Hi
I am a 29 year old female. I am 5 feet 1 and about 70 lbs. I have not been exercising for the last 7 months because I have had so much trouble with digestion and my bowels and am now so low weight.
The specific issue was that I was about 85 lbs in the winter (had lost some weight, stress + exercise + genetically that way + caught a bad virus that affected me) and was making myself eat about 1800 cals a day, and exercising lightly maybe 3-4 times a week.
Then I ended up getting these severe stitches in my ribs, especially in the left side area and either all the time, or after eating. Plus I was getting nausea post-eating, and my bowels were either diarrheaic and unhealthy looking or very constipated.
So now I am down to 70 lbs..I consulted a nutritionist for a bit who had ideas I loved cause it matched a lot of the research I did, so started on a plan of little food combining (i.e...fruit alone, no starches with protein, drastic reduction in portein, etc.) She wanted NO protein powders or calorie-counting, and a breakdown of 60% carbs, 25% fat, 15% protein. I loved it but felt i was losing more weight and not gaiining energy.
Seeing a different nutritionist and naturopath now (also seeing GI guy and physician, barium xray showed nothing so far)....has me on HCL supps, probiotics, etc...idea is that I have an unhealthy gut flora because of past history (way overeating or undereating), plus now i am not eliminating huge quantities of feces and if I do it is cloudy, small, either dark or pale, messy looking, just unhealthy....its like the rib stitches are food impacting me that wont come out and the more and more I eat the worse it gets...but docs shrug that off...or barirum swallow showed nothing...
Now this new nutritionist says my BMR is 1100 and I do not exercise (couple lazy walks) but she says to gain half a pound a week I would need 1550 cals per day...eating 6 times per day. She recommended a smoothie in the morning and recommends a rotation of the following powders: VEGA whole food optimizer, VEGA smoothie infusion, Manitoba Harvest Hemp protein....(either with oil or flax, always with berries, etc, but only water she says)....the naturopath disagrees and recommends a smoothie in the morning of: NUTRIbiotiC brown rice protein + nondairy milk + fruits (plus flax or whatnot)...i thnk its all great...but dont know then if i should rotate them or just follow strictly the nutritionist or the naturopath...plus are flavors okay...i feel so so guilty for having chocolate or vanilla,,,but is pectin, xanthan gum, flavorings okay ?
I really want a wholesome, whole-foods, NATURAL, plant based approach (i have eliminated gluten, dairy, wheat, some other stuff), though I am still a big meat eater....
The new nutritionist wants a breakdown of like 50% carbs, 25% protein and fat...but i think my fat is way way more and my protein is down...
yesterday i felt so stuffed, bloated and full it was gross...i FORCED in another huge supper and bedtime snack....and then this morning i just could not stand the thought of forcing more food...so i broke down and just ate a huge apple so far (probably 150 calories, size of 2 apples).....i KNOW it has no protein and i feel so bad for just eating 100% carbs like that....but i just felt like an apple was what i wanted....
for a midmorning snack i will either have a couple TBsps of almond butter, or a bunch of pumpkin seeds or maybe some protein powder + hemp milk...not sure...i SHOULD have something protein heavy...but i just feel like having ONE day of lighter fare....maybe even just a huge avocado salad at lunch...i can still get in the cals but it will be all low in protein and way higher in carbs....is that okay??? ESPECIALLY since i am not exercising???
is it okay to eat a ton of carbs when i am gaining and just resting all the time? I feel incredible guilt its torture sometimes....
anyway,,,any thoughts or advice is great..Thanks so much guys.
BaileyErin
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