Why the Whole30 Diet Is Giving You, Um, Some Bowel Problems (2024)

FAQs

Why the Whole30 Diet Is Giving You, Um, Some Bowel Problems? ›

Vegetables with FODMAPs, like onions, garlic, broccoli, and cauliflower, can ferment in the colon, causing gas and diarrhea. So if Whole30's giving you bowel problems, try eliminating these and seeing if the issue goes away.

Yet you're still experiencing troublesome gastrointestinal symptoms late into your program, or even after your Whole30 is finished. You might be experiencing bloating, flatulence, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and/or constipation, and possibly even headaches, fatigue, and mood instability.

The Whole30 diet is cutting dairy, alcohol, legumes, added sugars, and processed foods for 30 days. Potential risks include constipation and an inability to keep off weight lost while following it. The diet may also be expensive to follow, as it can involve buying a lot of meat and fresh produce.

Fiber: You are likely eating far more fiber on your Whole30 (from vegetables and fruit, or on a Plant-Based Whole30, from legumes). A dramatic increase in fiber can lead to gas and bloating.

Your 1-Day Healthy Whole30 Meal Plan

You might experience headaches, bloating, stomachaches, sugar cravings, and — yes — diarrhea. This is likely the result of all the fiber you're taking in through fruits and vegetables, and it's especially likely to happen if you didn't eat a lot of fiber before.

“At the end of the day, nutritional advice should be individualized," he says. "It's a very restrictive diet, and it can cause some serious problems. There's definitely some research showing that there's some crossover with eating disorders. Most of the time, [Whole30] is unnecessary.”

The Whole30 is an excellent way to help heal your gut since the foundation of the program is pure whole foods. In addition, there are several gut healing foods and supplements known for their ability to improve digestive health that you may wish to consider.

According to the official Whole30® website, once those 30 days are up, it's up to you to “carefully and systematically reintroduce those foods you've been missing”.

Why shouldn't you do Whole30? ›

The Whole30 diet could make your blood sugar levels fluctuate. It can also cause inflammation in your gut, and hurt your health. If you have diabetes or irritable bowel syndrome, you might want to avoid the Whole30 diet.

In addition, while the Whole30 is totally doable for a 30, 60, or 90 day period, it wasn't designed to be a part of your everyday life forever.

Many individuals have reported successful weight loss outcomes while following the Whole30 guidelines. One key aspect of the Whole30 program is the elimination of processed foods and added sugars. By removing these from your diet, you are reducing your intake of “empty calories” and highly processed ingredients.

Sure enough, I was up 2.6lbs “overnight.” It's water retention and the beginning of the infamous “my pants are tighter” phase of Whole30 as the body continues expelling all the junk and getting used to a new way of eating. Day 8ish is usually a bit of a digestive adventure, so we'll see where things go.

I encourage you to read the whole post (and the experience that prompted it), but I'll summarize it here: If you get one bite into a less healthy treat and realize it's not worth it, stop eating.

On Whole30, you can eat meat, vegetables, fruit, tree nuts and seeds, and healthy fats. However, you must avoid sugar, grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, and processed food additives. Although it would be difficult and very restrictive to maintain long term, the Whole30 is designed to be done only for 30 days.

The Whole30 diet could make your blood sugar levels fluctuate. It can also cause inflammation in your gut, and hurt your health. If you have diabetes or irritable bowel syndrome, you might want to avoid the Whole30 diet.

Heavy cream, butter, and fatty meats, such as bacon, can all be very hard to digest, which can result in cramps, bowel issues, and other digestive issues.