New Vegan: Diarrhea?!

[Nitrex One]

So Ive been 4 weeks Vegan and I've barely had regular stool. My stools tend to look like Type 6, but I know healthy stool looks like type 3 to 4. https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/poop-chart-bristol-stool-scale My frequency is the same, at least once a day, so I haven't had the need to drink Pepto to avoid irritation. My diet consists of half a plate of steamed or boiled beans, rice, or potatoes although over 80% of the time its beans. The other half of the plate is steamed veggies which are mostly Costco Kirkland Frozen Stir-Fry Vegetable Blend has the following vegetables: broccoli, green beans, sugar snap peas, carrots, red bell peppers, shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, baby corn and yellow onions. I also use a mix that has peas, corn, green beans, and carrots. I take B12 and Vitamin D capsules. To drink, I only drink water (4L+) and protein shakes in water daily. I used to use:

https://www.amazon.com/Orgain-Organ...pY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

Now I use;

https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Life-...n+greens&qid=1566149554&s=gateway&sr=8-3&th=1

Before this 4 weeks of Vegan, I quit drinking a week before. Before then, I binged on alcohol every Friday and Saturday for like the past 5 years. Drinking gave me diarrhea for up to 3 days after drinking so maybe I did some permanent damage to the digestive system after all those years of abuse or perhaps its gonna take much longer to repair. Are these proteins hard on my diegestive system? I try to go 3 times a week to the gym and do heavy weight lifting and 15 mins of cardio so I don't want to lose the protein powders. I understand I need like 80 grams a week. Its completely frustrating having diarrhea after changing to a WFPB diet.

I currently weigh 320lbs after losing 15 lbs. I am able to sleep 8+ consecutive hours where before I only slept 3 to 4 and I had to be up 3 hours before taking another 3, 4 hour nap. I no longer have need for naps during the day. I dont wake up tired. The 1st week I felt my acne was clearing, but it was just a good week, lol. As a side note, I had a mean headache like 3 days ago which is ironic because I've NEVER had a headache while being hungover and somehow after a month of sobriety I get one. I feel something is completely wrong. HELP!

 

[Lou]

I think most people would say you are experiencing the side effects of Detox. I am not entirely convinced that that is a real thing. but I think anything is possible and if anyone was a good candidate for experiencing the side effects of detox - it's you.

You said you weigh 320, and weight lift. what is your Body Fat Percentage? I think it might be of use to know if you are bulked up or just fat. (sorry, I just couldn't think of a nice way to put that). If you don't know your body fat percentage, a trainer at the gym can help you with that. Or how bout this: on a 1 - 10 scale with Offensive Lineman being a 10 and Fat Arnold being a 1, where would you say you are.

The other thing I would like to know. You described just one meal. Do you just eat one meal? Or do you eat that meal three times a day? You seem to have rice or potatoes only sometimes. So it seems like beans and veggies make up your diet. That IS a great diet but not very.... um... comprehensive? Hardly any grains, or seeds, or nuts.

Maybe the number one issue new vegans have is with a sudden increase of fiber. And this, I'm sure, is a real thing. Your gut bacteria are probably going thru a big transition. It will take a while for them to settle down. although 4 weeks seems long enough to me.

We had a young woman here a while back with similar concerns and I think we helped her out. I'll go look for her thread and see if there is any advice you could use that might have worked for her.

One thing I'm pretty sure about is that the best cure for detox symptoms or high fiber/large intestine problems is time.

 

[Vanille]

https://www.quora.com/How-can-following-a-vegan-diet-lead-to-diarrhea

I have the same issue >.< never drank alcohol before however...

BUT, I don't have stomach cramps anymore, nor do I feel bloated (I'm a bit lactose intolerant which explains the bloating) Heck, I'm on my first period as vegan and feeling great (I'm tired and of course leaking blood, but no cramps!) I think in my case it's the fiber intake that changed drastically... I wasn't a very healthy person, even as vegetarian. Also I bake everything in oil instead of butter now. My appetite is healthier thanks to veganism (which is good as I actually ate too little for an adult woman and am scared of losing weight)

 

[Lou]

This is the thread I was looking for.

