The FastDay Forum

Oh gosh, i don't know what to do! I started fasting a couple of weeks ago and I now get bloated every time I eat (fast or non-fast)! It is so uncomfortable! Does it go away? When? It is somewhat painful but so uncomfortable.

My skin is also breaking out....isn't this supposed to CLEAR our skin?

Buaaaah!

[Betsysgr8]

What are you eating when you break your fast? Are you having pasta, rice or bread?

Jeez Melissa that was me yesterday. I can't tolerate bread even though I like it. I noticed your a little new to this woe. Could it be possible you ate too much right after your fast. I found that the meal after the fast should be small so not to overload an empty stomach.

In the morning I had black coffee with just a tiny bit of skim milk.

Then at noon I had a Weight Watchers tortilla wrap with one slice of low fat mature cheese and 2 slices of low fat ham. I later snacked one tangerine. Water throughout the day.

At 6pm for lunch I had a baked salmon filet with a side of pesto pasta with some pine nuts and cherry tomatoes. And water. That's when my stomach exploded. But now it's like that almost every day! why??

The skin problem could be your body getting rid of toxins Melissa.

The bloated really uncomfortable feeling happened to me around my third or fourth fast. Think it was the day after a fast and I had home made pizza and was relieved to go to bed that night. Have been doing this since April and it hasn't happened in that extreme since. I have recently stopped drinking so much milky tea throughout the day, replacing it with fruit tea, and limiting my normal tea to two cups a day has made a huge difference. Perhaps now that you are eating differently your body is finding it harder to cope with certain food groups. Bread always gives me bread belly as does cola.
Can't say I noticed any great change to my skin but maybe your body is doing what it does when you detox. have you upped your normal water intake? I seem to remember a friend having a breakout when she did a short detox.
Don't worry, things do normally settle down. X

Fat stores estrogen. As you burn fat, that estrogen is released. That can lead to breakouts. It should be short term.

No clue on the bloating.

I have had bloating at times both during fasting and the day after. My advice is to think carefully about how you break your fast. Initially I just kicked off my feast day like normal- bowl of muesli and milk. I felt sick all morning! Then I swapped to porridge and no more problems. I think the muesli may have had too much sugar in it? Anyways how you come off the fast is as important as what you eat during it if you have a 'fretful' stomach I find. Be gentle on your system and ease back- my advice is to avoid fats, sugars and generally complicated foods on that first morning. Sometimes I bloat while fasting and I don't really understand that. Can I just ask- are we talking gas here? If so, have a little lie down on your left side and a good old fart. I think this happens because of possibly stomach acids being too active or something. When that happens to me and I cant 'fix it' I have a plain dry biscuit or something. My experience is that when we are new at fasting, our poor bodies take awhile to catch up. Hang in there, give your self a couple of weeks to tinker with the fine details and let your body settle in. It will be fine.

Thank you guys for the helpful insight!

I now understand that this is just my body adapting to changing eating habits and that I should be careful on how I break my fasts. I will me watchful on wheat and such on fast days especially during the first meal of the day.

Also, I now know about the spots being probably a result of estrogen being liberating from the fat cells that I am now using up as energy (did I get that right?).

Today is a non-fast day. I had a croissant with blackcurrent jam for brekkie and it was oh-so yummy (and I feel just fine! )

Thanks again!

Melissa

I believe I got the estrogen explanation from Carorees. Yes you got it right...if and only if I got it right. LOL

If you are talking about water weight/tummy bloat a long soak in an epsom salt bath really helps me. My belly feels SO flat the next morning that I want to take one every day. But, you are only supposed to 2 or 3 times per week and it has been way too hot for a long, soak in the bath around here lately, anyway. lol

Thanks guys!

@43tweaker, hi. How much epson salts do you put in your bath to relieve tummy bloat. I'd like to try it. Thanks.

I did a search for foods that cause bloating awhile back. In my case the problem was daal (lentils). I was surprised by the list. It wasnt obvious to me, but then I had never had a bloating problem.

Can I just ask- are we talking gas here? If so, have a little lie down on your left side and a good old fart.

Why the left side? I ask because sometimes when I am rather full and I'm lying in bed rubbing my tummy to make it rumble (digestive rumbles!), it seems to rumble more if I turn over on my left side. Is there a physiological reason?