IP stomach aches
 

I am starting my 4th wk on ideal protein and after I have one of the protein packs I am getting very bad stomach aches I am drinking a ton of water and I have loss 17lbs and I wouldnt want to stop I am taking the enzymes and no relief any suggetions thanks:?

There could be a few reasons, and I know I don't know all fo them. I can think of 2 off the top of my head:

1) Are you going to the bathroom regularly? You should be going at least once a day. I know that constipation can be a problem for some on IP (while diarrhea is a problem for others). If you've got "the big C," you may be bloated and have stomach aches because of that.

2) You say that it's after you've had a protein packet, which makes me wonder if you have an allergy to one or more of the ingredients. Some of these products have gluten in them, for example. If you have an allergy or intolerance to gluten, that can cause stomach pain/problems.

I'm hoping someone will add to this to help you out. Showgirlaz, for one, is full of great wisdom and information. Maybe if you look through her past posts, she may have answered this question with someone else before. By the way: Showgirlaz isn't the only one with a wealth of knowledge, so definitely look around the FAQ, etc. in the Stickies to see if anyone else has also shared their expertise. :D

Is it pain, or nausea? If it's nausea, you're not having enough vegetables.

Talk to your coach, but that's what it was for me. Your body needs more carbs than it's currently getting, and you get carbs from veggies. Increase your veggie intake, and they should go away.

I have stomach pains as well - sort of nausea feeling. It's only in the morning and sortly after my potass. pill. I've tried to take my pill with my morning protein but it doesn't help. any suggestions? (I'm starting week 2)

Wait till lunch and take it when you have more food in your stomach..not just a little protein. It may help!

hmmm... how about a little Brocolli Rabe? If this is the big "C"... this is sure to help...
M

One cause of nausea in the morning after starting IP is if you're not accustomed to eating breakfast. IP forces you to eat breakfast, and if your body isn't used to it, you might feel a bit sick to your stomach. It goes away eventually. Hopefully that's what it is, and not the potassium!

I also have to take my "morning" vitamins at lunch. One of them was making me nauseous, and I think it was the potassium, also. Problem solved if I eat lunch, then take them all within a few minutes of eating. I've never taken vitamins regularly, so this is a huge issue for me. :dizzy:

thanks for the info!

Stomach aches
 

I too seem to be having stomach aches. It's not the big C as I have had plenty of bowel movements. It seems right after I eat my stomach starts gurgling and aching. Feels somewhat bloated and full. But also feels like strong gnawing hunger pain. I am full from my meals so it's not hunger. And doesn't matter how much or how little I eat :( I'm afraid I am sensitive to the proteins and don't want to have to stop diet :(

Any ideas? Day 6 of diet, day 4 of stomach aches.

8lbs weight loss so far.

After about week 3-4 I started getting really nauseous at night after dinner. My coach said it just happens and to have a extra packet. That didn't seem to help much. Someone on here suggested the Mag-Cal vitamins could be causing it, that they are too strong. So instead of taking 2 at breakfast and 2 at dinner, I take one at every meal/snack and spread them out. This has totally fixed the problem for me and I haven't felt sick in a couple months!

If you have that queezy feeling give that a try! Good luck!

When I first started I had to have a snack before I went to bed because if I didn't I would feel so sick in the morning.

I've never felt any "reactions" to the packets - but there have been several threads regarding some people having allergic reactions to IP packet ingredients. If you post on the daily chat I'm sure Wuv will respond - she has the ingredient list for several products and checks that thread more than others.

Also even before IP, I always had to take my vitamins with a 'substantial' amount of food or else I would feel sick. One of my coworkers used to actually vomit up his multivitamin if he took it on an empty stomach. I also have the same 'sick' feeling if I drink green or white tea on an empty stomach.

I too am getting severe stomach pains...not all the time though. They are not nausea it's actual pains that take my breath away.

I would look to see if there is a correlation with the vitamins. Just about all vitamins (including the IP vitamins) make me horribly nauseous unless I take them on a totally full stomach ... as in take the vitamins following the last bite of food. If I wait even a half hour after I eat I get terrible heartburn and nausea.

This might explain the heartburn I've been getting at night....maybe I need to take the vitamins earlier.

stomach issues
 

Mine doesn't seem to be the vitamins. It's every time I eat actual food. This morning I woke up with only heartburn and no stomach ache finally. I had my protein shake and vitamins and nothing so far. But I think when I actually eat lunch is when the stomach ache will be back..at least it's been that way for 5 days :(

I will eat and then my stomach will gurgle and just ache for HOURS. Even with dinner (which included no IP products). I wonder if it's a sensitivity to the IP products anyway, or maybe my stomach is overproducing acid because of less food. Hmmm... Just worried they will make me quit program :(

Sorry for rambling I am just so worried and frustrated. And don't know if it's a medical issue or diet issue.

star2nite- I too have the same issue after eating my rtd. 2 things ive noticed helps though to relieve it:

1) Eat some raw veggies and drink a good amount of water
2) Add some salt into your diet
3) Try a heat pack on the stomach too

I myself have found out that i have an allergy to gluten and wheat and so i have had to cut out most of the packets except for the RTD's. I feel much better..still have a stomach ache..but i notice it gets better after eating a few veggies.. i eat cucumbers along with my shake

Thanks for the reply...that's what I have been doing for days. I was eating different veggies wondering if it was maybe my stomach rebelling to so much healthy food haha. I add plenty of salt...on the veggies, salad, meats at dinner etc. And a heating pad has been my best friend.

