Dieting with IBS?

OK, so its time for me to go on my first ever diet
I've been skinny my whole life and a was one of those people who could eat whatever candy and junk food I wanted all day long and never gained a pound. I was actually the same weight in 5th grade as I was the day I found out I was pregnant. And then everything went downhill! I gained 56 lbs during my pregnancy and have lost all but 10 lbs by 3 months post partum. Now at almost 9 months pp I STILL have those last 10 lbs to lose. I have been running 3-4 days per week for over a months now, with some minor weight training and yoga...and cut out all candy and most snacks... and still not even a pound has come off. So it's time for a real diet. I need to fit into my old summer clothes.
The problem is, with my IBS, it is so hard to diet. Everything that is good for my IBS (breads, rice, pasta) is bad for losing weight. Any ideas for which diet will work for me? There are some ideas on my IBS website (helpforibs.com) but they reccommend a lot of foods that I don't like.

Re: Dieting with IBS?

I suggest that you don't diet. Just follow a sensible eating plan. Maybe start weighing and measuring your food. Eat whole grains, lean meats, etc. Basically just be more conscious of your portion sizes and try to stay away from the sugar.

DIET is a four letter word!! Do not diet!

You're doing great with the running - I'm sure if you keep that up as well as being more conscious of what you are eating - you will see that loss!

Re: Dieting with IBS?

I have IBS and at times I find it hard to eat proper. Don't use the word diet either. It doesn't help. I'm a very picky eater. I can't eat garlic, onions or black pepper. And of course anything that is high in fat. I think Weight Watchers might be a good way to go. You weigh & measure your food would probably be the best and that is what weight watchers is all about. More high fiber (if you can handle fiber). Do you have IBS-C or IBS-D? If it's IBS-D, then more fiber might not work for you. But what has been working for me with IBS-C is Weight Watchers and Yoga. I just started doing yoga, but I love it. There are some great yoga poses for digestion.

Link for Yoga Poses. Just "digestion" I think and it shows you poses for digestion.

HTH is some way. If you have any questions, please feel free to FM me.

Re: Dieting with IBS?

Could it be that you don't have enough calories in your diet since you started running/exercising? Your body may be holding onto those 10 pounds because you're not eating enough?


There's gotta be a website out there that will tell you how many calories you should be eating based on your height/weight and exercise level.

Good luck!

Re: Dieting with IBS?

I definitely eat enough calories (more than enough) but I don't eat balanced or healthy. Most vegetables make me very gassy and uncomfortable so thats why I avoid eating them. I eat mostly all carbs and meat.

Re: Dieting with IBS?

Julz with your running and exercising you should really be able to lose those last 10 pounds.

I gained 45 pounds during my pregnancy and lost approx 35 right away (well really within 3 months). It took me almost a year and a half to get the last 7 pounds off...and you know what I did nothing. I finally figured out it was really my body needing the time to go back to "normal". Now even though i am back to my pre pregnancy weight it's distributed differently...and the skin on my stomach will never be the same without surgery :(.

So please don't force yourself to diet and exercise to fit back into your summer clothes. Sometimes your body just changes. I think the running will definately help to tighten up most of the areas.