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| Author | Topic: Skinny bloater |
| Ganesh 06-04-2003 10:19 AM | Apologies, Wai and RRM, for what is likely to be a rather long, rambling post. I've searched the site and found a few similar queries but no-one in quite the same situation. In some ways, this is a continuation, in dietary terms, of a thread I started on Barbelith over a year ago. Basically, I've always been a skinny individual who found it difficult to gain weight, no matter what I ate - up until my mid-twenties. I'm not sure why things changed - whether my eating habits changed when I met my partner (who was then vegetarian, and who did the bulk of the cooking) or whether there was a more fundamental shift in my metabolism - but I began to put on weight around my middle. At first, I welcomed this (it made trouser-buying easier, for a start) but, as years went by and my waistline went up up up, it became more of a concern. Before I met my partner in 1995, I was around 29-30"; now I'm nearer 36". The weird thing is, I don't seem to be getting fat anywhere else, just my gut... Last year, when I moved to London and joined a gym, my frighteningly enthusiastic American instructor suggested my problem might be abdominal bloating secondary to gluten and/or dairy products - and, thinking about it, I had begun to experience urgency and uncomfortable cramps following meals. I'd been used to drinking a pint of semi-skimmed cow's milk every day; I switched to pure orange juice, and cut out the other dairy. I also tried to remove gluten from my diet altogether. Successful? Hard to say. I didn't experience any dramatic improvement - but then, I found it difficult to stick strictly to the no-wheat, no-dairy regime, particularly at weekends (when I regularly had to travel between London and Edinburgh, and would succumb to British Rail sandwiches). I also didn't keep a journal, so small improvements may have been missed. Anyway, I'm now pretty much 'lapsed' in that I often eat bread, cooked meat, cheese, etc. and drink red wine. I've never gone back to drinking cow's milk, and probably consume more fruit juice (typically in the form of blended fruit smoothies) and mineral water than before. I'm not particularly drawn to sweet things, but find it hard to resist salty foods, crisps, chips, etc. As far as acne goes, I used to suffer dreadfully with as an adolescent but am almost entirely free of it now. I get the occasional spot on my shoulders or neck, but it's not really a concern. My uncomfortable, expanding waistline, however, is - and I think I'm probably ready to try modifying my eating again. Given that this site has such a wealth of (anecdotal) feedback, I'm tempted to try Wai's variant of the paleolithic diet. Given that I'm essentially looking to cut down after-meal bloating/cramping and, if possible, shed some of my burgeoning gut, how should I go about adopting Wai's acne diet? |
| Isis 06-05-2003 06:38 PM | Hello ![[Smile]](../smile.gif) It does not matter if it is overweight or bloat that is causing your waist to expand, IF you follow the sample diet you will DEFINITELY get an improvement in both areas. The acne sample diet is the best way to start, even if you do not suffer from acne. There is a link from it on the homepage of this bulletin board, but here is the link of the pages specifically relating to weight-loss http://www.freeacnebook.com/Part-4.htm I can put money on it that you would get the results you are looking for IF YOU DO EVERYTHING SHE SAYS HERE. Good luck. ![[Big Grin]](../biggrin.gif) |
| Isis 06-05-2003 06:49 PM | quote:I just remembered that I had posted a reply to another thread that dealt with abdominal bloating and cramps, and I had sent a detailed reply there, so here is a link for you... link Please have a look at it. It's lengthy, but for good reason. The one below is just a brief overview... link ![[Cool]](../cool.gif) |
| Ganesh 06-06-2003 05:11 AM | Thanks, Isis! I've no doubt that adopting Wai's acne diet would indeed result in weight loss, but I don't particularly want to lose weight from anywhere other than my abdomen - and I guess I'm wondering if there's any way I should 'tweak' the diet to ensure I don't lose muscle mass, etc. Also, the diet guarantees an improvement in one's skin within two weeks; what sort of timescale would one expect for 'gut reduction'? |
| Ganesh 06-06-2003 06:10 AM | Oh yeah, and having recently been given a smoothie-maker as a present (and enjoying all manner of yummy blended fruit treats), is it a no-no if one's aiming for (selective) weight loss? I know blending the fruit technically 'cooks' some of it... |
