Constipation/No Bowel Movement

stephygold73

Hello,

I have been doing a Low Carb diet since the beginning of the year and haven't had any real bowel movement without the help of a laxative. Is there a way to correct this without adding too many carbs or using a laxative?

gettinthere

Magnesium supplements seem to help me in this department.

ellynmae

Miralax is not a laxative or a chemical. My Dr says I can take it indefinitely.

Sunny_Bunny_

You only mention not going often but make no mention of symptoms of constipation like a heavy gut or discomfort or a need to strain.
Not going often isn't the same as constipation. I just want to make sure we are talking real constipation here because you naturally go less when you don't eat filler foods.
That said, I did have recurring minor constipation for my first year and later discovered that fiber was the CAUSE for me. I have zero issues as long as I eat no veggies/fiber.
Another VERY COMMON cause of real constipation upon going very low carb is sodium deficiency. Are you getting 3000-5000mg every single day?

BishopLord

Add chia or flax seeds to your diet. Most brands are 5g of carbs and 4g of fiber per Tbps serving. Great way to add extra fiber to your diet, and a lot cheaper than buying Metamucil. I bought a brand the other day from Amazon that is 5g of carbs and 5g of fiber. This evening I put two Tbps of chia seeds in a bowl of water and let it sit for two hours in the fridge. When I took it out, it was really thick like tapioca, and I added a little no sugar maple syrup for flavor. Great tasting snack.

Since I just started started LC 5 days ago and have never met my daily fiber goals, I'm going to add a couple of these chia snacks to my daily meal plans, and put the flax seeds in my protein shake.

nomorepuke

What do you eat? I'm surprised by your post because my metabolism skyrocketed since I started the low carb diet. Are you not eating enough? Or are you not eating enough veggies? Greek yogurt may help, since it has probiotics.

nvmomketo

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

You only mention not going often but make no mention of symptoms of constipation like a heavy gut or discomfort or a need to strain.
Not going often isn't the same as constipation. I just want to make sure we are talking real constipation here because you naturally go less when you don't eat filler foods.
That said, I did have recurring minor constipation for my first year and later discovered that fiber was the CAUSE for me. I have zero issues as long as I eat no veggies/fiber.
Another VERY COMMON cause of real constipation upon going very low carb is sodium deficiency. Are you getting 3000-5000mg every single day?

So true. BM volume and frequency often drops on a LCHF diet. Are you still going normally or are you on to hard, cracked logs or pellets? (sorry TMI)

Magnesium supplements will help. Magnesium oxide is you REALLY need help but magnesium citrate is a safer and gentler bet.

More fats help if it fits your calories. Coconut oil seems to get people moving well. Nuts can help too.

Salt helps. Add a teaspoon of salt to water in the morning if you aren't getting enough.

Coffee sometimes helps too.

Some people benefit from more fibre too but I would avoid bulking fibres. It can make things harder to get going.

kpk54

Exercise helps many. Keep moving to keep "moving".