Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I can't do this. My stomach is killing me. Actually, it's not my stomach, I think. It's my lower abdomen. I feel like there are two hands squeezing my intestines. And I've had diarrhea for the past two days. I thought I should just tough it out, but this is terrible. I searched the McDougall site and Dr. McDougall agrees that his plan causes more gas and he recommends Pepto-Bismol! Seriously...I don't think a diet plan that requires Pepto Bismol is the best for me. And he says be glad you're not eating meat, because then your gas would smell worse.

First of all, when I was lowcarbing, I had NO gas. The WORST gas I've ever had has come from vegetables. Maybe that's just my body, but that's the way it is.

I just can't eat this way. Maybe I have fructose malabsorption. I don't know. Low carb didn't work for me. This doesn't work for me.

I give up.

Sorry it didn't work out for you. I hope you have success finding something that works for you. It's pretty rare to find someone that this doesn't work well for.
Good Luck
f1jim

I'm back. They say the only way to fail is to stop trying and I'm not going to fail at getting healthy. This time I have a plan. First of all, I'm not jumping into the deep end right away. I'm going to start switching over to McDougall in stages - one or two meals a day to start. I also bought some digestive enzymes to make the transition easier. And I will definitely go straight to the BRAT diet (thanks, Debbie ) at the first sign of stomach trouble, although I'll have to leave out the toast, since I'm pretty sure I have gluten problems. Maybe I can find some gluten free bread.

I'm not only back to McDougall because of health concerns, but because I watched the movie "Food, Inc." a couple of weeks ago. It was devastating. I'm ashamed to admit that I've been trying to put it out of my mind, but I can't do it. I actually started to cry in the supermarket a couple of days ago when I put a carton of eggs in my basket. (And it wasn't TOM, lol.)

I had a baked sweet potato and some blueberries for breakfast, and cheese (baby steps) for lunch. I'm baking chicken thighs for dinner but I can't bring myself to eat one. I'm going to just eat the sides - baked potato, mixed vegetables and salad.

Laura,

Welcome back! I'm glad that you are still hanging in there. Digest as much information about the program that you can. It will "brainwash" (in other words, clean your brain) of any SAD ways of thinking.

The only reason I would suggest you consider adopting the plan completely is because I've found that that is the best way to get rid of cravings and see results, but if gradually changing is best for you then go for it. I'm sure you'll eventually get to where you want to be.

I had just read your previous post this morning, so it was so good to see that you're back. Sometimes it takes going out there for us to realize that we have a good thing going here.

Just so you know...I too struggled with gas when I first began the program. It should subside.

The reason I'm trying to ease in slowly is because the new diet gave me gas pains and diarrhea last time. Although, now I think it might not matter that much because I had diarrhea last night, after only one day. Or else I still did too much and should ease up a bit.

Laura,

Hang in there. I'm sure it will pass. I'll be checking in on your from time to time.

I've been on and off, but I'm not down and out.

You guys are very supportive and I appreciate that.

Back to McD, starting today.

Breakfast - two small baked sweet potatoes, sliced, with mustard. (Weird combo but I love it.)

Mid-morning snack - brown rice cake spread with mashed banana, a handful of blackberries.

Lunch - GF brown rice pasta spirals with Amy's Low Sodium Marinara sauce. (The sauce is made with a little olive oil, but it only comes out to 1 gram of fat per 1/2 cup serving.)

Dinner last night was brown rice with broccoli, carrots and scallions. It sounds better than it tasted. I don't know what went wrong with the rice but it was very mushy and gummy. It was also bland. I found some packets of soy sauce and duck sauce in a drawer (leftover from our last Chinese takeout) and dumped them in. That made it a little tastier (still mushy, though), but I think soy sauce has gluten, and the duck sauce is all sugar (probably HFCS) so I don't think I'll be doing that again. I love brown rice, but this tasted like super gooey oatmeal.

On a good note, I've had no tummy troubles so far. I was eating a lot of white potatoes before and haven't had any this time, so I'm wondering if that might be significant.

Hi Laura. I cook gluten free for my husband. Soy Sauce has gluten, but you can find wheat free tamari (low sodium too) at many health food stores. I hope you find health and happiness.
Raven

I'm so happy - I seem to have solved my McDougall problem! It was potatoes! I had no idea potatoes could cause digestive distress. I love baked potatoes and they were pretty much the basis of my diet in past McDougall attempts. This time I didn't have any in the house so I substituted sweet potatoes for the white. It was obvious almost immediately that I didn't have the bloating and gas pains. Hallelujah.

(And thanks for the tamari tip, raven.)

Dinner last night went well. Due to some unusual circumstances I wasn't able to eat before we went out and by the time we sat down at 8:15 I was starving. I skipped the salad and ordered from the sides at the restaurant - an extremely large potato croquette and spicy garlic broccol. I avoided the fried crust of the croquette and ate the inside, and the broccoli was very good and barely seemed to have any oil on it at all. I had a feeling I might end up with potato, so I put some Phazyme in my purse just in case. It worked...no tummy troubles after dinner.

This morning I had a rice cake spread with mashed banana, a handful of blackberries and half cup of coffee - trying to get off caffeine without the headaces.

Oh, and I found a rice cooker in my basement yesterday! I got it for Christmas several years ago and had no use for it since I was lowcarbing at the time. I tried it for the first time yesterday and it made perfect brown rice. You just put in the rice and water, turn it on and walk away. Miraculous.

OMG...I'm digging into a bowl of brown rice pasta with organic, fat-free marinara sauce from Whole Foods. Heaven. After being a die-hard lowcarber for so long, and gluten-intolerant to boot, I never thought I'd enjoy something like this again.

I'm noticing a lack of leafy green vegetables in my diet. Right now I'm all about the sweet potatoes, brown rice and pasta. Don't want to shock my system too much, lol. I'll start with a salad at dinner and go from there.

I just had my first mango. Near ecstasy.

oh, honey.

Mangoes are SO delicious! They are in season in Utah in mid summer and I can hardly wait *drool*

keep on keeping on!