I'm getting ready to eat lunch...we'll see how it goes :smug:

Feel Better! Heating pads are your friend.. By the way.. have you tried something like Maloxx.... cause i take it when i have a stomach ache or gassyness and it seems to help. I actually went to the doctor who perscribed a medication for my stomach called Donperidone. It helps to elliminate the contents of the stomach into the intestinal tract. Apparently, my stomach aches are caused my stomach not emptying into my intestinal tract fast enough..so the food just sits there and makes me feel really full and bloated and crampy..

The other thing you might try is pepermint extract. I know it sounds funny, but ive noticed that by putting a dab of pepermint on my tounge, makes me feel better..the reason being that pepermint is soothing to the stomach and aids in digestion. You might also try either a cup of lemon ginger tea or pepermint tea...both are herbal and really soothing for the stomach...ginger is especially good for digestion..but be careful if you buy it in bulk, because some of the gingers are candied..You are better to buy ginger fresh.. grate it into a cup of hot water and then add some squeezed lemon juice and some splenda or xylitol to sweeten...

The only other thought i can think is that you are sensitive to sweetners..and in that case, you might have to be careful as to how much splenda you ingest or other sweetners if thats the case. I know my stomach gets really crampy when i ingest too much splenda. If thats the case, drink extra water to help flush it through.

Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions I have written them all down!

So today I experimented and had successful results. I didn't have any IP packets or drinks, I used Protein drink from Costco with comparable Proteins, carbs, etc., and at lunch had different veggies and an egg for my protein and no tummy ache.... I may be sensitive to something in the IP products. I am giving myself a rest from the "suffering" today and will try one of the packets tomorrow. I won't cheat though, just changing it up a little to see what the culprit is. As of now it seems to be the IP packets (herb omelet, chocolate RTD, peach/mango RTD, and bars). And doesn't it figure I just spent $60 to purchase a box of the omelette's and chocolate RTD because I really liked them :(

Thank you everyone, I am so relieved I can stay OP. Just have to figure out what my body will tolerate :)

Yah.. i hear ya..that was my issue too.. as much as i loved so many of the packets i could not do it. I actually use the atkins rtd's as my rtd...I cant do pure protein powders because of the high whey content..so i stick with atkins rtds...the vanilla and chocolate ones are great. They are a bit higher in count for calories, but the carb content and the protein content is compareable.

For the last week I have been experiencing stomach pain, nausea and extreme diarrhea. I haven't been taking the supplements to see if that was the cause, but not getting any better. Any thoughts?

I get a gurgling tummy after I eat too. I think it might be the lettuce for me. Ive hardly had a solid BM since I've started a month ago......very watery.

Sucralose gives many people loose bm...

I had to quit using pretty much anything that had sucralose in it because it caused major bathroom issues. It was either that or the sugar alcohols in the Pure Protein Bars I was eating, the WF products and/or the EAS RTD shakes. Even though I had been using those items for weeks, all of a sudden I just couldn't tolerate them. Within hours of doing that, my system was back to normal. I found a protein powder that doesn't have any artificial ingredients and just don't have any kind of bar for a snack. I am doing my own version of IP for a variety of reasons and am finding my own way of maintaining my almost 25 pound weight loss.

I don't know why,

But for the last 2 weeks or so I have been waking up with these hellacious stomach pains causing me to either A.) take an early morning bathr or B.) dry heave (because it’s the morning and there’s not really anything in my stomach to puke up) and/or vomit.

This is literally how my morning goes: wake up
stomach grumbles
walk to restroom conveniently located in room, turn on faucet so my bf can’t hear anything
try to go back to sleep
…nope, can’t do it

It’s really frustrating. The pains feel like intense hunger pains which is completely understandable; I work out and the majority of things I eat are healthy(ier). I eat and eat and eat to satisfy these pains, but they just stay there.

Someone mentioned a gluten reaction, which made me wonder about lactose intolerance. Does anyone have that issue with the IP packets/foods? I haven't started yet, but I want to go into it armed with as much info as I can. :)

In the last week I have also been having severe stomach pains/nauseau (sp). Then yesterday the big 'D' began (up till now it's been the big 'C' for me). I don't know if it's a coincidence, but I began taking a collagen supplement due to hair loss a few days before the pains began, 1 p/day. Nothing else has changed and I'm now in week 10 of IP. Guess I'll stop the collagen to see if it helps.

In the past week and a half, I've had some stomach pain too, but usually after I eat dinner, not after a protein pack.

Gallbladder
 

I stopped Ideal protein after a month of severe gas nightly. I lost weight quickly, but I was afraid of what was happening inside of me.
My coworker did it as well and ended up with having to get her gallbladder removed. I also had two clients who also had their gallbladders removed after using it. Other people have told me they've had gastric issues since using the program. It makes me wonder exactly what it's doing to people's health.

I had my gallbladder removed many years ago so not an issue for me. No gastric issues either - it is the opposite for me as not having a gallbladder, makes it harder to break down fat so IP causes me to have no issues as compared to my fallback eating of high carb/high fat as well as my ketogenic plan which is also high fat. Not to be too graphic but I have to run to the bathroom at times in the latter cases but never so with IP.

Having said that, I believe there are things you have to watch out for being on such a low calorie, low ingested fat diet. For me, I decided that in spite of different issues I have had that I have shared extensively with this community, I still choose to do IP for weight loss as I found it to be the most effective. My thought process is that if I go by how I am feeling, then that is a pretty good guide, and I feel tremendously better with less stored fat/being smaller - inflammation is down - so it is all about tradeoffs but I have realized that lower carb is much better for me and I haven't been able to lose weight on a low carb diet except for IP. I believe in the science of low carb but I realize it goes beyond just "low carb" and for whatever the reason, the macro mix for IP works for me as I have tried same calorie count and different macro mix and did not lose weight.

That does not mean I just blindly follow IP either - I am always assessing but the above is my thought process in spite of having some health issues while on it (however, different than what you describe).