Healthy diet making me constipated?

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Replies

  • Jewel0124
    Jewel0124 Posts: 119 Member
    How is your eating with green vegetables? Try adding in more spinach, kale, broccoli, cabbage or collard greens.
  • intrepidelephant
    intrepidelephant Posts: 100 Member
    Everything really fatty in my diet was takeout. Timmies Breakfast sandwiches, Indian Takeout, the All Day breakfast (which took me literally all day to eat with guacamole, sour cream, feta, fried eggs, tomatoes, greens, bread, butter etc.), muffins, Tuna sandwiches from the lunch counters, Ice Caps. The diet was also to try and cut down on expenses on getting everything takeout. I'm eating about 1500-1700 calories. I've always been active anyway. Some running combined daily 1-3 hour walks.

    This is a bit typical

    Breakfast
    Peanut Butter
    High Fiber Toast
    Orange

    Snack
    Green Salad with Balsamic Dressing

    Late Lunch
    High Fiber Bread, salami, cheese sandwich

    Dinner
    Hamburger/Yogourt/Another Sandwich/Dried Fruit and Nuts (I never sit down for dinner since I'm not usually home til after 8)
  • iwanttobeasuccessstory
    iwanttobeasuccessstory Posts: 38
    oh goodness... the subject of poop.

    when i eat healthy (mostly fruits and veg with some protein) i poop like crazy.

    your poops actually tell you about your health too...

    you ultimately want them to be solid without causing you any pain to release.

    if your poops are too soft, you need more fiber.

    if the poops are floating, you need way less fat.

    if the poops are broken up, you need more carbs.

    if you are constipated... eesh, like these nice folks said, coffee is a good temporary fix. i'd avoid the laxatives as they can cause tons of stomach discomfort.

    you're body will adjust, just make sure that you eat enough fiber like everyone also said. fruits, veg, or metamucil from the store will help. i always aim for at least 50% of each meal to be fiber rich foods and i'm never constipated.

    hope this helps.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Juicy fruits help keep things moving. Watermelon and cantaloupe FTW

    EDIT: Reminds me of a TV commercial from the late 80's for gum.

    "Juicy fruit, is gonna move ya, the juice is soft, it gets right to ya!!!"
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    Everything really fatty in my diet was takeout. Timmies Breakfast sandwiches, Indian Takeout, the All Day breakfast (which took me literally all day to eat with guacamole, sour cream, feta, fried eggs, tomatoes, greens, bread, butter etc.), muffins, Tuna sandwiches from the lunch counters, Ice Caps. The diet was also to try and cut down on expenses on getting everything takeout. I'm eating about 1500-1700 calories. I've always been active anyway. Some running combined daily 1-3 hour walks.

    This is a bit typical

    Breakfast
    Peanut Butter
    High Fiber Toast
    Orange

    Snack
    Green Salad with Balsamic Dressing

    Late Lunch
    High Fiber Bread, salami, cheese sandwich

    Dinner
    Hamburger/Yogourt/Another Sandwich/Dried Fruit and Nuts (I never sit down for dinner since I'm not usually home til after 8)

    I'm honestly trying to figure out why you say "Everything fatty was fast food" over and over. Okay. So it was. If you really want a "healthy diet," you have to have some forms of fat in it, and enough that the macro does it's job. You're constipated, you're not eating too much, so add some in. Conversely, drop some fiber. It's a balancing act. Don't eat high fiber bread with every meal, or add in more fat. Your choice.

    I just don't understand why you keep linking fat with fast food. Fat exists outside of fast food, and if you pooped with fast food, it was the fat content doing it. You dropped your "main source" of fat, so find another one.
  • beckytcy
    beckytcy Posts: 135 Member
    I had this problem recently too. Definitely agree with all the advice to drink lots and lots of water. I also started taking a probiotic and also once a day before dinner drink water with phyllium husk (I got the plain kind from Trader Joe's) and this seems to have helped a lot. You can also try a small amount of pear juice but it's very high in calories.
  • intrepidelephant
    intrepidelephant Posts: 100 Member
    How do I get extra fat into my diet without cooking or processed food/takeout? I quite literally never eat hot food. Nuts?
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    Before I never used to eat fruits and vegetables. I would generally eat fatty foods. Chinese or Indian Takeout twice a week, wraps, tuna sandwiches (with mayo), all-day breakfast with feta and guacamole, and goodies like cookies and I didn't get constipated. I was 5'6 and 140 lbs.

    Now I'm 5'6 and 135 and always mildly constipated. I checked and I'm averaging 25-30 grams per day. I eat whole wheat bread, berries, carrots, beans, oranges. I'm allergic to raw apples, pears etc, but most fruit I'm OK with. I've taking out fried food and sweets. I also drink about 3 l of water per day.
    Don't worry, once you find this type of eating completely unsustainable and not worth the suffering, you will return to eating the fatty foods you like and be able to poop again.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    How do I get extra fat into my diet without cooking or processed food/takeout? I quite literally never eat hot food. Nuts?

    Nuts, full fat dairy, avocado, etc.

    But there's nothing wrong with some processed foods/takeout. In fact, I'd argue that a diet with insufficient fats is more unhealthy than one that has a lot of takeout but appropriate calories/macros.
  • intrepidelephant
    intrepidelephant Posts: 100 Member
    Anything besides avocado? I have always thought they were kinda gross ):
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Peanut butter, olive oil and pine nuts on a salad
  • hmaddpear
    hmaddpear Posts: 610 Member
    Actually, I'm going to buck the trend here - if you're eating more fibre, but being more constipated, for goodness sakes, eat less fibre. You're body's not happy with that amount at the moment. Please, please don't take fibre supplements until you're on a better pooping schedule.

