Bloated Belly?

hi. im just curious to see if its normal when. im currently struggling with my ED and am trying to get better, but its so hard. im underweight and my hair is falling out. im vegan. im eating and eating and i still am not gaining however ive noticed that my belly is becoming really bloated and sticking out and it does not look attractive at all. is this normal? is there any way to make it go down? everytime i look at it i want to start restricting again because its so gross. thanks

Hey, Don't worry. The bloating is 100% normal. Everyone I know who has recovered from an eating disorder gets the belly at some point or another--the best thing to do is just keep eating. The only good solution is time. I know how frustrating that is to hear, especially when it seems like you're just gaining immediately and it won't stop--but it will, I promise. A couple of tips:

-Talk to your doctor about recovering/gaining, especially if you are severely underweight. If you start adding food too soon and you are very underweight, you risk several health complications. Are you seeing a psychologist? A dietician? Help from professionals makes recovery more likely to stick.

-If you have already spoken to your doctor and gotten his/her O.K, increase your intake to 2500 calories as soon as possible. Yes, it seems like a lot, and yes, you will definitely gain some water weight. Which leads to my nex point:

-Don't, don't, don't weigh yourself. This is harder than it seems. You may think, "I can take it, I won't overreact." YOU may not overreact, but your ED might, and then you're back to square one and you'll have to go through all that bloating, again. So the best strategy is to

-Keep eating! I can't stress this enough. One day restricting leads to another and then you're worse than you started. The only sure way to make the bloat deflate and the metabolism speed up is to keep eating.

Tips for bloating:

-Drink less soda.

-Steam or cook veggies.

-I see you're vegan...is that purely for animal rights reasons, or is it what ED wants? Really ask yourself that, because a huge part of recovery is understanding that food is fuel, and nothing should be off-limits.

-Beano is a girl's best friend.

Good luck!

Im vegan for animal rights/ethical reasons - i think. i mean initally i went vegan for health but im sure its for animal rights. i cant stand the thought of one being used that way...

I am currently not seeing a doctor because we cant afford it, and i cant ask my mom to pay for it. we went to a nutritionist and she charged us 300$ and all she did was blood work and tell me she didnt know what a vegan was. Does beno really help? I noticed that i have a little pooch now on my stomach, will the weight like disperse to my shoulders and around other parts of my body or stick to my stomach for a while. im really scared.

do you know anything about how to stop hair loss?

thanks!

Hey mik,

Yup the weight will disperse. For me it initially accumulated primarily on my stomach, thighs and upper arms. They actually wobbled for a while and everything else was still stick like - but then it "magically" redistributed. You just need to give it time. I know it's hard not to feel like you're in 'control' of the process but really, you just need to try your best to be patient and let the body do its work. It may take a matter of weeks for the redistribution to occur, for some it takes months. It really is a test in patience - but the good news is that it DOES happen. Almost everyone recovering from ED has this concern. Just don't let the freak out catapult you back into restrictive mode - this is the worst thing you could do for yourself. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that it will pass - because it will my dear, I promise you.

I was previously on a vegan diet myself. That actually served in large part to trigger my ED, or at the very least aggravate it. That's my personal experience though. I have not personally experienced hairloss with my ED, but I do know that the best thing you can do is eat a balanced and sustaining diet. If you are not getting sufficient calories from a VARIETY of sources, your immune system will falter - and hair loss is a sign of it struggling. I know you recently had blood work done - did this reveal any deficiencies? Even if it didn't, due to the fact you haven't been eating enough, it is likely for the hair loss to continue until your diet is restored to a healthy level. It can take a few months to see the results of recovery in this respect, so start eating properly now and hasten the process! I understand that you are scared, and my heart goes out for you. But these things can and will be resolved in time. Try to be patient. And realise, you will need to relinquish some control (this was the hardest part for me). But when you prove to yourself that it can be done without things going disastrously wrong, you can expect to feel some liberation, too.

xoxox Keep going hon.

