Constipation

jack1925

This could very well be TMI but I'm looking for some advice. I never had any problems before and then I changed my diet on Jan 1st. I went to 1200 calories a day. And now I've noticed over the past couple of weeks my bowel movements have been less and less. I'm worried that I'm depriving my body of so much food that it's messing up my system? I drink a ton of water a day and have my 2 cups of coffee in the morning. I'm exercising and I'm taking fiber choice chewables to get more fiber and I started taking a multi vitamin. I'm going to take some colace tonight in hopes of nipping it in the butt and hopefully it'll work itself out after that but does anyone have an answer as to why I'd be having problems and what I can do to correct it for the long term?

smittybuilt19

Everyone must have a poop thread!! Or in my case 3 poop threads lol. I found that drinking plenty of water and also waking up at the same time everyday and drinking coffee works for me. Good luck, your situation is about as fun as slamming your hand in a car door.

shewearsfunnyhat

Eat lots of green leafy veggies they are low in calories but can help with BM. If the trend continues, talk to your doctor.

holdingon2faith793

Honey 1200 cal is not enough get on a TDEE calc. Find out what yours is and minus 20%. That's what you should be eating.

Me48Plus2

I always had a problem staying regular, sometimes a whole weekend, then I found this site. I ordered the Formula 1. You take a pill, or 2 depending, right after dinner and you'll have a BM in the morning. I don't really stay regular without it. It's all herbal, so no side effects . Having regular BM is crucial to your health. And drink more water.

skinnybitchbarbie27

**note, I am not a doctor**

I had the same problem although I was eating 1500 and exercising about 2 hours a day. I went to my doctor after laxitives wouldn't even help and he flipped a b*tch when he looked at my food diary and saw how much I have been exercising and told me that eating that little would cause my body to do that and possibly worse side affects like hair loss. By his request I bumped up to 1900 (WHICH WAS SCARY AS HELL) but I noticed a lot of my symptoms went away. I was having bowel movements again, I wasn't *****y or extremely tired, and the best part? I have actually seen improvement in my weight lifting. It was an obvious fix but something I didn't see.

I would suggest you see a doctor if it is an ongoing issue but maybe you need to bump up maybe just a few hundred calories for a few weeks just to see how it goes. Also, Do not forget that not all fat and carbs are the "enemy". Your body needs natural fats and good carbs to keep regular. yay fiber.

Lize11e

I have the same problem and I also take meds that cause constipation. I finally just broke down and started taking one dulcolax stool softener per day. I do not like laxatives but the softeners seem to help. I have also thought many times I should just buy stock in Fiber One. I eat a lot of fiber.

Elliemage

Add more fruits and veggies to your diet and lots and LOTS of water. Also try eliminating some dairy. One of the more surprising things I found about going vegan was that I never, ever get constipated (even though I take a med that previously had me bound up like crazy!)

I realize not everyone has the inclination to drop meat and dairy from their diet, but if you chuck even some of the dairy off and add more fibrous things (namely, plants) then it should help considerably.

Good luck!

ilovescarymovies

i never had a problem with constipation till i started eating healthier. now i have to eat bran flakes or fiber one cereal and eat Activia yogurt just to stay regular

sullus

started throwing in sweet potatoes nearly every day for lunch, and I'm back to where you could set your watch by me.

prismperfect

I found when I changed my diet I was having those problems too, and I never had them before. Now I just put a tsp. of Benefiber in my milk every morning, it's tasteless, and within a week everything was back to normal. I just make it a daily routine and no more worries.

smittybuilt19

I also used miralax at one point when it got unbearable. I was able to start going after a few days of taking it and haven't had much trouble since. I've found that I have to relax early in the mornings or I will not go all day. I've actually started waking up 30 minutes early just to relax. It cuts into my sleeping time but I would rather poop one good time than sleep for 30 more minutes.

SPBROOKS68

Regular exercise seems to help this too!

michellelemorgan

I'm on a 1200 calorie a day diet as well and I run 5-6 miles a day with strength training and stretching. It's a healthy diet for an athlete. Try eating oatmeal in the mornings with your coffee.

livitup85

You seem to be just missing on your fibre macro goal. Try reaching it every single day.
I find that eating a handful of prunes will usually do the trick,
Happy pooping!

Dawnhasajeep

You are only eating 7 g of fiber it should be 30-40g. Eat more fiber and your problem will be solved. Also your sodium is WAY high try for 1500g of sodium you will see your water weight drop like crazy. Try making large meals and freezing it and cut out the processed frozen high sodium meals.

doorki

Are you uncomfortable or just worried about your output? If you are not uncomfortable, perhaps your body is just not issuing as much waste as it used to because of your severely limited calories.

jack1925

Are you uncomfortable or just worried about your output? If you are not uncomfortable, perhaps your body is just not issuing as much waste as it used to because of your severely limited calories.

Just in the past few days I have noticed my stomach is more uncomfortable than usual. I'm guessing it's from this.

jack1925

I'm on a 1200 calorie a day diet as well and I run 5-6 miles a day with strength training and stretching. It's a healthy diet for an athlete. Try eating oatmeal in the mornings with your coffee.

I run a couple of miles every other day. And I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast. :-)

jack1925

Thank you everyone. I'm going to try uping my calories by a couple hundred to start with. And eating more fruits and veggies.

