while running is the worst 🙁 I hope you figure out what’s going on and start to feel better!
I have lots of stomach trouble which is why it’s almost impossible for me to run in the afternoon or evening with a whole day’s food in my stomach. If I have an evening thing planned, I really have to be careful. I’ve had a sensitive stomach before running, so I just deal with it. I have never been tested for food allergies because I really don’t want to know. I DO think that once you start to eat cleaner and more whole foods, your body reacts differently to rich foods and chemical additives. I tend to suffer after a dinner out that includes meat, sauces, and wine…my body is telling me whoa, WTF?
This is probably not what you want to hear, but have you tried cutting out caffeine? My Mom had issues with IBS and that really helped her. I am one of those weird people that can run with only in my stomach and I know nothing will go wrong.
Listen to your body, everyone is different. It may not be a diagnosed issue, but at the end of the day, you will know what makes you feel good.
Thanks, Sierra! And Lindsay mentioned caffeine, I think I might try and cut out coffee and only have tea. I feel like the caffeine in green tea probably isn’t enough to bother me. Maybe that will help! Lol and I wish it were just “unclean” foods that bother me, there are a ton of veggies I can’t eat anymore unless I want to be home all night… haha. And I know what you mean about being careful if I have something in the evening, I have to do the same!
Ugh, girl I’m so sorry about your digestive problems you’re having! Sometimes I’ve wondered if I’ve had a little bit of IBS because my intestines seem to get all out of whack when I get super stressed or anxious. I know how frustrating and unpleasant it can be! Have you tried to cut back on fiber (or at least tracking your fiber intake)? That might help. On another note, I’m so happy to hear you’ve made such strides with the bingeing! I keep meaning to ask you about it, so I’m glad to hear everything is going pretty well. xoxo
Fiber is tricky because I’ve had phases where I ate a ton and seemed alright but right now I don’t feel like I eat anywhere near as much but it’s still a problem. I might track it for today though to get an idea of how much I take in!
i’m sorry to hear that you’re having digestive issues – those are definitely not fun at all!! i hope that you can find a solution of sorts that helps you feel better. because feeling crappy every day is definitely tough!!
also this is the first time i’ve clicked through to see your blog since you switched to self hosted and i love the way it looks!
Thanks! It’s growing on me!
I used to have a problem with bingeing years ago and thank the Lord I was delivered! So glad to see your doing well and hope your tummy issues get resolved over time too! Have a blessed day!
Thank you, Marian! I’m glad you found my blog!
Katie, I hope it’s alright that I’m going to email you. 🙂
I’m struggling with the same thing right now and would (1) like some advice and (2) would like to share some advice I’ve received.
Tummy troubles suck more than most things (I was going to say “anything”, but I can definitely think of some extremes that suck more, but in day to day life, tummy troubles are probably the worst thing you can be experiencing while still expecting/expected to maintain a full schedule). I sincerely hope that everything gets cleared up (I know I’m VERY much looking forward to the same thing!).
Stomach issues suck, plain and simple. Being head sick with a cold/flu makes you feel lousy, but I don’t think anything (aside from maybe cramps, haha) makes me feel as wholly awful as stomach pain. The thing about your digestive tract is that there are so many little things in that that live in such a delicate balance that one thing wrong can mess the whole system up. Based on what you’ve said in this post, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if stress contributes a lot to your issues. I know for me, my stomach is always either the first or second part of my body to pick up on any sign of stress (it trades places with my face/acne depending on the immediacy and longevity of the stressful situation), and often my body lets me know that it’s under stress before I even cognitively realize that I’m stressed. I am probably the last person to give advice on reducing stress, because for me, stress generally results from having too much going on, and until everything is completed or whatever event that’s stressing me out is done, I’ll continue to feel stressed (no lie: my face had been an explosion of high school levels of acne for the past month and a half, and since Sunday when my #1 life stressor of the moment [my half marathon] ended, I’ve already noticed a H.U.G.E. improvement in the state of my face. I’m sure some hormonal timing also helped with this, but it didn’t make one speck of difference last month, and I know I was super stressed about my half pretty much from the beginning of July on, which is when my acne flared up). ANYWAY. I imagine stress, whether you realize you have it or not, is contributing a lot to your problems. I don’t know if you can identify what’s stressing you out the most and find a way to tackle that, but I imagine that could definitely make a huge difference in your stomach problems.
I definitely think stress is a big contender of stomach issues, it’s just hard to avoid it! Haha I certainly wish I had a stress-less life. I’ve just got to learn how to handle things better and not get over-worked about anything.
You’re right–we DID post on similar things today! Hah. I hope everything clears up on the inside for ya–I totally believe that white sugar is a major culprit in stomach issues. However, with that being said, stress is even more notorious (& oft forgotten) with causing intestinal & stomach issues. I try to take a few minutes every day for meditation, stretching, & scripture study. This helps my stress levels SOOO much! 🙂 xoxo
I definitely think stress is a big part of my really bad days/weeks, especially last week! I was a wreck and so was my stomach! I’m getting up a little early every morning this week to read my devotional, which is already helping my stress.