PS - As a side note, bloating is often really common on vegan diets, due to the sheer quantity of food (primarily vegetative) that needs to be consumed (and the accompanying gases *ahem*). Gorillas are a perfect example - pure vegans but eating grasses and roots all day long for sustenance - seen their bellies? eheh. So if you are refeeding on purely vegan terms, this could also heighten the appearance of bloating. You may want to incorporate things that are more calorie dense and satiating but less likely to swell you up too much (i.e. plenty of nuts, avocadoes, healthy oils). 

Hey Mikfizzle are you taking a good multivitamin?  You should be because it's hard to get all the nutrients  you need on a vegan diet.  Also make sure you get enough healthy fats...try adding ground flax seed to porridge or make  yourself some nutmilk and put it on granola.  Taking evening primrose oil caps might help with the hair loss too...or you could start using some  hemp seed oil on your salads.  Also eat lots of avocados as they have very healthy fats and are great for the skin/hair.  In addition make sure you get adequate protein throughout the day by eating some tofu, nuts, beans, or seeds etc with each meal.  Soaking your grains overnight will also increase their protein content.  You might want to think about adding some goats milk products to your diet (yogurt, goat cheese etc)..goats are treated humanely and this would give you some much needed calcium and protein. Some food for thought!

The bloated belly is common, almost expected, when gaining weight after an eating disorder.  First of all, are you constipated?  If so, don't use stimulant laxatives.  What's usually used for this problem in treatment for ED's is Miralax, which is a water laxative.  Another complication that many people get is delayed gastric emptying.  This basically means that your body has sort of forgotten how to digest food.  Thus, the food just sits in your stomach, building up, longer than it's supposed to.  Because your stomach is so full & the food is not moving through, you will get a bloat, which is often painful and accompanied by gas.  If you think the problem is just gas, I would recommend gas-x, but beano might work too.  

Some more ideas:

• For now, at least, it might be easier to get a lot of your calories through liquids.  Think milkshakes, smoothies, chocolate (soy?) milk, and weight gain drinks like Ensure plus (but i don't know if they're vegan)
• Eat smaller, more frequent meals.  Try 6 mini meals or 3 meals/3 snacks
• cook vegetables and hard to digest foods.  This makes it easier on the tummy
• condense your calories.  By this I mean eat a smaller volume of food, but keep your calories up.  Some good ones are nut butter (200 cal per 2 TB), nuts (around 200 cals per 1/4 cup), dried fruit (130 cals per 1/4 cup), ice cream, chocolate, milkshakes, smoothies, etc
• Try lying down with a heating pad on your stomach.  This almost always helps me
• Try doing yoga and gentle stretches, or go for a nice walk
• If the bloating occurs after you eat specific foods, or at a certain time, keep a log of this.  Or maybe just keep a log and see if there's a pattern
• I don't know a whole lot about these, but you could try digestive enzymes or probiotics

SWIMFAN- hi, IF you see this, im wondering, "delyed gastric emptying" as in a slow colon bc i have that and am wondering, do u have this or know anything about it, what helps or is more troublesome?

thanks!

good luck to the OP as well!

Here's a link with more info on it:  http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs /gastroparesis/

The doctor explained it to me pretty briefly.  Everytime I go into refeeding pretty much I get it, and it sucks.  I feel your pain with the constipation...I went about 3 weeks with absolutely NO poop.  Zip.  Nada.  That was hell.  

The link I posted has the "real" treatments (meds, etc) but I found it generally improved if I continued to eat and didn't act on my eating disorder.  I also eat A TON of fruit/veggie/fiber, and I've found that to help.  I wish I could give you more info, but I don't really understand the condition myself, and I think it really varies quite a bit from person to person.  I hope your condition improves!

hanks, im going to look now but wanted to thank u for posting that, i take Amitiza now, 24mcg but its not helping.

it is so annoying and individual bc it "seems" like im doing everything rt, (lightly active, fruit+veg, fiber) but nothing helps.  i looked on webmd and they say to limit dairy, i eat a lot of yogurt, so im now looking to reduce that and find another nondairy protein to have w/ a sandwich at lunch.

hmm, just looked at the site, odd, it says to avoid fruit+veg and high fiber foods, idk, so confusing!!??

