Today I have 15 reasons why your New Year’s Resolution left you more bloated than ever.
Why? Because otherwise you might give up trying to heal if you’re setting the wrong goal.
Setting New Year’s Resolutions
The secret is out: Your New Year’s Resolution left you more bloated and miserable than ever because you bought into the New Year’s Resolution “ways.”
One day in December, while doing sprints on the dreadmill treadmill, I came across an article in my Health magazine called, “Yes! The Most Filling Foods.“
The heading proclaimed, “Eat more and get slimmer – we promise – by shopping from this list of truly satisfying, cravings-curbing foods.“
Seemed like a hefty and awesome promise, so I read on.
The article stated,
What makes some grub extra satisfying? “Fiber and protein can help,” says Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet.
Getting more bang for your bite matters, too: Low-energy-density foods, which yield big portions for few calories, “allow you to eat more without gaining weight,” Rolls says. Want some of that? Make room for these secret-weapon picks.
“Super-Weapon Picks” for New Year’s Resolution Healthy Eating
- baked potato
- bean soup
- eggs
- Greek yogurt
- apples
- popcorn
- figs
- oatmeal
- wheat berries
- smoothies
(Each of these items are expanded upon below.)
These food-based promises are ones I believed and adopted each January for most of my life. They always fell short, and I was always more miserable than before.
Based on those promises, along with several other promises aimed at the New Year’s Resolution-ers here are….
{Note: I’m writing from the perspective of the individual with IBS and/or IBD. I’m not talking to the person simply trying to live healthier. If just being healthier is your goal, then many of the ways to live healthier likely apply to you.}
15 Reasons Why Your New Year’s Resolution Left You More Bloated than Ever
Click HERE to save these 15 reasons why your New Year’s Resolution left you more bloated than ever.
You are now eating green vs brown bananas
I’ve become much more keen on Dr. Oz as of late. I think his show is headed in the right direction, but sometimes I shake my head. Recently, he scared everyone away from my brown bananas with his segment on Resistant Carbs.
You may have watched it and in the process you were mad at me for always talking about brown bananas when Dr. Oz said, “Green bananas contain less sugar, more fiber and healthful resistant starch than ripened yellow bananas.”
You decided to go “gluten free,” and headed straight for the “gluten-free” aisle
So, you made it your resolution to stop eating gluten, but instead of taking the time to find the whole, real foods that naturally contain no gluten, you went straight to the “Gluten-Free” aisle.
There are several reasons why this resolution left you miserable. Here are 4 of them.
Baked Potatoes
They are a starchy nightshade, and the combo does not work for everyone.
Bean Soup
Beans are full of fiber and hard to digest for many.
In addition to the bean itself is the soup portion. Most standard soups contain way too many ingredients, fillers and other things which are hard to digest. (Soak your beans and make your own broth if you want to choose this option.)
Eggs
In theory these should be okay, unless you are allergic.
That said, the egg white is mucous-forming, and thus you might need to keep them out for awhile. Some find that they are, in fact, intolerant to it. Rarely is anyone intolerant to the egg yolk.
Greek Yogurt
For one, it’s not all made the same.
Some Greek yogurt has a ton of additives and flavoring added to it. Even the Greek yogurt that is plain and consists only of various (good) bacteria strains might not be what your aching gut needs at this moment.
At the end of the day, commercial Greek yogurt, conventional dairy, is still less-than-top-quality dairy.
Apples
If you eat them with the skin on, the extra fiber might be making you bloated.
Even if you don’t eat them with the skin on, apples are a high FODMAP (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols) food.
Popcorn
It’s “popped” corn.
Corn is a top intolerance, and HERE are 134 alternative names and sources for it. It’s a starch. It’s hard to digest for many.
Furthermore, a lot of commercially-popped popcorn has various oils, dairy and soy derivatives that might also make you ache.
Figs
Some people have a hard time with the sugar in figs; others have a hard times with the hundreds of hard seeds they contain.
Either way, for someone just starting to heal, they might not be your best choice.
Need a tool to help you navigate all of this?
The BEST way to know what’s right for you? Keep a meticulous food and lifestyle journal.
My SECRET gut healing journaling system is the answer!
Either download it instantly HERE (print and use today), or have me ship you the physical, spiral-bound version.
Oatmeal
Is it gluten free?
Even if it is, it’s still a grain….still a starch.
It’s amazing if you do not have gut issues (as a matter of fact, I recommend it to most of “non-Gutsy” friends), but if you have a hurting gut, oatmeal is not always the answer.
Wheat Berries
These would be a horrible idea for my Gutsy friends.