I’ve been dealing with IBS for the past few years, and it sucks! I have trouble eating healthy because too many raw vegetables are a huge no-no for me. Have you tried a probiotic? I take one called Florastor that has seriously given me a normal-ish life back. It is amazing! I also don’t get gas with this probiotic like I did with the others I tried. I also take a prescription anti-spasmodic that has done wonders for my pain.
I agree with the suggestions to cut out caffeine. I cannot have any caffeine before I eat lunch, even in tea. In the afternoons, I can drink coffee, but I have to be careful as too much can hurt! Anyway, I’m sorry you’re dealing with these problems! =(
I tried taking Align but it made things much worse, so I stopped after 9 days. I should talk to my doctor about trying different ones.
Hey katie … I am frequently bloated but my doctor couldnt find any allergies and lactose is neather a culprit…. What i wanted to ask you: Did yougain weight due to your change in eating behaviour? Thanks for these nice log entries almost every day,xoxo verena
have struggled with ‘gut issues’ for the past dozen years, hugs to you on that! I cannot have gluten (and I don’t) but that didn’t fix everything by any stretch! it is so frustrating to not necessarily be able to pinpoint what the trigger is (sometimes you can, often you cannot), and then you throw stress into the mix… and then add all the complications of emotional eating (been there, am there, do that, etc.). fwiw, I’ve earnestly explored specific carbohydrate diet but honestly haven’t mustered the ‘oomph’ to give it a try, you might consider looking into it in case it makes sense to you.
It sounds like we have similar issues! I’ll look into the specific carbohydrate diet, I’ve heard of it but not too much.
I don’t have stomach problems… BUT that is because I’ve figure out too much cheese is bad and more than one glass of milk is a badish idea usually. I am pretty sensitive to coffee too. I suffer from heart burn hardcore. I think I’ve figured it out… highly processed corn products. It is frustrating at restaurants because the waiters don’t know what the heck a highly processed corn product is. HFCS are in everything so it is always a trade-off between not eating snacks offered and getting awful heartburn. As far as the emotional eating goes. I am a total emotional eater. It has taken me three marathon cycles to come to terms with how much I need to take in calorie wise. During my first two marathon training cycles I would pull out the jar of peanut butter when I was frustrated, sad, lonely, stressed… I did this when not training too. Looking back when I ate half a jar of peanut butter in 20 mins it was the result of weeks of under-fueling and an emotional trigger. This marathon training cycle I am trying to eat more. I have a really hard time figuring out if I’m hungry so it is definitely a learning process!
I definitely need to figure out how much to eat. I’ve been told so much more than I’m eating now but that freaks me out since I’ve gained weight over the past 6 months or so that I didn’t intend to gain! Granted, it’s probably from the nut butter binging…
True life: it’s totally common to gain weight during marathon training. I don’t know if you’re basing your weight gain on the scale number or if you’ve actually had a documented increase between your body fat percentage six months ago and your body fat percentage today, but based on what you post in the food department (which I’m sure isn’t everything you eat), I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you’ve added a good amount of muscle weight during your training. (How could you not? You’re logging kickass milage every week, you awesome almost marathoner you!) Obviously refueling with a 3000 calorie recovery meal after a 10-miler isn’t going to do your waistline any favors, but it is critical to refuel with carbs and protein after longer runs, otherwise you’ll never recover, which will put you at risk for injury — definitely not what you want at this point in the game! I don’t know what your refueling habits look like, but if you truly should be eating more, this close to the marathon it’s not worth risking injury to avoid additional weight gain. You’ve worked too hard and come too far!
Yea, I’ve heard it’s pretty common. However my weight gain started about last Christmas, and the last time I weighed myself was early may and I’d gained about 10lbs. I know I’ve gained more just based on how my jeans, pants and skirts fit since I don’t weigh myself anymore. I definitely need to make sure I’m re-fueling as best I can after long runs, especially because I know if I don’t it will only make binge eating worse.
I think that ALL runners have been there. I had to really learn what I could eat and when I could eat it and plan my meals around my runs.
I was told to cut out wheat (not gluten mind you), soy, corn and peanuts due to allergies. Not much changed so I slowly added wheat back to the mix. Just in lower doses. I ate a TON of peanuts on Saturday though and my stomach hasn’t felt right since. I won’t be doing that again.
I’ve definitely learned that some of the things I was told to cut out can be eaten in small quantities every once and while, which is good for special events !
I am sorry about the all the stomach issues and I can definitly relate. I am in the same boat and currently doing those tests to rule out something bigger. Something that has helped me is taking a magnesium supplement. It really helped my bloating and gas.
