Switching to healthy breakfasts but becoming constipated.

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Replies

  • UnicornRides
    UnicornRides Posts: 56
    I can't believe there are people here telling you it's fine to not worry about sugars. Sugars = fats. They're fine in small doses but not for the large amounts in some of the foods/cereals they're listing here (not to mention quite a lot of those brands have "extras" that actually prevent vitamins and minerals from breaking down in your body.)

    Constipation can happen when you eat too much Vitamin D3 (calcium found in milk/fish/dairy/fortified cereals/etc) since it's fat soluble. You only need 3 cups of milk a day (about 5 mcg) of it. Anymore and it will constipate you and have some other mild side effects. Eggs have a large amount which is why 2 egg whites and one egg yolk is usually recommended.

    Also, you could have a fiber deficiency (there are two types and you may be low on one or the other which both are full of other types, lol.)

    Hope this helps! There are a few other types of minerals that can make you constipated but D3 is usually a culprit. Just do some research and switch up what you can.
  • Skeebee
    Skeebee Posts: 740 Member
    Same here...do what you feel is right. I was the same way going to try to change because of the sugars. I do mini wheats and/or cheerios and have been doing that for 2 years because that is the ONLY thing that kept me going and that would also keep me to eating breakfast. Have you tried maybe upping your fiber in other meals to counteract the affects from the breakfast change?
  • keithmustloseweight
    keithmustloseweight Posts: 309 Member
    I think we're going to need some pictures of the poop to be able to tell what's going on.
  • Skeebee
    Skeebee Posts: 740 Member
    I think we're going to need some pictures of the poop to be able to tell what's going on.

    :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway:

    :laugh: :laugh:
  • UnicornRides
    UnicornRides Posts: 56
    I think we're going to need some pictures of the poop to be able to tell what's going on.

    :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway:

    :laugh: :laugh:

    In some parts of the world, people will actually feel it for you too. Then tell you what they think.
  • Wrreck
    Wrreck Posts: 99 Member
    Eat the bran flakes if they fit your budget. Also, you don't eat bran flakes and 2 hours later it's worked it's magic. It takes at least 6 hours for some one with a fast digestion rate to see food move through, average is 12 hours and for some it can be up to 72 hours. We'd all be dead if all our food moved through our systems in 2 hours.

    I'm simply describing what happened to me last night telling it like it is. I ate eggs for breakfast from mon-fri no poo. Decided f-it and ate some bran flakes at 9pm last night and no later than 11pm I did a poo. I'm convinced the bran flakes pushed this through.

    I think it depends on the person. I've eaten at Subway several times in the past and had terrible stomach pains and diarrhea with visibly undigested lettuce bits in it within a half hour of eating there before. This has happened to me on several occasions in the past and there were no other lettuce consumption meals to reference back to. It was definitely a Subway incident. Needless to say, I avoid lettuce at Subway like it's the plague now!
  • NH_Norma
    NH_Norma Posts: 332 Member
    It takes at least 6 hours for some one with a fast digestion rate to see food move through, average is 12 hours and for some it can be up to 72 hours. We'd all be dead if all our food moved through our systems in 2 hours.

    Some people, some food, does not know about this rule. If I eat ice cream, I'm cramped and in the bathroom in about 45 minutes. Consistently. Guess what I eat if I get constipated? :bigsmile:
  • lovingangel4uau
    lovingangel4uau Posts: 78 Member
    The gastroenterologist on The Doctors program recommended Psyllium this can help relieve both constipation and diarrhea, and is used to treat irritable bowel syndrome, hemorrhoids, and other intestinal problems. Psyllium has also been used to help regulate blood sugar levels in people with diabetes and can lower cholesterol.

    He recommends 2 teaspoons a day. I tried this and it’s fantastic! Although I found I only needed 1 teaspoon a day to sort me out. I also used an Organic brand it’s very low cost and can be used in a number of ways.

    I put it on my Greek yoghurt or in a soup. You can also put in it juice. I did find it goes quite thick if you leave it on the yoghurt so I just put it on the top and down it first thing then eat the yoghurt and fruit if I have any in it. He does also recommend drinking more water to flush everything through the body which you will need to do if you don’t drink much water.

    I am positive it will fix your problem and you will be very happy with the results. :)
  • Wrreck
    Wrreck Posts: 99 Member
    Thanks for all your input guys. I have read all posts and they are all helpful. I would still love to ditch the cereal and eat eggs for breakfast as my exercise class instructor tries to get me to do, but my body simply can't handle not having bran flakes and if I have to eat a cereal with sugar content as opposed to a sugar free natural source like eggs then so be it.

