should i take laxatives?

Less calories means you poop less, and if you have amped up your fiber intake a lot then your body may be struggling to process that. Make sure you are drinking enough water, if you are super concerned I would see a doctor and ask about intestinal blockage

I would go and ask the Doctor, especially as it seems like an ongoing issue.

If you haven't changed anything else that could cause it, there may be something else going on that needs investigating. Its usually the case that the sooner things are picked up the easier they are to deal with. And of course a Doctor will be much better able to tell you if laxatives are appropriate than anyone on here.

fabienEl wrote: »

gpanda103 wrote: »

Less calories means you poop less, and if you have amped up your fiber intake a lot then your body may be struggling to process that. Make sure you are drinking enough water, if you are super concerned I would see a doctor and ask about intestinal blockage

fiber and calories are the same i just amped up cardio

That's just not true. It's like saying legumes and iron are the same. Or 50-year-old automobiles and passenger restraint systems are the same. Fiber provides calories, in generally less bioavailable amounts than other sources of calories, and it contains things that aren't calories.

If you are eating a low carb diet, you may get constipated because of a lack of fiber. If you aren't eating much fat, that can slow you down. If you aren't drinking enough water, you will also get stopped up. Try drinking more water and eating more fiber. If that doesn't work, go to a doctor.

I have IBS and my bathroom schedule is all over the board from constipated, regular, not regular, to immediate get yourself to the toilet or else....
Better eating and more exercise has helped, but still not perfect.

If you truly are concerned, Make an appointment with your doctor. You know your body better than any internet strangers.

As someone with IBS, not sure why anyone would want to take laxatives for weight loss, or other then occasional need. Being tied to the bathroom at a moments notice is not fun.

If you're not getting 25g of fiber daily (if female) or 35g (if male), eat more fiber-containing foods. Increase them slowly, because fast increases can make excretory problems worse.

Alongside that, get enough water. You should be OK if your urine is pale yellow (not dark), kind of straw colored. Still, if you're getting less than 64 fl oz or so, couple of liters . . . gradually increase it, see if it helps. Try to spread it through the day, don't chug it all at once.

A note for you: You mention increasing exercise. You mention water not changing. If you exercise more, you probably need more water (for sweat - even if subtle/unobvious; for muscle repair). No need to go crazy, but maybe gradually add some, see if it improves things. (This one was big, for me.)

Alongside that, get enough fat from your food. This is a common pitfall among people trying to lose weight: Fats are calorie dense, there's a lot of "fat = bad" mythology, etc. People sometimes cut fats too far, get constipated as a result. You probably want around 0.35-0.45g of fat daily per pound of body weight, might get away with a bit less if severely overweight. Women are likely to do better toward the top of that range, men may be OK closer to the lower end.

Consider adding MUFA/PUFA fat sources, like nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, because many people get too low a proportion of MUFAs/PUFAs. (MUFA/PUFA doesn't matter for digestive throughput AFAIK, it's just a good direction to go for other reasons, for a lot of people.) Similarly, adding fats that are high in Omega-3s (vs. Omega-6s) can be good in an overall nutritional sense, because most people have sub-ideal O-3/O-6 balance, too. That would be things like fatty cold-water fish, some nuts, etc.

Beyond that, some people benefit from probiotic foods (live culture yogurt/kefir, raw sauerkraut or kimchi, kombucha, etc.). You mention that you're exercising, which is good, because that matters for some - sometimes middle-moving types of exercise are more helpful.

Work on that kind of stuff, see if you can get an improvement. You want your output to be soft (not painful to push out, or feeling like you still have something in there you can't get out), but you don't want it to be so soft that it's liquid-y. Soft sausage shapes that are comfortable to pass are sort of the goal.

I agree with folks who say it would be reasonable to talk with your doctor. Unless you're so blocked that you're uncomfortable, haven't gone in days, it's probably not a crisis. If you sense crisis symptoms, see a doctor more quickly.

For sure, don't take laxatives for weight loss. I'd say, don't take laxatives at all until you've experimented with some of the above variables, unless you have an acute problem (feeling blocked, backed up, etc.) For sure, don't rely on them.