I registered here to post this as I saw a similar thread from 2 years ago dealing with the same issue, I didn't find a definitive solution though.

I have a binge eating problem which I thought was getting better but that mostly went out the window today, the 'good' thing to come out of it though was recognizing a new trigger: constipation. It seems the only way I can guarantee a quality bowel movement is to stuff my face until it hurts, of course the reasoning in the moment for this is often highly emotional and as a result I binge on bad and too much food, then afterwards I hate myself, etc. It just sucks to have what I consider an 'ideal' diet, lift weights + run 4 days a week, drink no alcohol, eat little artificial foods, get a full nights sleep, and still feel awful and have my stomach look awful everyday lugging a pound of condensed waste. With great effort I can expose small 'balls' of fecal matter multiple times a day but that's it, every trip to the bathroom is mired with stress, anger, and disappointment. I haven't felt 'empty' for days.

I am trying to lost about 5-10 pounds of fat while maintaining muscle, so I eat about 1800 calories/day, I am happy with my progression at this level. I eat a very healthy balanced diet, I do not eat dairy, I eat PLENTY of fiber(fruit and vegetables with every meal, moderate serving of whole wheat bread) and drink PLENTY of water(~2.5-3.5Liters/day + plain seltzer) so please do not suggest either of those two. I used to be a heavy user of zero calorie sweeteners(Equal then Splenda then Stevia packets then Stevia liquid) but cut that cold turkey about two weeks ago thinking it would solve my problem, for a couple days things seemed better but the past few days have been awful for no apparent reason.

I do not want to take supplements or be reliant on any obscure foods, though I am open to anything that will work.

I've done some research online and this is my current plan:

- Go gluten free(I actually did this for all of last summer but quit as I wasn't noticing any definitive improvement and because bread is delicious, I don't remember what my bowels were like then)

- Replace gluten with fat (admittedly, I eat very little fat)

- 8oz of prune juice in the morning (coffee helps but I want to be able drink it for energy, not constipation)

Again, please do not recommend more fiber or more water, I get enough of both.

Thanks for reading, if anyone could help me out I'd really appreciate it.

Drink more water! Kidding.
I have always suffered with constipation. I just realized that today, when thinking of my past. Now I am pretty regular with an off day here and there. If I have a stressful day I can't seem to go and that screws me up or plugs me up and I have to have 2 tbsp of milk of mag once to get going again. I know u said u don't want supplements but that is what works for me. I take chia and chlorophyll to keep me regular. I also take spirulina, chlorela and vitamin c but I think it is the other two that really help.
I also keep something near the toilet to elevate my legs when I go, that seems to help. I have noticed sometimes eating a few prunes helps but I also get gassy. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful

Just do prunes. It will be gone in no time.

Have you been to see a doctor? What you described is ringing an IBS bell with me. They may be able to suggest some remedies, and at least check you over to rule out anything more serious (not that I think it is, but better to get checked!)

Good luck

I have this issue as well. There are times when I take a gentle diuretic just to get things moving.

I would suggest perhaps some weight loss tea. I've had good experiences with those myself. I like Slim Balance by Lifestyle Awareness. I've found it at Walmart next to all the other tea. Some teas can be found in the diet section in the pharmacy though.

I know you also said no more fiber, but definitely check out fiber cereal. I love Get Balanced from Aldi. Its similar to Kashi GoLean, but half the price.

Lentils are helping me.

Yeah I think it's a much more common problem than is reported. The chia and chlorophyll I assume are just for fiber so I think I'll just make a gluten exception for fiber one cereal as I love that stuff, hopefully the gluten in it doesn't prove to be counter active. I'll definitely start keeping some milk of mag in the house as well. I've used a box to elevate my legs for over a year now! Couldn't live without it.

The only time in my life when I am EVER regular is when I eat a yogurt a day. Any yogurt. Eat a yogurt and a few hours later I'm making a trip to the bathroom. Taking a supplement (acidophilus) also helped though it did not make me regular. I'd rather eat the yogurt, so I do that.