    You could have eggs AND bran flakes.

    What I'm thinking is perhaps have tomato and spinach omlettes or boiled/scrambled eggs every day, and say, every third day have 30g of Bran Flakes too, therefore I will be definatey reducing my sugar, but keeping my system running consistently too.

    Maybe you could try a smaller portion of bran flakes along with the egg every day. I usually have an egg and old fashioned oatmeal most mornings.
  • Minks_esposa
    Minks_esposa Posts: 54
    If it ain't broke don't fix it! Keep eating the cereal that you like.

    I've battled with constipation my whole life and after being told for years to drink more water, I finally listened about 2 months ago. I drink about 70+ ounces of water and haven't had constipation since.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I can't believe there are people here telling you it's fine to not worry about sugars. Sugars = fats. They're fine in small doses but not for the large amounts in some of the foods/cereals they're listing here (not to mention quite a lot of those brands have "extras" that actually prevent vitamins and minerals from breaking down in your body.)

    Constipation can happen when you eat too much Vitamin D3 (calcium found in milk/fish/dairy/fortified cereals/etc) since it's fat soluble. You only need 3 cups of milk a day (about 5 mcg) of it. Anymore and it will constipate you and have some other mild side effects. Eggs have a large amount which is why 2 egg whites and one egg yolk is usually recommended.

    Also, you could have a fiber deficiency (there are two types and you may be low on one or the other which both are full of other types, lol.)

    Hope this helps! There are a few other types of minerals that can make you constipated but D3 is usually a culprit. Just do some research and switch up what you can.

    I'd really like to see some data that backs up ANY of this!
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    I can't believe there are people here telling you it's fine to not worry about sugars. Sugars = fats. They're fine in small doses but not for the large amounts in some of the foods/cereals they're listing here (not to mention quite a lot of those brands have "extras" that actually prevent vitamins and minerals from breaking down in your body.)

    Constipation can happen when you eat too much Vitamin D3 (calcium found in milk/fish/dairy/fortified cereals/etc) since it's fat soluble. You only need 3 cups of milk a day (about 5 mcg) of it. Anymore and it will constipate you and have some other mild side effects. Eggs have a large amount which is why 2 egg whites and one egg yolk is usually recommended.

    Also, you could have a fiber deficiency (there are two types and you may be low on one or the other which both are full of other types, lol.)

    Hope this helps! There are a few other types of minerals that can make you constipated but D3 is usually a culprit. Just do some research and switch up what you can.

    Yeah, I'm going to need to see something to back this up, particularly "sugar = fat".
  • ElsaVonMarmalade
    ElsaVonMarmalade Posts: 154 Member
    I had the same problem when I first switched away from eating very high fiber cereals every morning. After a few weeks my body adjusted and I became regular (as in daily) again. If you really want to make the switch, eat lots of veg, drink lots of water, and GIVE IT TIME.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    I can't believe there are people here telling you it's fine to not worry about sugars. Sugars = fats. They're fine in small doses but not for the large amounts in some of the foods/cereals they're listing here (not to mention quite a lot of those brands have "extras" that actually prevent vitamins and minerals from breaking down in your body.)

    Constipation can happen when you eat too much Vitamin D3 (calcium found in milk/fish/dairy/fortified cereals/etc) since it's fat soluble. You only need 3 cups of milk a day (about 5 mcg) of it. Anymore and it will constipate you and have some other mild side effects. Eggs have a large amount which is why 2 egg whites and one egg yolk is usually recommended.

    Also, you could have a fiber deficiency (there are two types and you may be low on one or the other which both are full of other types, lol.)

    Hope this helps! There are a few other types of minerals that can make you constipated but D3 is usually a culprit. Just do some research and switch up what you can.
    Um, no. Just no. Sugar does not equal fats, not even sure what that's supposed to mean. Sugar is sugar, fats are fats.

    Also, too much vitamin d causes diarrhea, not constipation. Exactly where did you get your information? Sources, please?
  • callie006
    callie006 Posts: 151 Member
    I can't believe there are people here telling you it's fine to not worry about sugars. Sugars = fats. They're fine in small doses but not for the large amounts in some of the foods/cereals they're listing here (not to mention quite a lot of those brands have "extras" that actually prevent vitamins and minerals from breaking down in your body.)

