Increased fiber and stomach upset?

[Cassiel]

So I've been doing Fuhrman's "Eat To Live" diet pretty devoutly for the last week or so, which has effectively made me a non-strict de facto vegan. This means I've been eating almost strictly fruits, vegetables, beans and one or two servings of whole grains a day. I know my fiber intake has increased fairly drastically because I track it on fitday. I'm not experiencing much intestinal distress which is nice (but I've been veg for 2 years now so this way of eating isn't really foreign, it's just MORE so), but yesterday I got a really upset stomach and it lasted all night. I thought maybe I wasn't getting enough water so increased that last night and today, but my stomach still feels iffy. I'm sure it'll take a little time for it to right itself, but is this common and what can I do to prevent it happening again? If it helps, what I ate yesterday is this:
1.5 c. of oatmeal with 1 T of flax seed (ground)
1 c. soymilk
1/2 c black beans on whole wheat tortilla
mango
fruit salad with mangoes, strawberries, kiwi
caponata consisting of tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, onion, capers etc 3/4 c. brown rice
green beans with mushrooms and shallots
1 c. soymilk

Thanks! :)

[@Raeven]

beano always helps my tummy, as does drinking at MINIMUM 48 oz of water a day (i'm an herbal tea gal.. so i make up for water with LOTS of herbal teas...)

some of the veggies you ate are more.. well.. gassy than others. I know that bell peppers and onions do a number on my tummy unless they are cooked until soft. just take it slow, and your body will adjust to the higher fiber content..

[MollyGoat]

Here's my advice:

1. CHEW your food. Way longer than you think you have to. I am very bad at doing this! But I notice a big difference in gas/bloating when I do. Your saliva should be the first thing that breaks down your food and it needs time.
2. While you're transitioning, cook your food very well--steam your vegetables until they're a little more tender than you'd normally have them. Let your body off the hook a little. Give it maybe another week before you stop cooking them really well.
3. Drink half your body weight in water in ounces a day. (I know Fuhrman doesn't think you need much water, but I think he's wrong on that.) In other words, if you weighed 160 pounds, you'd try to drink 80 ounces of water a day. If you weighed 200, you'd try for 100 ounces a day.

I hope that this helps! But I think ultimately, time will help you the most. Have you gone through the pissing-like-a-racehorse stage yet? :D I always go through that when I go back on Fuhrman...must be all the salt leaving my system.

[Cassiel]

Thanks for the advice! I'm a long distance runner so I drink a lot anyway but maybe I need to drink more? I'll try that. And interestingly, last night was The Night Of Pissing Like A Racehorse. That's to be expected, is it? :D Feeling pretty good on this diet otherwise though. Ok, I'll try cooking things more. That's good since I like cooked veggies better anyhow.