So now that I am on a 1200-1300 a day diet i seem to have a BM about every 3 days.... use to be everyday like clock work... what can I do to get this back to normal... I assume every 3 days is not normal.... eating plenty of veggies.....any advise ?
I normally don't post on this subforum, but I did have the same problem!! I was eating plenty of fiber. I found that adding more exercise (to the point where I worked up a sweat, even for just 20 minutes a day), really stimulated the gut. It wasn't the duration of the exercise. It was just adding a short interval of hard work. If you try this, please pick something that is easier on joints - like a recumbant bike. This was a REAL problem for me, and that fixed it. Best wishes!
notmymama - so did I. Lots of programming work and processing customer orders - all sitting on my behind!! It made all the difference in the world when I added a short component of sweaty work, not just long strolls. It's good for your heart, too, of course! Try 20 minutes of interval training, and start easy on yourself. Something that gets your heart rate up, and then right back down, over several iterations. I am not a fitness nut, so do whatever works for you! Over time, I found these little bouts actually felt pretty good - gave me a nice warm glow for the rest of the afternoon!
I went from BM every 3 days (like you, I was quite concerned) to a regular constitutional, over a period of about 2 months, even on a low cal low carb diet the whole time.
I drink 16 oz of water the first thing in the morning as it "wakes up" the body/organs/gut and pretty much guarentees to get things moving within an hour. lol
All the advice above is wonderful. I'd like to add that adding magnesium helps me as well. There's a powder form I like called Natural Calm and it's sweetened with Stevia and becomes bubbly so it's almost like drinking a soda...well maybe not, but I like to pretend.
Aaaah the old bottom trouble. I am anaemic so have to take Iron so am especially susceptable to concrete bowel!
I drink lots of water and a (very) small portion of dried apricots does the trick! When my kids were little I was advised that kiwi fruit were the best thing to encourage natural bowel movements too, though I am not keen so can't speak personally but it seemed to work when my two were toddlers!
It's a real issue! If I do not get a daily BM, my weight loss definitely stalls (because that waste is being kept inside).
In my experience, there is not much you can do about it but wait and let nature take its course. Increasing low-calorie sources of dietary fiber may help (e.g. eating broccoli) but is not a guarantee. I skipped a BM yesterday and gained because of it.
I guess you just gotta roll with the punches on this one.
You eat less. You sh!t less.
Heck, I am eating more now. And I still sh!t less! And I eat a ton of good fats and run 6 miles every day.
But I really feel for you on this as it can really mess with the scale.
All Pooped Out