Lol I have a box too, didn't wanna say box though cause my friend laughs at my box near the toilet. I tried stools but they were too big.

I know you said not to suggest water but.... Last month I started drinking LEMON water first thing every morning and it has done wonders for my digestive tract. The lemon detoxifies and cleans your system.

Very impressed by your efforts so far! Sounds like you're living a very healthy lifestyle. I'm sorry for your binge eating issue - I too have suffered from that for years on end. In the past year or so I seem to have reeled in my desire to stuff myself lately, and it's been a dream....

Any idea how many grams of fiber you are actually consuming every day? For some people who don't get 35-40 grams daily you simply aren't going to poop! I personally don't find fruit and veggies alone enough to push everything through my body.

For lunch I often include a high-fiber wrap or pita of some sort... I like Tunaro's Low In Carbs Tortilla Wraps (8g fiber, 60 calories). I know you don't like artificial foods, and I suppose that technically this does count as atritifical seeing as it comes in a package; BUT it's only 60 cals worth, and if it makes me regular, I'm happy =)

I've also been enjoying these sandwich flat-breads called "Flat-Out's" which have a similar Fiber/Calorie content.

I use "MyNetDiary" on the iPhone to track my foods, and it calculates fiber also. I'f I'm at 20 grams or less I know I haven't had enough.

Personally, my emphasis has always been toward the "low-carb" lifestyle rather than the "low-fat" movement. This is probably just due to when I was born. I.e. Women 45+ seem inclined to count calories, whereas those of us younger than that (I'm 29) seem partial to carb reduction.

I am finding that even after years of being carb-conscious, I haven't lost much (if any) weight. I did some very basic research and found that for pear shaped women (which I am - i.e. carry my weight between my belly button and my knees) that carb-sensitivity isn't as much of an issue. I'm not sure if you're really emphasizing protein every day, but if so, maybe consider changing your diet up a bit (if your pear shaped -if you're apple shaped, the low-carb way is where it's at).

How often do you eat red meat?

What is your potassium level / Magnesium level? Don't think that just because you are eating healthy you get enough of these. Modern soil depletion had stripped them out of foods. I got tested recently and I was low on both. I supplement now and it has made a major difference on the... lack of constipation.

An update: I was on something resembling a vacation since Thursday and as such my diet was a mess and I wasn't able to try any suggestions yet, though I did have prune juice Thursday morning and that seemed to help a bit.

I will be picking up a lemon tomorrow morning, it'd go great with seltzer.

I discovered after coming back from vacation the satisfaction that can be had by overeating on food that actually tastes good as opposed to gorging on whatever is in my cabinets (the day I made the original post I didn't have any junk so I tried to make pancakes in like 30 seconds from scratch, they were disgisting but I ate it all anyway). I have sort of a renweed confidence now so we'll see how long that lasts. A year is a long time, congratulations!

The last time I remember eating a particularly large amount of fiber for a prolonged period my stomach was kind of a bubbly, soupy mess, I might have been underrating then though and even that soupy feeling is far better than constipation. I'm going to start buying fiber one cereal again and see how that works out, while I eat a lot of fiber relative to the amount of food I eat I suppose it's possible I'm not eating enough fiber period.

My tendency is to skew low fat but that's just an effort to satisfy myself mentally by eating the largest volume of food possible (a tablespoon of olive oil has the same number of calories as an apple...), that mentally of 'eat as much as possible' is something that I need to move away from though for sure.

Not very often, I never buy red meat, it's always chicken or a turkey substitute for traditional beef items.

I have no idea what my levels are, I'll look into that.

I have a sluggish bowel. More fiber doesn't help, but a good combination of fiber and fat does. If I'm feeling particularly stopped up, a day or two of adding a whole avocado does the trick. If that doesn't help, then a couple capsules of coconut oil really does the trick.

I have noted that when I skip taking my probiotic a few days in a row, the constipation gets worse. I get the best probiotic I can find at a health food store. Magnesium doesn't seem to work on me any longer.