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I am new to this site and new to IBS. I have not been medically diagnosed
It's really safest to get a firm medical diagnosis. Since this has been a problem your whole life you almost certainly don't have anything like colon cancer but there are other chronic conditions that can mimic IBS.

I was looking at the IBS food chart and I realized that most protein sources are trigger foods and I was wondering how people get enough protein? Is it just about eating small amounts of protein at one time?
Egg yolks are a trigger but egg whites are fine and the white contains at least half the protein found in an egg. You can substitute ground turkey breast for ground beef in most recipes. All seafood is fine as are skinless chicken breasts. You may be able to tolerate nut butters in reasonable quantities. And some people get their protein from vegetable sources like beans and soy.

As for small amounts, overeating anything can trigger IBS attacks for some people and most IBSers do better if they eat frequently throughout the day so somewhat smaller meals/snacks are a natural result of that.

Also, I've been trying to do an elimination diet to find out what triggers my particular IBS. I think that I'm ok with yogurt but than again, I've been bloated all my life so I'm not sure if it's good for me.
Under Heather's guidelines, all dairy products are considered triggers.

Is there a general rule of thumb about what works for you and what doesn't? My rule so far has been if there is no pain, it's ok, but I know that digestion is more complicated than that!
Sometimes I react to trigger foods and irritants immediately, sometimes it takes a while. For me, the safest thing to do is stick to Heather's guidelines and if I do stray from them figure I'm cheating and will pay for it eventually. You might take a look at this old post for an explanation of why it's important to eliminate all triggers food to begin with.

Thanks for your help everyone and by the way, this is an amazing site!!
Welcome to the Boards. HTH.

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