    Constipation can happen when you eat too much Vitamin D3 (calcium found in milk/fish/dairy/fortified cereals/etc) since it's fat soluble. You only need 3 cups of milk a day (about 5 mcg) of it. Anymore and it will constipate you and have some other mild side effects. Eggs have a large amount which is why 2 egg whites and one egg yolk is usually recommended.

    Also, you could have a fiber deficiency (there are two types and you may be low on one or the other which both are full of other types, lol.)

    Hope this helps! There are a few other types of minerals that can make you constipated but D3 is usually a culprit. Just do some research and switch up what you can.
    Um, no. Just no. Sugar does not equal fats, not even sure what that's supposed to mean. Sugar is sugar, fats are fats.

    Also, too much vitamin d causes diarrhea, not constipation. Exactly where did you get your information? Sources, please?

    Maybe the poster is talking about the fact that hypercalcemia from an extreme vit D overdose results in constipation? If you're losing weight and mobilizing fat tissue in addition to taking high doses of vit D, you could potentially become hypercalcemic. It's not a common cause of constipation by an means, though, and at that level of blood calcium you'd have worse problems than the constipation.

    As for sugars= fats... maybe in the sense that caloric excess = body fat? Though, that would be true of eating anything, sugary or otherwise.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    yo quit switching up your cereals
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    Eat your bran flakes. The sugar limits on MFP is way, way too low for most people to adhere to over the long term. When I don't have bran flakes, I like to supplement with psyllium husks. Both seem to work well.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    Sugars = fats.

    donshocked.gif
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    I hear if you put soap up your butt, your problems will be solved.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    I hear if you put soap up your butt, your problems will be solved.

    plus you get to fart bubbles.

    win/win
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
    bran flakes have a lot of fibre, just change MFP's limits if they bother you
  • IronCakes
    IronCakes Posts: 317 Member
    I hear if you put soap up your butt, your problems will be solved.

    Do I put the whole bar or just a piece? I'm going on day two with a BM.
  • jess135177
    jess135177 Posts: 186 Member
    Coffee...
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
    I hear if you put soap up your butt, your problems will be solved.

    plus you get to fart bubbles.

    win/win

    I just giggled and snorted in my office. As a counselor. At a junior high. With kids walking by. Thank you for that laugh...and the mental picture I now have of someone farting bubbles. tee hee :tongue:
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    Sugars = fats.

    donshocked.gif

    its just a typo- they meant carbs, it's okay

    therethere
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Hello all.

    So I generally eat very healthy lunches and dinners but had been frowned upon for eating Bran Flakes for my breakfast as cereals have high sugar content...

    I have tried two different things and both have led to long-term constipation.

    1. Because I could not imagine eating anything other than cereal, I tried a healthier cereal option in the form of All Bran. This constipated me for a week until I went back to eating Bran Flakes and I pooed every day again.

    2. This week I tried very natural food sources for breakfast in the form of boiled eggs, and spinach/tomato omlettes. Again I have been bunged up this week until last night I grabbed the Bran Flakes and "hey-presto" no more than two hours later I managed to poo.

    What I want to know is;

    Why is this happening?

    &

    Are Bran Flakes really that bad for me when they make me go?

    All your problems started when you eliminated a food based on bad information. You know how to fix it.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    I hear if you put soap up your butt, your problems will be solved.

    Do I put the whole bar or just a piece? I'm going on day two with a BM.

    Just a piece.. maybe two if it feels right.
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
    Thanks for all your input guys. I have read all posts and they are all helpful. I would still love to ditch the cereal and eat eggs for breakfast as my exercise class instructor tries to get me to do, but my body simply can't handle not having bran flakes and if I have to eat a cereal with sugar content as opposed to a sugar free natural source like eggs then so be it.

    You could have eggs AND bran flakes.

    This is what I was gonna say.

    Every digestion system works differently--as someone with severe IBS I tend to be very understanding of people with sensitive/delicate systems. If bran flakes are keeping the mail moving, then by all means eat them. If you really feel like you need more protein in your breakfast, slowly reduce the amount of bran flakes until you learn what the minimum effective "dose" is for you. Then, eat that amount of bran flakes and an egg for breakfast. Or eat a reduced amount of bran flakes and an egg three days a week, and your regular amount of bran flakes the other four. Or have a piece of Ezekiel bread toasted with a tablespoon of peanut butter a couple times a week. There's plenty of ways to keep your bowels happy and increase/change your breakfast nutrition.

    But honestly, if what you are eating now works for you, who cares what someone else says about it? Eat what works for you.

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