In case you didn’t know, a Wheat Berry is a whole grain form of wheat; tons of fiber, similar to other whole grains. I’d love to cook and bake with these, but if I was sick and in a flare, no way.
Smoothies
This one depends. I’m a fan and advocate of smoothies, but just not in the first few days/weeks probably.
Why? Read: Is Fiber Helping or Hurting Me?
Smoothies are packed with so many things the Gutsy girl could benefit from, but if the gut is nowhere near healed, you might suffer from the extra-oomph a smoothie provides.
You went on a diet; counting calories and cutting fat
This one is HUGE! In fact, I think it is, by far, the most important item on this list. This is one that can be combined with any on this list, and will do more damage to your digestive system. Gut healing is not a diet.
If you fall victim to societies ways and beliefs about restriction on calories and that all fat is bad because it’s all created equal, you will continue taking steps backwards. Now, to that end, read more on food tracking HERE.
The gym became your only BFF
Fitness is good. Moving the body is great. Setting goals is inspiring.
But only focusing on your time in the gym, the number of calories you burn at the gym and how you can “beat your longest time” spent in the gym will only set you up for misery.
Remember, overexercising puts stress on the body.It’s why I am adamant that intense workouts and gut healing cannot coexist.
Those with IBS and IBD need to manage stress daily.
You made too many New Year’s Resolutions
Everyone wants to have something they strive for, something to make them feel like the A+ version they truly are.
But if you made too many New Year’s Resolution, that left no room for YOU to take care of YOU. You must really learn to rest, relax and enjoy more.
The digestive system will thank you. Simplify and start HERE with 11 Gut Healing New Year’s Goals to Set.
Why Your New Year’s Resolutions Left You More Bloated Than Ever Wrap Up
I don’t blame you for doing any of the above.
It’s hard being Gutsy when the rest of the world is simply trying to be “healthy.” I get it.
I really, really get it.
Like you, I did not appreciate or enjoy going my own way vs. the Resolution-ary way these past couple of years.
But I’ll tell you this, the puzzle pieces fit together much more nicely when you go your own way, seek your own answers and practice these ideas based on experience, not theory.
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:
Xox,
SKH
🤰 bloating be gone! weight loss through optimal gut health for women
💃ʜᴇᴀʟ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢᴜᴛ. ʜᴇᴀʟ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟɪfe.
🫶🏻 founder gutbyome.com
maybe i’m late to the game, but i never knew that about green vs brown bananas!! i can’t do brown bananas… in a smoothie or mixed in i can, but not by themselves – itz the mushiness factor that i can’t stand!
A lot of people can’t, and a lot of people don’t *need* to. Even though I need to have them spotted, opposite of you I hate green bananas anyways:)
Sarah, this is SO true! Thank you for sharing. I found egg whites send me in extreme pain, and ate them for years! Potatoes and any form of bananas also do the same thing to me. I tolerate oatmeal okay, so long as I cook it longer and don’t eat overnight oats. I also find rolled oats much more easy to digest than steel cut and I usually only have 1/4 cup per serving, and like to add healthy fats to aid digestion. Luckily, this works well for my gut, so long as I keep portions small. The rest of my day, it’s all about healthy fats and proteins and very little to no starch at all, but plenty of fiber. I find this works well and digestion is seamless, but if I skimp on fat or protein, I find my gut flares up again. Thank you for sharing this! I will be sharing your post with my readers!!<3
Thanks for your perspective, Heather…and for sharing!
I went full steam ahead into smoothie land this year. Definitely need to ease into it!
Rookie:) Well at least I know you didn’t fall for the “eat more Greek yogurt” trick!
Wow! This could not have come at a better time! After overindulging on sweets and baked good over Christmas, I looked forward to getting on a schedule and eating healthy foods. I am an elite athlete, so my diet is very important to me. I decided to try gluten free for 3 weeks, and I thought my body would feel great…..but a few days in my gut was NOT HAPPY and it took a few days before I felt even halfway decent.
I also struggled to find any carbs that were not high in fiber to eat before runs, or just as a snack! I started to get an upset stomach on my runs (significantly more than I did over Christmas). I thought maybe I was the only one, but your post has shown me that I am not. It has not affected my training to a degree that is detrimental, but luckily I am not racing for a few more weeks. I look forward to getting away from my gluten free diet and back to my lower fiber foods!
These are things I’ve been studying for a very long time. Glad to connect, Tina!
Interesting about the bananas, I never knew about that. I like my bananas yellow, not brown and DEFINITELY not green (yuck). But yellow with just a few brown spots is perfect. I knew the darker the banana the sweeter it is but I didn’t know all the other things about it.