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Creating my ideal figure, one workout and one meal at a time.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Fighting "The Bloat"

I know I've complained about this before, but sadly I haven't seen the end of my bowel movement troubles.

I'm not sure what's wrong.  What I believe to be some of the possible causes are:
-lack of fibre
-lack of oils
-problem with the supplements
-coffee turning on me
-other

I get tons of sleep and drink ridiculous amounts of water, so I've ruled those out.  I've also ruled out any sensitivities to food, as it's mostly just meat, vegetables, and oats at this point, and I've never had issues with any of that.

What I do know is this: it feels awful :(  I'm not sleeping at night because I'm so uncomfortable; my skin is breaking out; I have constant gas which seems to get worse in the evenings; I get horrible horrible acid reflux during my afternoon workout and cardio; I just feel generally sluggish and yucky.  

I hate for this to be a "downer" of a post, but this is the issue I've been living with lately and it's kind of getting me down.  I wonder if a lack of bowel movements hinders weight loss....?  I mean, you can't lose weight if you're not drinking enough fluids to wash it out, so can't the same be true for #2?  Either way, having all those toxins sitting and stewing in your system for days on end CAN'T be good for you.

The real problem is that, being only 6 weeks from the show, I can't manipulate my diet to find and fix the problem.  I'd tried taking Metamucil but that backfired BADLY and just made things 5x worse.  I suppose I could drink Senna tea, but I like to stay away from laxatives if I can; call me crazy, but I believe I'm entitled to natural bowel movements, darn it!

So where does that leave me?

Well, I'm still including ground flaxseed in my morning oat bran.  I'd read somewhere that you should pour boiling water over the flaxseed, let it sit for 20 minutes, strain off the flax, then mix in Apple Cider Vinegar with the flax liquid.  Apart from that, I can try cutting out my coffee, doing some yoga poses that help with digestion, look up some accupressure points, or try changing my supplement brands.

I know you're all DYING to know how this story ends for me, so I'll be sure to keep you posted with this developing issue lol.  Yes yes, you're welcome :)

2 comments:

  1. so,how does your protien intake look like? i most of your protien sources in the form of shakes or bars? do you have a shake before bedtime? do you eat mostly natural sources of protien ie fish,chiken,etc?

    if your taking in too many synthtetic protiens,your belly could be on protien overload and cause "protien gut"
    ie heartburn,indigestion,infrequent bowel movements and lots of constipation....
    try to stay away from laxitives about 4 wks out from the show...that will only backfire on you and make you very very bloated (yup,been there done that!)
    i do hope you find something that helps you out!!
    oh and btw- FMC,fasted morning cardio...but i like your version better!lol!

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  2. Ahhhh tummy troubles are never easy and believe me I feel for you. I've never really experienced acid reflux so can't help you there but with me, my problem was/is TOO much fibre from veggies.

    Can't wait to see you at the gym and your progress! Xoxo

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