Hi Cairo,

I have the same problem you do--except I look about 3 months pregnant rather 
than 6.  Sometimes my abdomen is sticking out when I wake up, but sometimes 
it's flat in the morning, and then starts to stick out as soon as I eat.  
Regardless of how flat it starts out, my abdomin tends to become increasingly 
bloated over the course of the day (or used to), so by evening what I put on 
in the morning may be tight around the waist and uncomfortable, though it fit 
fine when I put it on.  Like you I am 5'6".  I weigh a little less than you, 
but not much less.  I have a history of bowel problems--specifically, 
ulcerative colitus.  Do you have bowel problems that you know about?

Is it your lower abdomen that's sticking out?  (That's the case with me.)  
This is a sign that your intestines are bloating, and it has nothing to do 
with drinking water.  One common cause of lower abdominal bloating is 
candida.  Dr. Robert Atkins says that lower abdominal bloating is a primary 
symptom of candida overgrowth.  In any case, it is a sign that food is 
fermenting in your bowel.  Grains and dairy can cause this (each for 
different reasons), but other foods that are legal on a paleo diet can cause 
it, too.  If you have a candida overgrowth problem and are eating very sweet 
food (lots of fruit or--worse--dried fruit like raisins), it will feed the 
candida.  A typical candida diet eliminates all foods that taste sweet (this 
includes fruit) for some period of time (6 months to a year).  I can't stick 
with that, so instead I loaded up on probiotics to get my intestinal flora 
back in balance.  The two obvious food sources for probiotics (yogurt and 
homemade fermented veggies--store-bought is usually not biologically active) 
are not paleo, so you might want to use supplements.

A good one is Primadophilus, from Nature's Way (company).  It's enteric 
coated to survive stomach acid--100% intestinal release.  Otherwise (they 
say) up to 95% of the bacteria can be lost in the stomach.  Each 290 mg 
capsule contains 2.9 billion bacteria: bifidobacteria (bifidobacterium breve 
and bifidobacterium longum) and lactobaccili (lactobaccilus rhamnosus and 
lactobaccilus acidophilus).  It's hypoallergenic and contains no dairy. 
 Other ingredients are malodextin, gelatin, gelatin enteric coating, and 
magnesium sterate.  You can get it in the refrigerator section of health food 
stores.

Or you may want to use yogurt for a while.  It's sort of "borderline" 
paleo--a minimal breaking of the rules.  Make sure you buy yogurt with both 
the acidophillus and bifidus bacteria.  Brown Cow is a good brand.  Or 
Stonybrook Farms.  These are organic yogurts, whole fat and not homogenized 
(yogurt cream on top).  I was actually using these as starter cultures and 
making my own yogurt for a while, using raw milk from a local farm.

I was eating huge amounts of yogurt before starting the paleo diet, and 
between that and the probiotic supplements my bloating problem is much 
better.  This is not to say my stomach doesn't stick out--it does--but it 
doesn't grow in the course of the day like it used to.  It's sticking out all 
the time now because I've actually gained weight since starting the paleo 
diet.  Diets of any kind tend to make me gain weight because of the craziness 
I feel when my food is being restricted (the classic diet/binge syndrome).  
That's a whole separate issue, of course.  If you'd like to discuss this off 
list, please write to me at [log in to unmask]

     - Sheryl


In a message dated 10/11/2001 5:10:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
[log in to unmask] writes:


> I have been living the paleo way for nearly four weeks now and have not had
> any weight loss. This doesn't really bother me as I no longer feel sick when
> I eat. My problem is my stomach. It seems fine in the mornings and looks
> fairly flat but by the time I've had breakfast and about a litre of water it
> bloats to make me look about 6 months pregnant. This has been happening for
> ages now and I can't figure out why. I used to think it was because of all
> the starches and carbs (bread, pasta etc) I was eating but I have now cut
> them out and still get bloating. This may sound strange but is there a way
> to drink water? I never used to drink more than a glass or two until I
> started paleo and now I am trying to consume a minimum of two litres a day.
> I'm wondering if this is perhaps too much for my body. Should I be slowly
> increasing my water intake till I can comfortably reach two litres or should
> I continue the way I am? I am 150lbs, 5'6", medium frame and would like to
> lose around 30lbs. Is the problem my lack of stomach muscles? I haven't
> gotten round to starting an exercise routine yet. I'd like to have an idea
> how to fix this as the trousers that are comfortable for me when I put them
> on in the morning, are totally tight and constricting by lunchtime.
> 
> Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated
> 
> Cairo
> X
>