I don't advise this method regularly but i HAD to do it once and about to do it again because i've only gone once since Friday i'm dying! I did 8 oz. of water and 1 tsp of Sea Salt, must be Sea Salt not table salt. Worked within 1/2 hour Block the old nose and chug! The ONLY thing that helped me after apples, probiotic, high fiber, water, nothing worked for me till that!
When I read the title, before first clicking on the thread, the very first thing that came to mind was "high protein diet?". When I lost the majority of my weight, before I went vegan, I had jumped on the very high protein bandwagon because it was what had been most popular here at the time and therefore often recommend by well intentioned people. As far as the title goes.. yeah, really developed that issue. I needed to take fiber tablets every day, and sometimes that didn't help much. Now that my diet is high fiber and moderate on protein, I never have that issue.. thank goodness.
Anyway, I have to echo the suggestions of more fiber. And I don't mean the minimum recommended daily amount, or slightly above it, but an actual good deal of fiber. If your plan allows it, try incorporating, for instance, more beans in your diet(beans have protein too.. win/win!) or a good variety of fruit.. the obvious more veggies.. etc.
Oh, and I've also found hot tea gets things going. Green, black, white, oolong, whatever.. perhaps you could try that.
I have this problem a lot, especially when my gastric emptying delay is being particularly jerky, like now. Also, because of the delay, I'm not allowed to eat a lot of high fiber foods, and fruit juices are out for the most part because of allergies.
Though I know you asked about solutions that aren't laxatives, I just wanted to say that I use Miralax pretty regularly, and though sometimes it takes a day or two - it works really well. Miralax works a little bit different than most laxatives too - it's not a stimulant - the propolene glycol powder travels through your system and then absorbs water in the intestines to soften things up a bit. It's not bad to take, either. You can mix it into any liquid - I don't much like it in plain water, but find it unnoticeable in a bit of crystal light.
Just wanted to make a suggestion if you find that you can't stomach the prune juice!
I can totally relate that is the worst feeling ): It sounds like you are pretty good about eating healthy and getting your fiber in. I drink a daily shake called ********** and it provides you with all your daily vitamins and some of the bonuses are that it cuts craving, helps with regularity and reduces bloating. Has made a big difference in how I feel and helped me lose the last stubborn lbs of baby weight. If you want to try it I can send you a sample. And it's chocolate... yumm.
I've experienced annoying constipation since changing my eating habits. I thought eventually it would go away, but it seems to go away and then return. So, I started eating one bowl of Raisin Bran every day. (I know I sound like a commercial, but I'm serious.) It keeps me ridiculously regular and softens my BMs. I actually started eating it just to use it up because it was sitting in the cabinet going to waste, but after I realized how great it was for my digestion, I bought more.
Thanks for all of the great advice! I did a saltwater flush (which I've done before, it worked pretty well). I am going to try the prune juice, on day 2 so far! Also taking a probiotic, since I did do a flush I wanted to make sure I had good bacteria in place. Looking into fiber supplements at the moment...I'm eating raw fruits and veggies on a daily basis, the thought of eating more is not appealing.
Chia seeds - Looked into, pretty cool idea!! I'd never heard of it...might try to find some of those.
Metamucil or Miralax - Might try some of that if the prune juice and probiotic doesn't help.
********** - going to look into that more!! sounds yummy :0)
Raisin Bran - Can't eat it on my diet, but might try to get my DB to try it.