regularity

you're eating less waste, so making less waste.

On the days you don't go, do you feel bloated or sluggish? if you feel fine it's not a problem. Anywhere from twice a day to twice a week is normal

i have always been told you should have 1-2 bopwel movements per day. I would go to the doctor and ask.

you've been told wrong.
the number of times per day you poo isn't important. knowing what's normal for you and noticing a change is.

I never knew that about pain killers. Interesting! And it makes sense.

Hi, before this new diet (almost 4 weeks in) I was going to the toilet every day mostly but now I can go three days and am sure this affects my weight loss, I am eating healthy foods with greens, salad etc. I just don't understand why, I do take quite a lot of pain killers for my arthritis and fibromyalgia which doesn't help but take fibogel, I wonder if anyone else has this problem, thanks Sue

Your food diary does not consistently show you meeting our government minimum/ maximums for healthy eating. I don't see the recommended minimum intake of 18g fibre, nor does it show you eating anywhere near enough fruits and vegetables - salad is often only one UK size serving, 80g is actually a huge soup plate of leaves. Our guidelines are for a minimum of five portions, the published research actually supports nine servings and many countries do advocate this. Five was selected as our minimum it was thought to be manageable not optimally healthy.

I don't see healthy fats (oily fish, nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, coconut, cocoa) which can help with weight management and keep you regular. It is also recommended to eat no more than 10% of daily calories as sugary/ fatty/ junky/ processed foods but you exceed this - as well as the obvious snacks there is a ton of hidden added sugar in baked beans, flavoured yoghurts and canned spaghetti.

Are you taking painkillers containing codeine derivatives? If so these do slow down gut transit and bung you up. Fibre is not always enough because the stools can dry out as they move slowly through the bowel. You might ask your doctor if they think you would be a good candidate for the gentle laxative lactulose? It's an over the counter medication that is technically a man made low calorie sugar syrup, it can be used in food so could replace some of the table sugar you eat at present, and can be taken with Fybogel. Physical activity can also be highly beneficial in getting the gut contents moving if you can manage this.

HTH.

I had been doing lower carb diet for a long time and constipation was a big problem for me even though I was eating lots and lots of veggies and other fiber. I don't want to take laxitives. The thing I found that works for me is bran cereal - I use All Bran - for breakfast. I eat it with 2% milk. It keeps me feeling full until lunch time, unlike other high carb breakfast foods, and I now have no problems with constipation. I still do low carb for the rest of the day.

Same with me. I think it has to do with the fiber intake. When I look at the reports on this website from my diet and click on fiber, I can see I am almost always below on fiber.