Dieting, or attempting to lose weight while you are also trying to manage or heal your IBS is a complex situation
When I was trying to heal my IBS, I was also about a year postpartum and had about 25 pounds of weight that I wanted to lose after having my baby. When I was first in healing my IBS mode, I was also trying to lose that weight at the same time.
After a while, I realized for myself that it was hard for me to focus on both goals at the same time.
Nevertheless, for you, this issue may not be as tricky, and it may be possible for you to heal and lose weight at the same time.
Today let’s talk about your situation and if losing weight and healing your IBS are two goals that can work together or not.
Find the full transcript for this episode and other resources at healingheribs.com/20.
Losing Weight When You Have IBS
If you feel you have weight to lose and you want to heal your IBS, you may feel a bit divided and confused about if these two things can exist simultaneously.
Weight loss obviously involves eating less calories and burning the excess fat that your body is holding on to. If you have excess weight to lose and you know or feel strongly that you need to lose weight it can be a great goal to pursue. It could be a move in the right direction for your health and happiness.
But is it the right time for you?
One thing that women often don’t ask themselves:
Is the timing right for weight loss for me right now?
A lot of women are constantly trying to eat less, or constantly trying to lose weight and this practice can have unseen consequences.
Women really shouldn’t be in a constant state of trying to lose weight as this can affect your metabolism as well as play a negative role in your mental health.
When looking through the lenses of healing IBS and trying to lose weight, you should be particularly careful because healing IBS comes from your body being in a relaxed state, from rest and digest.
It comes from your body getting all the nutrients that it needs from food. If you are trying to restrict what you eat, but also trying to make sure you are hitting all your micro and macro nutrient goals, this soon can turn into a challenging endeavor if you’re being honest with yourself.
Deciding Between Your IBS and Your Weight Loss Goals
I think that one of the problems that I suffered with and continue to battle in my life is wanting everything all at once and being slightly impatient with the process of getting the things that I want in my life with realistic timing.
Is it the same for you? How many things are on your I want/goals list right now?
I realized early that I wasn’t going to be able to focus on healing my IBS and losing the twenty or so pounds that I needed to lose after my pregnancy.
It was hard for me though to let go of that weight loss goal because I really felt uncomfortable in my body, it didn’t feel like mine anymore. I felt unattractive and I especially didn’t recognize my own belly anymore.
I desperately wanted to lose that weight and I felt ready to start cutting back on food.
What helped me make that decision was giving myself a time frame. I made an agreement with myself that I would focus first and foremost on my IBS for around 8 months and then I would re-evaluate.
I agreed with myself that after giving that healing enough time (which I’m not sure that really was enough time!) that I could focus for three or four months on my weight loss and then come back to the IBS as I needed.
Depending on what your situation is, you may decide the same or you may decide the opposite. Maybe for you your weight loss goals are taking precedence in your life right now and you want to put that first and foremost.
My argument to you is that you make the decision consciously and you pursue your goals with commitment and passion. If you choose to restrict nutrition;in the aims of weight loss, do so being aware that this may have a negative outcome on your IBS healing, as your body needs enough calories and enough of specific nutrition in order to get back into a calm harmony.
Another IBS Solution
Another solution that may work for you while trying to heal your IBS and trying to lose weight is the strategy that ultimately ended up working well for me, although it wasn’t my conscious intention at the time.
When I decided to focus primarily on healing my IBS for a long time and let go of weight loss, I did end up losing some of that baby weight in that time even though I wasn’t aware of restricting what I ate or intentionally trying to lose weight anymore.
Because a big part of healing my IBS revolved around stress management and making sure that I was eating enough of all the foods that I knew made me feel good and would support me, while staying away from foods that were triggering to me at that time.
For me, gluten was a trigger food that when I initially cut it out of my diet after doing the Low FodMap protocol, had a huge impact on my reducing my symptoms of bloating and constipation and general stomach pain. It was an obvious 1-1 connection for me, and it was clear at that time that I needed to avoid gluten entirely for a certain time period.
Gluten is everywhere though! For me, just eliminating that food meant I wasn’t eating the cookies and cakes and donuts that were offered to me, that before I would eat because I was stress eating.
I replaced that gluten carb with a lot of different variety of carb foods that I think ended up supporting my gut health in the process. I ate more rice and potatoes and sweet potatoes. I found a local bakery that made gluten free bread. I ate more fruits and vegetables that sat well with me and didn’t give me symptoms. I increased my fiber.
In the process of focusing on healing my IBS, I was moving towards eating as well as I could and eating enough of the right things to help me heal. I started to get in touch with my body more and introduced healthier foods that helped me balance my gut and calm my IBS down.
In this process, I also lost a bit of weight because I was cutting out a lot of those foods that can cause weight gain.
When I was feeling a lot better and my IBS symptoms had calmed down after about 8-12 months of working on my IBS, I turned my attention back to trying to lose that pregnancy weight and it was a much easier process for me and my body responded well to it too.
I hope today’s episode gave you some helpful tips on how to tackle both your IBS and your weight loss goals (if you have them!)