    (I'm very sensitive to large amounts of fibre, and trust me, all it's going to do at this stage is make you bloated, your stomach and bowels are going to hurt massively, and it's not going to help with the constipation - it's basically going to sit in your intestines like a big concrete snake.)

    First of all, if you're badly constipated, you're going to need some laxatives - short term use will not make your body rely on them. Use a stool softner, possibly a glycerol suppository (if it's been days- your colon will be stripping out the water from your faeces, and it's gonna hurt if you don't soften it up) You may need a laxative that stimulates your bowels (senna, coffee, etc.)

    Up your water, you're going to need it to evacuate properly. Eat more fat, so everything's lubricated.

    Once you're on a more regular pooping schedule, start introducing more fibre slowly - your body needs time to adjust to the additional bulk you're putting through it. Fibre is great, but increasing too much too quickly is a sure fire way of backing yourself up.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Grease makes you poop at least I think so, I have no nutrition degree.

    Are you meeting your fiber goals? This will help ... trust me!

    This!^

    Are you eating some fat......fiber & water are good, but try adding some nuts, nut butter, avocado, olive oil....stuff like that. I've low fat dieted in the past...really stopped up.

    Movement is also good.......add some exercise if you're not doing that yet.

    There are 2 forms of fiber.....soluble & insoluble. Oatmeal (soluble fiber) helps me.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I have dealt with this and found that eating raw baby spinach actually caused me to become very constipated to the point of a serious issue, I guess my body doesn't process it correctly. I love its taste so I used to eat whole salads made of it but now I use it sparingly in lettuce salads, or in wraps.

    A friend has the same problem with apples and actually had to go into the hospital for a day (!), when she was eating 2-3 apples per day - she was actually increasing the problem by thinking fiber = good to help with constipation, but they advised her to steer clear of apples!

    I'm NOT saying others should stop eating apples or spinach of course lol...just maybe there could be a specific food item that you have an issue with digesting.

    I've found that being less careful with my fat macro - even going over on fat a few times a week - has helped. And I introduced diet soda back into my diet, I only have a couple of cans each week but I feel like it helps me. I've heard the artificial sweeteners, while bad for you in many ways, can act as a laxative...I tend to believe that. I'm not gonna drink cans of the stuff per day but I happen to like it with certain foods, so I figure why not. Of course this is in addition to drinking LOTS of water!!

    ETA: What others said above about TOO MUCH fiber sounds like it could definitely be the case for me with the spinach and my friend with the apples. Sounds like good advice to me!
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    How do I get extra fat into my diet without cooking or processed food/takeout? I quite literally never eat hot food. Nuts?

    Suck up the fact that you don't like your room mate. Cook. Eat properly, your body will thank you.
    Then once you poop, either find a new place or a new room mate.
  • intrepidelephant
    intrepidelephant Posts: 100 Member

    I'm honestly trying to figure out why you say "Everything fatty was fast food" over and over. Okay. So it was. If you really want a "healthy diet," you have to have some forms of fat in it, and enough that the macro does it's job. You're constipated, you're not eating too much, so add some in. Conversely, drop some fiber. It's a balancing act. Don't eat high fiber bread with every meal, or add in more fat. Your choice.

    LOL Because whatever I ate that wasn't takeout was booze, coffee or candy (and sometimes cookies). Not much fat there. I'm very much a carb person. If I didn't have to eat protein and fat, I probably wouldn't and usually didn't. I honestly have no idea why I was never bigger than a size 6. It was just easy to eat that way because I never became grotesquely fat.
  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
    Try adding some flax seed to your diet.
  • Sjarkey15
    Sjarkey15 Posts: 57 Member
    Since I've been eating clean this has happened to me too!! My body just isn't used to it. If you have a whole foods or health food store go get some tea called Smooth Move. It's amazing. Drink before bed and in the morning it works it's magic! No pills or gross magnesium liquids...
  • freddi11e
    freddi11e Posts: 317 Member
    I already drink 2 cups a day and have pretty much every day since I was 13. Coffee no longer has much of an effect. This has been going on for 4 weeks. I take taken laxative twice (once every two weeks) and fibre gummies occasionally

    i have to take lax's once a week to go too :(
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    Anything besides avocado? I have always thought they were kinda gross ):

    I thought you said you used to eat guacamole!
  • intrepidelephant
    intrepidelephant Posts: 100 Member

    I thought you said you used to eat guacamole!

    Guacamole just happened to be there. I wouldn't eat plain avocado just by itself. It's like eating plain yogourt or unsalted crackers.
  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
    add avocado to salad, it is yummy
  • jodyrew
    jodyrew Posts: 6
    Even though you are eating healthy, are you drinking healthy?? You might have clogged up your system. Drink plenty of water to 'flush' it all :wink: :wink: Most importantly, are you on a right diet? I'm on Paleo and I feel great :)
  • princessG12
    princessG12 Posts: 21
    Hi there, maybe your metabolism is working very slow. i know something who can solve your problem right now, THIS
    > http://bit.ly/1iVzT3a watch the video and learn more about constipated and slow metabolism it really help you a lot. good luck and have a nice day :)

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