Different Fight, Common Enemy

[exjamieus]

We rebelled for different reasons, though we have common enemies.

I struggle daily against my stomach and with the loss of my favorite pastime: soccer. Three years ago I got very sick, nothing life threatening but 6 weeks out of work with stomach and digestive problems. Doctors took every picture they could think of and I took every proton-pump inhibitor ever invented. In the end all the doctors could say is that there is nothing life threatening happening and they were very sorry I felt bad. I am no longer at an all time low but I feel my stomach sliding back in that direction. When the litany against fear no longer worked I realized it was time to try something new so here I am.

I exercise, but truly I love to play soccer. A year and a half ago I moved to Delaware for a job, where it turns out the soccer scene isn’t very great. I’ve found two groups to play with that play at my level but I don’t like them as human beings. The result is I’ve allowed myself to be redshirted for the indefinite future. I’m a little heartbroken over this.

I’m at a loss for exercise, if there is no soccer what is there? , plus I want to lose some weight/body fat to see if that helps me feel healthier. I’m at a BMI of 23, thought I would see how 21 felt. As of September I’m on a modified paleo diet and considering going full paleo. I bike commute to work ~ 10miles total, thus far biking is reasonably ok on the stomach-mmm-sometimes. I would like to start strength training but I hate gyms with all the grunting chuckle heads. I find it hard to motivate myself when isolated in a gym without teammates.

For those of us that paleo did not cure heart burn or IBS what do you eat when you have an upset stomach? What do you eat when you feel sick?

I’ve found myfitnesspal.com helpful to track calories. I’m just under 130lbs now, 5’3â€. I randomly choose 115-120lbs as a weight-loss goal, as it is less than I weight but still in the healthy range. I’m not very focused on pounds but how healthy and active I feel.

[AsianBourne]

Go full organic Paleo

Also Ginger is suppose to help with digestion, they say Bikram Yoga can cure a lot of issues as well!

[Hiraedd]

Hey Exjamieus, sorry to hear about your stomach problems! When your stomach hurts, nothing else in the world is right! If you're looking for Paleo support, there's definately a large community here, and I hope they'll have some ideas to help you...and as for the rest, you are definately in the right place. It's always hard when you can't do what you love, but maybe trying some new activities will help you fall in love all over again. I know there are definately exercises I enjoy doing now that if you had told me even 3 weeks ago I'd want to try them I'd have told you you were insane. Here's hoping the same thing happens for you!

[exjamieus]

AsianBourne - I don't go too far without ginger! Ginger tea, ginger candy, ginger in food.

Hiraedd- I hope you are right, that is what I was hoping to find here; I haven't meet too many other people with stomach problems. I joined when I realized I am finally open minded enough to try something besides soccer. So here is to jumping off the depend!

[Metal Violet]

Hi exjamieus, I'm sorry to hear about your stomach problems, I hope the new diet can help, stomach problems are just horrible.

With the exercise side of things are you looking for team sports or happy to go solo, are you looking to try something completely new? Does your stomach cause problems with the exercise side of things? If you haven't seen this already there are some exercise ideas here which you can do in your own home http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/top-posts/ there should be some quite useful articles there to help you

[Natastic]

Hello, Exjamieus --

Count me in the bad stomach club. My doctor diagnosed me with IBS a few years back after too many bouts of nausea, bloating and a whole lot of other related issues. I've been taking a probiotic daily. It's been a major help. I also find that stress along with certain foods can trigger me. Alas, I have come to find that alcohol is becoming a bigger "no-no" than I realized. I hope your diet adjustment brings you improvement. I stumbled on this site because of a post on Fitocracy. I then read Staci's story and hopped from there to the Paleo article. Paleo might also be a help to me as well. Thank you for sharing and GOOD LUCK!

[AsianBourne]

Exjamieus - Have you tried stuff like Pro-biotics, like Kambucha's?

[exjamieus]

Asian Bourne - Three years ago when I first got sick I tried probiotics and digestive enzymes. I took pills with each meal for two months but didn't feel like it had any effect. However, I've decided to revisit and starting October 1st I've been eating saurkraut or kimchee or drinking kombucha 4-5 days a week. Thus far it just feels like I'm eating and drinking things I like. My body definitely craves fermented foods. Tonight or tomorrow night I'm going to start my first homemade back of saurkraut ever! Wish me luck. Do you have any tips on using probiotics?

Thanks, Exjamieus

[exjamieus]

Metal Violet,

Yes I need help, turns out I never developed the mindset to exercise by myself for myself. I'm happy to train alone...as long as it is for soccer. I kid you not, my mind is telling me if there is no soccer then there is no point. (I swear I'm not a 16 year old boy either - I know there is more to life than sports). I had a really frustering time at the gym once at the University. I went regularly with a soccer friend of similar fitness and we had our little routine we made up and we kept track of out weights but we didn't get much stronger. Other than progressing to be able to bench the bar and then to put 5lb weights on the bench press, I was disappointed. And have not been back to a gym since.

Wow, long winded answer to say yes, I'm ready to try something new.

My stomach does cause problems with exercise but it varies. At this moment biking is hard, especially working up hill but I do it anyways because that is how I get to work. My stomach is bad for a while then is good for a while. On days when it's bad, I don't work as had. When I'm feeling ok, then I push myself more.

I bookmarked the link you posted. I'm going to give the at home beginner's weight routine a try.

Thanks for the post,

Exjamieus

[exjamieus]

Natastic,

Boo on your stomach. I hope you feel better.

I got the IBS stamp from the doctors too. Have you noticed how despite how much IBS material is posted on the web almost none of it deals with nausea? Eat saltines. I'm thinking yeah, that's a major help.

Sorry to hear about alcohol. I can sympathize, I know how loosing vices feels. For me, coffee is out, black tea is out, I have a food allergy to chocolate, smoking is out for a million reasons; what other society accepted vices are there? Please don't take alcohol away from me.

You said you've had success with probiotics, could you expand on that a little? Another user here AsianBourne also made that suggestion. I did try a few years ago (for two bottles of pills, 50 days maybe) and couldn't really detect any changes. What did you find worked for you?

[exjamieus]

I've also just discoverd fodmaps, foods that release sugars in the guts which can feed microbs and lead to IBS symptoms. I've pinned this list up on my fridge and I'm starting to eliminate some of the "no" foods.

http://www.ibsgroup.org/brochures/fodmap-intolerances.pdf

This is a little more info about fodmaps

http://uvahealth.com/services/digestive-health/images-and-docs/low_FODMAP_diet.pdfhttp://ibs.about.com/od/ibsglossaryfk/g/What-Are-Fodmaps.htm

Has anyone else experimented with this?

Thanks,

Exjamieus