^^ high fiber is BAD for delayed gastric emptying but sometimes good for constipation. they aren't the same thing but often ED'd people in recovery struggle with both, hence the confusion. if your symptoms indicate that food actually stays in your stomach for hours after eating, it is gastroparesis. a slow lower GI tract and bloating/pain in your abdomen has more to do with constipation.

both can be treated with meds (metoclopramide/reglan for gastroparesis, non-stimulant laxatives for constipation) or through diet. if your stomach is not emptying properly you need to go very easy on the fruits and vegetables and make sure the ones you do eat are well cooked/mashed etc. high fiber = painful, if you have this problem it will not digest well and will inhibit the digestion of other foods. so easy on the bran cereal/wheat bread etc especially early in refeeding. you also need to take in liquid fats instead of solid fats.

ive had a "slow colon" since before my eating disorder, years before but im not sure if its the same thing as gastroparesis. 

i looked at the site and think i had all the symptoms other than throwing up, ive never thrown up from any of this or had nausea.

i have acid refulx+heartburn but who knows if its connceted to gastroparesis, its so intertwined.  i know my gastroentorologist stressed bran which is high fiber so im ASSUMING, i just have constipation probs and not this other thing?

nah a slow colon isn't the same. gastroparesis means that food takes too long to leave your stomach, it doesn't affect the rest of your GI tract. acid reflux/heartburn is pretty common if you've had an ED too. if you're eating high fiber and lots of fruits and veggies and not curled up in pain and/or throwing up for half the day I'd guess you don't have gastroparesis (disclaimer - not a doctor: :))

ahh, lol, good enough for me!

ive had all ths tomach issues since before the ED, like 10 yrs before it so yea, phew and sorry for those of u who do have this!

altho chronic constipation SUCKSSSSS and im always looking for any suggestions anyone may have!

thanks!

Thanks for the advice everyone! I take a multi-vitamin called "Alive" and I have been for a couple months now. Im actually not constipated at all - infact I did a really dangerous raw food vegan diet for a couple months and things shoot go right through me. Last night I took a shower and combed out my hair and so much came out, I couldn't help but cry. My mom was combing out my hair and I could tell she was worried too. Its so thin!

swimfan93 - I have tried using the heating pad like you suggested and it helped a little. Ive never really tried pro-biotics and im not sure if they are vegan but it is definatly something to look into.

One thing that scares me is working out. Ive never been big on exercise but a couple months ago i started walking two months ago and started doing yoga daily. Ive stopped for now because im worried about that interfering with gaining.

AND the constipation begins!

maybe its mental bc it happens during the week and when i travel, weekends im fine.

i really dont know how to treat/prevent this anyomre??!!

with regards to the hair loss, I can totally relate. Post-ED, my once lovely, long hair was falling out horribly everytime it was washed/brushed and it made me so sad. Especially as it was fine during my most restrictive stages. But the condition of your hair apparently reflects your body's condition around three months previous. However the best thing you can do to repair and stop the hair loss is to eat a really good balanced diet high in proteins and good fats - eggs, nuts etc. And drink plenty of water. Try using a nourishing, natural shampoo that is not too harsh and don't wash your hiar all that often. Also, my hairdresser recommended taking zinc tablets, and brewer's yeast tablets which seems to have helped. Since eating properly again and trying to recover, my hair is a whole lot thicker again where it is growing through, compared to the thin straggly ends which grew in ED times. It is possible to get nice hair again :)

trashcandy I am glad to hear that it can be done. i know what you mean when i was eating maybe 200-300 calories a day for months my hair was perfectly fine and now its breaking my heart to have it fall out. i dont know what to do with how, how did you style/wear you hair when you went through this? i will definatly looks into brewers yeast & zinc.

Also does anyone know how to not gain fat, I have really been trying so hard to eat more but i dont want to gain flabby fat if anything i would like it to be muscle. any ideas?