one of the motivations to change my diet, was not just to lose wieght but to try and help control and ease the symptoms of my irritable bowel syndrome. Which causes me terrible pain .
Just wondered if any other dieters out there suffers from it and have any dieting tips? that have helped them.
I have cut a range of food items out my diet that agrovates it such as...onions , red meat, white bread, chinese food nd larger and have noticed a difference. As well as weight loss.Also i try to drink decafinated tea to cut caffine intake.

Just wanted to know your stories and advice xxx

Lucky, I've had this for more than 20 years so I feel the pain. IBS is tricky because what works for me may not work for you. What worked for me was lots and lots of fiber! I mean 40-60 g per day. It isn't that difficult for me to get that much. I eat scads of veggies ( but not raw ones - raw ones cause me lots of pain) , la tortillas, snack on popcorn, buy everything that has added fiber. I was still having occasional issues and just 4 months ago, i added probiotic capsules. Even with my whole foods diet, I was still having problems a couple of times a week. In the past 4 months, I can count the number of episodes on one HAND! I am very please with the probiotics and how I've reacted to them.

My triggers are raw veggies, red peppers in almost any form, greasy foods and tight pants... anything tight around the waist just gives me fits.

Hope you find something the helps you.

I've found the one big aggravation to mine is anything fried. But that's okay--we're on a diet and shouldn't eat fried food anyway! Other than that, I can go months without a flare-up and then without being able to pinpoint the cause, I get a bad bout of it. Why does it always seem to happen in the middle of the night thus ruining a good night's sleep? Ugh. Anyway, no real help, but just to let you know you're not alone.

Mom and I both have a form of IBS - LindaT is right and what works for some doesn't work for others. However an inexpensive thing that has worked miracles for us is chamomile tea - we always get bulk flowers and not a packaged tea as it probably has very little chamomile left in it. Just a couple of cups with the steeped flowers and we're better. Other IBS sufferers we know that have tried it either thought it was great like we did - or only had a little relief. However NOTE if you are allergic to ragweed or suspect any sensitivities in this direction I'd only try this under a doctor's supervision.

Ours is definitely stress-triggered, though and not traceable to a particular food. Best wishes for a solution - it's a miserable miserable thing!

I also have a problem with salads or raw fruits and veggies sometimes. Fried foods don't like me which is a good thing. Dairy products also don't agree most of the time. I'm having another episode right now and not sure what's causing it but I do take probiotics and they really have made a difference!

It is frustrating! I found the same thing that others have pointed out. It is hard to figure out. The main thing is to get medical help to rule out anything else. I have a good doctor who did colonoscopy etc. to be on the safe side. Most of the help I've gotten has been from self help forums like this one. Most recommend probiotics which has helped. It turned out I am lactose intolerant and using Lactaid has helped. Researching and keeping track of what foods are triggers is a good thing. However, stress can make all of that even more confusing. You think you are doing everything to the letter and stress can throw it all upside down. Or like greengrass has said I am still having symptoms now too but not the severe pain from previous episodes.

Take care and I hope you find some answers!

I know this is an old thread, but I have IBS as well. My triggers are meat, fried stuff, and anything really fatty. Sadly, I like the taste of all of those!

I also have IBS, and for me it seems almost any change can trigger it. If I eat more veggies than usual (or less), any more (or less) fat.... I have a flare. I used to feel like I was walking a tightrope. If I ate "too much" of anything (and it was hard to know how much was too much), it would trigger a flare.

Now the tightrope is gone and a narrow road has taken it's place. I don't have to be quite as careful as I used to. I don't know if the IBS has just improved with the weight loss, or if I've just learned to manage it better (probably a bit of both).

I eat a lot more fruits and vegetables than I used to, especially in the summer, but I have to gradually increase or decrease the amount I eat, or I'll make myself pretty sick (which I do tend to do during Ranier cherry season, because I love them so much).

It's another reason I try to stick to an exchange plan - because it provides consistency. If I veer too far from my plan, I'll have a flare. I seem to have a bit more flexibility with vegetables than dairy, fruits and fats. Meats/proteins don't seem to matter as much (as long as they're lean proteins).