Vegetarian to vegan stomach issues:

Hello! I am new here. As the title suggests, I am a vegan that has transitioned from vegetarianism 4 days ago. The results have been amazing to say the least. While I wasn't excited about going vegan, my energy has been through the roof and my depression is gone! :) My joint inflammation has...

www.veganforum.org

 

[Nitrex One]

@Lou On your scale I would say im a 4 or less. I have about 4 meals a day. I avoid seeds and nuts since Im trying to lose weight.

 

[Lou]

@Lou On your scale I would say im a 4 or less. I have about 4 meals a day. I avoid seeds and nuts since Im trying to lose weight.

I plugged into Cronometer what I thought was a close facsimile of your diet. May have made some bad assumptions and I simplified.

First off I gotta say that for a simple diet it is very healthy.

The best thing about your diet is the protein. You said your goal was 80 grams of protein. The supplement was 20 and the rest of your diet was 60. So that is fantastic. You hit the goal exactly.

Carbs is a bit of a mixed bag. 72% of your diet is carbs, which is a little on the high side. However, your fiber intake is 80 grams. That is very high and it is not surprising that your body is having trouble adapting to it. If this was last month, I would have told you to do whatever you can to reduce your fiber intake. But I think after 4 weeks your body should be well on its way to getting accustomed to it. So I think the worst is behind you. (no pun intended)

Something that is a little concerning is your calorie intake which is only 1200. Granted you are trying to lose weight but I think calorie counts that low are problematic. Related to that is your fat intake. Only 5 grams, about 4% of your total calories. Fat is an important nutrient. It's just that most people don't worry about it cause most people eat way too much of it. But it is possible to eat too little fat. Fat is important for many things, and one of them if for good "brain health". The mRDA of fat is somewhat debatable. but I think the lowest number is 10% or about 12 grams. So go ahead and add a tbsp of ground flax seeds on your stir fry and maybe even another tbsp of sesame seeds. And just grab a handful of peanuts when you get home from the gym.

You are a little deficient on Calcium, Potassium, A, E, and all the other Bs. The calcium can be solved with just 2 regular strength tums. Or a glass of soy milk. The other stuff can be solved with a multi or some fruit.

So how do you feel today?

 

[TofuRobot]

Hello and Welcome!

First of all, good for you on both accounts, but especially for quitting the alcohol! I quit drinking about a year after becoming vegan (last year July and August the year before, respectively). I am pretty sure alcohol was giving me IBS (I was a daily drinker - a couple of bottles of wine/day was pretty typical). (I happen to believe that my decision to become vegan had a lot to do with my ultimate decision to eliminate alcohol from my diet, and is why I hardly experienced much in the way of withdrawals, but that's a whole other story)

I have heard that it can take 6-8 weeks for your body to adjust to drastic changes in your diet, but I don't have a source in my pocket for that atm. If you're eating more fruits and vegetables than you were before, you definitely have increased the fiber in your diet, which, due to the current balance/imbalance of your gut flora, can cause diarrhea (please note I'm not a doctor, etc etc). It is my understanding, however, that your gut flora will change to accommodate your new diet and will bring things back into balance again.

I also think the headaches and general "miserable" feeling you're having is definitely part of the detox from the alcohol.

I'm sure Lou has mentioned this already, but maybe check in with Chronometer to get a general sense that you're meeting all your nutritional requirements; probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get a checkup with blood work done if you haven't done so recently; and for sure, stay hydrated - it sounds like you have that last part covered, which is good. I do *not* think you have permanently damaged your digestive tract. Our bodies are more resilient that we think. You just need to take it easy and be kind to yourself during this healing process. You were putting a lot of toxins in your body for a long time. It takes time for your body to get rid of it all, and that process isn't necessarily comfortable.

Oh and the SLEEP....! isn't that the best?!? I had the worst insomnia before I quit drinking!! I sleep like baby now. It's so lovely!!

 

[VeganForHealth]

More beans, rice, potatoes, etc.

 

[Andy_T]

Hello Nitrex, welcome to the forum and welcome to the vegan lifestyle!

Just a small side remark from my side - you mention going to the toilet at least once a day.
For vegans, that's not a very high frequency, I myself have bowel movements much more frequently, would say at least 3 times a day. Don't know if that is representative, however.

When I first went vegan in 2009 (after 15 years as vegetarian), I was experiencing an increased amount of flatulence for some months, but eventually that normalized, too.