Docmahi

This could very well be TMI but I'm looking for some advice. I never had any problems before and then I changed my diet on Jan 1st. I went to 1200 calories a day. And now I've noticed over the past couple of weeks my bowel movements have been less and less. I'm worried that I'm depriving my body of so much food that it's messing up my system? I drink a ton of water a day and have my 2 cups of coffee in the morning. I'm exercising and I'm taking fiber choice chewables to get more fiber and I started taking a multi vitamin. I'm going to take some colace tonight in hopes of nipping it in the butt and hopefully it'll work itself out after that but does anyone have an answer as to why I'd be having problems and what I can do to correct it for the long term?

check if your MVA (multivitamin) contains Iron - if the constipation started after you began supplementing Iron - that could be a cause of constipation

Dawnhasajeep

I'm on a 1200 calorie a day diet as well and I run 5-6 miles a day with strength training and stretching. It's a healthy diet for an athlete. Try eating oatmeal in the mornings with your coffee.

I run a couple of miles every other day. And I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast. :-)

The oat meal you eat is not very healthy oatmeal. It only has 2 grams of fiber switch it with Old fashion rolled oats (not 1min oats) and throw in some blue berries for taste and a total of 6-8g fiber. YOU NEED MORE FIBER. Google fiber and what the health benefits are and what foods are high in it. The more you learn about nutrition and healthy foods the better off you will be for the long term.

jack1925

This could very well be TMI but I'm looking for some advice. I never had any problems before and then I changed my diet on Jan 1st. I went to 1200 calories a day. And now I've noticed over the past couple of weeks my bowel movements have been less and less. I'm worried that I'm depriving my body of so much food that it's messing up my system? I drink a ton of water a day and have my 2 cups of coffee in the morning. I'm exercising and I'm taking fiber choice chewables to get more fiber and I started taking a multi vitamin. I'm going to take some colace tonight in hopes of nipping it in the butt and hopefully it'll work itself out after that but does anyone have an answer as to why I'd be having problems and what I can do to correct it for the long term?

check if your MVA (multivitamin) contains Iron - if the constipation started after you began supplementing Iron - that could be a cause of constipation

No, I started having this issue before I started the multi... I started taking it thinking it would make up for something I was missing.

jack1925

I'm on a 1200 calorie a day diet as well and I run 5-6 miles a day with strength training and stretching. It's a healthy diet for an athlete. Try eating oatmeal in the mornings with your coffee.

I run a couple of miles every other day. And I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast. :-)

The oat meal you eat is not very healthy oatmeal. It only has 2 grams of fiber switch it with Old fashion rolled oats (not 1min oats) and throw in some blue berries for taste and a total of 6-8g fiber. YOU NEED MORE FIBER. Google fiber and what the health benefits are and what foods are high in it. The more you learn about nutrition and healthy foods the better off you will be for the long term.

What about flax? Is flax a good source of fiber?

Dawnhasajeep

I'm on a 1200 calorie a day diet as well and I run 5-6 miles a day with strength training and stretching. It's a healthy diet for an athlete. Try eating oatmeal in the mornings with your coffee.

I run a couple of miles every other day. And I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast. :-)

The oat meal you eat is not very healthy oatmeal. It only has 2 grams of fiber switch it with Old fashion rolled oats (not 1min oats) and throw in some blue berries for taste and a total of 6-8g fiber. YOU NEED MORE FIBER. Google fiber and what the health benefits are and what foods are high in it. The more you learn about nutrition and healthy foods the better off you will be for the long term.

What about flax? Is flax a good source of fiber?

1 TBS of ground flax has 2g in it. If you are going to add flax make sure it is milled or ground. If it is whole seeds it will just travel though your body and you will not gain any benefits from it. By adding flax you will also add 1,300mg of OMEGA- 3 oils. That is good for lowering cholesterol if that is an issue also good for reducing inflammation and the immune, reproductive &, nervous systems and the heart.

I add a packet of Hodgson Mill flax seed to my oatmeal every day. If you buy it in a large bag keep it in the fridge from going bad. I buy the Travel packets already measured out and sealed to keep the OMEGA 3 from going bad. You can useuly find them at the food store but below is a link of what it looks like.


http://www.hodgsonmillstore.com/en/Milled-Flax-Seed-Travel-Flax/71518-01014-021_Group.aspx

jack1925

Well, I uped my calories to 1500 a day (300 increase) I bought some flax to add to my oatmeal and yogurt in the mornings. And took some milk of magnesia and munching on fresh veggies.

FluffyDogsRule

yep...fiber!! change one of the things MFP tracks for you to fiber (i got rid of sugar, since i was always over since i eat fruit). i have to eat 35 g EVERY DAY or i will become constipated. EVERY DAY. i eat kashi go lean for breakfast every morning, which gets in lots of fiber. i was going once a week, now every day!

also, i didn't look at your diary, but i was seriously seriously constipated when i drank protein shakes, no matter how much fiber i ate. so if you're drinking them, may want to experiment.

good luck!!!!

figomezzo

I think you said it started before the multi-vitamin came into play but I was having this problem a couple months ago and finally realized it was because of the Vitamin D I was taking. Once I cut back on the dosage (doc recommended 4000 IU) I was regular again. Sometimes its just your body reacting to new vitamins or supplements you are taking!

Anthonydaman

Metamucil and coffee

bathsheba_c

Also make sure you are getting 30% of your calories from fat. Lots of people think they need to cut fat out of their diets, and that can really block you up.

Guamybear

I had the same problem and still do at times.. I track my fiber and eat metamucil wafers and lots of fiber one... I eat between 1400-1500 cals a days and exercise regularly but I am still not as regular as I would like to be.

i think it is a work in progress to find what works..