| Wai 06-06-2003 03:33 PM | thank you isis! ganesh, are you sure you are determined enough? this is not really a diet 'to do on the side' maybe you should try a different approach? different from the acne sample diet; the diet as described in the book would suit you better i guess quote:well, if excess fat is only located there, then that is possible (you cannot chose from which fat depot to burn fat first, but if there is only one...) and then your next question is right on the spot: quote:yes, absolutely that is where the 'gaining muscles' forum is for (eg; every second that your blood glucose level is too low, muscle protein is converted into available energy) quote:i guess you mean fat reduction...? that depends very much on how strict you are, but is noticed within weeks also, though a much more gradual process in the weeks and months after |
| Ganesh 06-06-2003 04:26 PM | quote:No, I'm not sure I'm determined enough to go with the acne diet (when I was 15 and 'pizza-faced', things would've been different); I think that's why I'm asking these questions. I guess I'm looking for a compromise between my current diet (which is no dairy and lower wheat than previously, and gradually improving in that I'm eating a lot more fruit than before) and the fairly strict acne diet. Which was the diet in the book? I thought I'd read everything, but I think I've missed it... |
| Isis 06-06-2003 09:38 PM | If you read the later chapters in the book, you will come to a section where she says you can gradually introduce 'munch foods'. I think that is the diet she is referring to. It's not the same as the sample diet (which, as I am sure you are well aware, is very strict). Anyway, like I said in my other posts, my friends and colleagues have adopted certain aspects of the diet (just by watching what I eat and trying to do the same) and so far all of them have had a reduction in their waistline. My friend has lost nine pounds (mostly from her midsection). Like Wai said, where you gain weight first is probably where you would lose if from last, so I would give the munch food version of the diet a try if I were you. I am not overweight, but I did have a fairly noticeable gut, and just like my sister...I used to do abdominal crunches etc. thinking that would get rid of it. Like you, I also had difficulties gaining weight as a teen and young adult. Recently, the only time I was able to gain some considerable amount of weight was when I was on steroids (but in hindsight that could have just been water retention). Because the rest of my body was slim, I did not want to lose any weight but to reduce what I thought was fat around my gut. Wai says that if you eat like a cow, you will have a big fat round tummy like a cow...and I laugh anytime I think about it...but she was right. My sister and I now have flat abs and the rest of our body is fairly unchanged. She got hers by giving up milk, I got mine by adopting the acne diet. http://www.13.waisays.com/plants.htm I am still muscular, despite not "working out" AT ALL. You should see the muscle definition on my thighs and biceps...just from eating like this! The only thing I do more of is walking...I find I have to go shopping several times a week now, as opposed to once a week before when I used to eat mostly cooked food. All that walking about from shop to shop (I get the avos from one shop, the eggs from another shop, the mangoes from another shop! etc.) and chugging all those shopping bags along with me have done great wonders for my muscles. Even my flat tummy is becoming 'ripped'. Now you tell me how a woman can develop a sixpack from just carrying bags of food around a few times a week ![[Wink]](../wink.gif) hahaha Maybe now you would understand some of my enthusiasm for this diet... |
| Isis 06-06-2003 10:10 PM | quote:I also had a fairly/brand new smoothie-maker/food processor and an electric slow cooker. Guess where they are now? Yup. I donated them to a charity shop three days ago. The total cost is over £120, but as I had no intention of using them again, what's the point in holding on to them? Rather give it to someone who might actually NEED it, I say. |
| RRM 06-07-2003 01:23 PM | quote:The acne sample diet excludes all munch foods, while the diet in the book is based on eating 'the minimally required amount of fruits etc' for nutrients, so that you then can disregard the nutritional value of that what you are going to eat additionally: that what you prefer selecting on taste. The best much foods (the least 'bad') to eat additionally, are listed here: http://www.freeacnebook.com/54-55.htm and here: http://www.freeacnebook.com/54-55.htm#55 RRM |
| RRM 06-07-2003 01:32 PM | quote:Yes, that is because there is no longer any excess water in your skin that hides your muscle definition. So, in order to get this muscle definition, you can even have a bit more fat under your skin than those that retain more water; the water makes them look fatter. RRM |