Currently I am following a plan that suggests I eat protein 3 times a day until I am under 200 pounds, then I would switch to 2 times a day.

I should mention that although I am not currently a vegetarian, I have been doing a lot of research into the lifestyle (more so for the health benefits). I have been reading that the human body is not designed break down proteins and fat from animals (beef, pork, poultry, etc) and that ultimately humans are the only mammals that eat other animals. (I think that's how it went anyhow)

Anyways, I had relatively good sucess the first 3 weeks following my program (13 pounds and 15 inches lost). I'm assuming this was because it was such a radical change to my eating habits as I went from junk food and fast food to veggies, fruits, whole grains and lean meats and also probably the elimination of excess water weight. I also went from drinking 2 glasses of water a day to 10 glasses a day.

The reason I'm posting this is now I've hit this wall. I'm having a difficult time eating 3 proteins a day and I'm pretty sure it is the reason that I have become constipated. I have never been the most regular person (an every other day person) before this program. But on this program I have been going 5 days without a bowel movement (ouch).

So basically, does anyone have any advice or tips? Anyone else experience this?

And this may be a weird question but... vegetarians chicks, anyone notice a difference in their own regularity pre-veggie and post-veggie?


Thanks!!

How are you for fiber? I eat large quantities of vegetables and beans and oatmeal, all of which have fiber. (Caution - don't go from zero to super high fiber. Not pleasant. Increase incrementally.) If you are indeed drinking 10 glasses of water a day, fiber might be the answer for you. Vegetarian proteins like beans and grains have lots of fiber associated, so that's a win-win.

So for me, the change is not how much protein, but that a vegetarian diet often includes more fiber. Evaluate your fiber intake, keep drinking water and try to incorporate exercise. Those three factors are key to regularity for me. (As is a non-hectic and crazy life where there is some time available to use the restroom in a non-hurried manner.)

Good luck!

Dairy can often leave you constipated, are you eating dairy? Most vegans I know are very regular but I don't know about vegetarians that include dairy in their diet.

For dairy, I eat Activia yogurt (usually once a day at breakfast or lunch), sometimes one cup of skim milk on Kashi cereal (maybe 3 or 4 times a week) occasionally I'll have an ounce of chedder on broccoli (3 times a week).

Cabbage, green leafy veggies usually do the trick for me :-)

when i was vegetarian i didn't notice a regularity difference, but when i went vegan it was a big change. i went for once every couple days to once a day at the same time. i'm not sure all the reasons why it changed but i'm sure its a combination of increased fiber, the fact meat takes longer to digest, and the dairy products.