Constipation help....

bex220712

Hi guys. I've always suffered with IBS for many years. I started calorie counting Jan 18 after BP was high. I've lost a total of 4 stone and 3lb. I swim/gym 6 times a week and also walking. I eat a lot of veg, lean meat, rice, pasta and fish and stick to my 1700 calorie deficit. I drink 2litres a water a day ( only water) dont do hot drinks. Now before all that I would drink pepsi/coca cola for fun of it. Never had a problem with going to toilet but since healthy eating I'm always constipated. I either have banana or weetabix for breakfast depending if am in a rush. Plus not big eater in morning. What else could I have to help me go to toilet? That wont affect my weight loss. I'm currently at 16st 12 from 21.1st and I'm 5ft 7. I just started drinking green tea from today it's awful 🙈 but I dont want to have to go docs who will give me something to take. Prefer to try home remedies please thanks all

jelleigh

Sometimes adding a bit of soluable fibre to a morning drink will help.
Personally I take 500 mg of Magnesium Citrate every other day (or maybe less often if I don't need it) and drink lots of water. It works by pulling more water into your intestines which keeps keep things moving. It's not a laxative in the traditional sense so it's not likely to cause dependencies.
Also making sure you have enough healthy fats in your diet can assist.

bex220712

Jelleigh which healthy fats do you suggest?

WholeFoods4Lyfe

I take Magnesium every day. You could also ditch the banana, they can be binding.

Maybe not the best option, but those Fiber One bars make me go #2 every time.

tlou5

Coffee is an instant trigger for me. Agree with cutting the bananas down they are a binder. Prunes and raisins are healthy and help me out sometime too.

JesNotJen

Try a bowl of prepared oatmeal, daily! It might take a day or two at first but it’s a winner for me.

EmBeatie

I have no idea but here's some objective medical advice and they should know. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/constipation/

Kita1818

I second the prunes and oatmeal ideas; work for me.
But also, have you tried a probiotic? Just every other day or every 3 days, for 2 weeks could get you back on track - just my personal experience.

bex220712

I don't drink coffee dont like it lol. I was thinking bananas may not help so will ditch them for a while. I will try the bars and also the probiotic. Hopefully all this will help thank you all very much

shaumom

Okay, my thoughts.

What you describe, getting C from changing to a healthy diet? Unless your diet's fiber content dropped like stone (which would be unusual in the diet you described, but not impossible), or you are not getting enough fluids, that's not normal. I think that's important to think about, you know?

This is not a normal, healthy bodily response to changing the diet the way you've described.

Which likely means something is going on that you may want to know about. Combine that with a previous IBS diagnosis, and that makes it even more likely something weird is going on, honestly.

Obviously nobody is going to know what's going on, but I have a family that had a lot of gut and bowel issues, and so joined a lot of support issues for folks with gut and bowel issues, so I'll just pass on some of the things i've learned, in case they are helpful.

1. Bananas being binding is actually just a myth. It seems to have started because bananas were part of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, toast) that was supposed to help if you had diarrhea. The premise was literally just speculation by doctors, because these foods 'seemed' like they would be bland and help the gut rest, so they would likely help kids who had a stomach bug and needed to recover. The idea that these foods firm your stools is the result of being in that diet, but it's not true. The BRAT diet has even been abandoned because it isn't all that helpful, in reality. (although to be fair, very, very under ripe bananas can cause trouble, but they are typically unpleasant to eat too).

2. Have you ever been checked for celiac disease? Celiac disease is often misdiagnosed as IBS in early stages. Celiac disease can cause diarrhea OR constipation, depending on the person. Docs don't know why, but it happens. I know that sometimes you'll see a reaction to increasing wheat products when someone is trying to eat healthy (like having more whole grain pasta, say), and that can be a clue that something is going on.

Celiacs just have to eat gluten free and the problem goes away. But first, the level of gluten free is very intense, down to peanut allergic folks avoiding peanut contamination, so it's a pain to do if you aren't a celiac. And second, you can't be tested for the disease once you stop eating gluten and start healing up, so it's best to get tested before changing diet.

3. some food intolerances or reactions involve C. so if there are foods that you are eating more of, it could be as simple as one of them not being tolerated by your body and you are reacting more now that you are eating more.

AnnPT77

Mostly good advice above.

If your fat intake is below 0.35-0.45g per pound of goal weight, increase fats. Good sources: Nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, etc. A little more won't hurt.

Usually, absent a true medical issue, the factors are adequate fiber, hydration, fats. For some, probiotics, magnesium supplement or exercise will also help. You have many of those on solid ground, it sounds like.

Inadequate fats is kind of a common one among people trying to reduce calories.

Best wishes for improvement!

brenn24179

fiber 1 cerael works great for me, 1/2 cu , 14 gr of fiber. ditch the banana like the above person said.

Strudders67

Reading your list of what you typically eat, I'd agree with the comment above about increasing your fat intake.

corinasue1143

You didn’t really say. Do you eat fruits like apples, berries, melons? Fiber + hydration = win/win.
Don’t know anything about ibs, so if it affects that, sorry.

PAV8888

You've lost more than 55lbs in less than 6 months which is quite significant and fast.

Do you have sufficient caloric, fat, and fiber intakes to justify your continuing bathroom expectations?

Lillymoo01

My general rule of thumb is the four F's
Fibre, fat, fluid and fitness. Increase these four and if you don't see results then see a doctor.