I haven’t even heard of doing that! Did your doctor suggest it?
Hey girl! I found your blog through peanutbutterfingers. I just love this place. Great work!
Kuddos on the 5 miler. I’m trying to up my miles in training for a half marathon. I’m not a huge fan of running, but I love the race day so it’s actually worth it. I LOVE classes though – i could class it up at the gym all the live long day!
Thanks for sharing your life with us.
Thanks, Cara! And race day is the best part of running, there’s such great energy!
You’re definitely not alone on this one! I’ve struggled with stomach issues for years and years. Dairy is definitely a trigger for mine, so I stay away from that. I went through somewhat of a disordered eating phase about four years ago and I remember my stomach issues being terrible then when I was trying to recover from it. I hope you’re able to get some relief soon!
Thank you, Angela! I’m glad to hear it seemed to be worse coming out of disordered eating, that makes me realize it might get better!
This sounds exactly like the problems I was having and I really feel for you. I’m by no means one hundred percent, but maybe 50 percent? Idk, but I can go a whole day now without too much stomach pain.
Basically what happened to me is that I took antibiotics and they messed up my stomach. Now I have candida (which can cause all of the things that you mentioned), food allergies (again… same symptoms as you) and some other imbalances. Right now I am seeing a naturopath who has helped me way more than anyone else. I got diagnosed by an allergist for my food allergies though. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I was allergic to eggs and peanuts! GAH. I would recommend checking out both out.
Also, there is an awesome book called the False Fat Diet that helped explained things to me. Weight gain was issue as well though, so maybe that’s not for you… SCD- I’ve heard great things about that. ACD- Check out wholeapproach.com. Click on: what is candida, then assessment questionnaire on the right. Take it and you will be shocked 😛
Good luck and keep us updated. Even if nothing gets better, but I’m sure it will!
Thank you for the advice, I’m looking into all of this!
Sure thing! Also, I almost forgot the worst part… My stomach is now really sensitive to fatty foods. If you get bloated, or have any other noticeable digestive symptoms after eating nut butters then you may have difficulty digesting fats too. I miss almond butter 🙁
I can eat nut butters and healthy fats just fine, but nothing greasy like from restaurants. That really upsets my stomach
Hi Katie,
Ive just started reading your blog, and its really great. I actually have a somewhat sensitive question to ask you. My sister is struggling with some binge eating problems, and Im not really sure how to support her. Is there any advice you’d have? Her story seems similar to yours, and I was hoping youd have some good advice for those of us who dont know how to broach these subjects. Thanks for being so honest in your blog about your struggles, we can all learn and support each other!
Ugh, those do not sounds like pleasant symptoms.
Is there a way you can find out for sure if it’s IBS? Like, can it be tested for?
No, it’s not something that can be tested for. They can rule out other diseases like colitis or cancer but IBS has no really specific symptoms or causes because so many people are affected in different ways.
[…] Thanks so much for all your support from my post yesterday, I got a lot of great ideas on what to do for my stomach […]
per usual, i feel like i’m right there with you. i’m sorry you’ve been having stomach struggles 🙁 but i’m also honestly glad to read about them and glad you’re so honest about it. i have been feeling pretty similarly to you and reading all the comments from people is super helpful. i’m debating right now going to see a doctor since i’ve been super bloated lately, but i’m thinking it might be from my increase in fiber since now i eat so much spinach? maybe i’ll try to chill on all the protein shakes for a bit. keep us posted on how it goes trying to decrease the caffeine – i am off coffee and diet coke now and i only seldom have tea, but i haven’t noticed that having a huge impact on my own stomach problems so i’m probably going to bring coffee back since i miss it.
My #1 question is do you chew gum or eat anything “sugar free” with sorbitol or aspartame? Those were the first things I got rid of and they made a big difference. I can’t chew a piece of gum without my stomach immediately bloating up. If that’s a no, then I’d add up your fiber intake for one day. That’s what I did yesterday and I saw I ate 37g of fiber, the recommended amount for a female is 25… lol. That’s something else I’m going to try.
Um I swear every day my stomach sucks. It’s just part of who I am I guess!
So this may sound a bit crazy and counterintuitive, but when I was most structured and scheduled with my food (i.e. I was ridiculously picky about what I ate, avoided lots of foods, etc.) I had the most digestive and stomach problems. Even to this day, whenever I eat my “typical” food for long periods of time, my stomach hates me. So here’s the kicker – when I start eating everything and anything (meats, whatever I crave while eating out, other non-typical foods), my digestion is perfect. Not even kidding. I think our bodies function best when we expose them to a constantly changing diet filled with a bit of everything (unless of course you are allergic/intolerant). Trust your body, keep it excited with a constantly changing diet, and it will heal itself. Best of luck!
Thank you, Irina!
[…] mentioned before that I’m having a hard time figuring out fueling for the marathon. I’ve realized I haven’t […]