Constipation (ahem!) page 2

[CrazyCatLady]

Well, we just went through this at our house with my youngest son. Seems that when he was hungry, and I first suggested fruit, then worked the way up to cheeses, that he was waiting for the cheeses. And eating too much meat in proportion to the vegi. (At lunch he wasn't eating them - just the meat and cheese.)

So, after a couple of weeks of stomach issues and finally a trip to the ER, we found out what was going on. In fact, I knew as soon as the X-ray popped up on the screen their was too much stuff in the intestines.

Miralax is what we were told to use. I also started him on ground flaxseed meal hot cereal with coconut and milk. And he now eats a good serving of vegetables with each meal, and eats those apples when I tell him that is what he can have.

[wiltondeportes]

Read Fiber Menace or go to gutsense.org.

[Damiana]

I'd recommend a good probiotic supplement, too. That, in conjunction with 2 mag citrate daily with some coffee has really helped.

[Knifegill]

Are you eating any dairy? Try eliminating most dairy. Fixed it for me. I can eat tons of meat and fat in different proportions and everything moves along nicely. A few bites of cheese are no trouble, but more than that - a physical mass large enough - will block me up every time.

Another testimony for magnesium. Even 1/2 a teaspoon can get things moving if it's been four or five days and I'm thinking it might be trouble soon.

[Mousecatcher]

What have you actually been eating? In my experience, Primal has the opposite effect (I go like 3x daily now, haha). I think it's the addition of extra fat to fruits/vegetables. I do drink coffee, though, which certainly plays a role.

I think that I may be eating too much diary. I have been having 2 small Babybel cheeses every day plus I ate a lot of cheese at the weekend (after a trip to Brussels - great cheese and beautiful dark chocolate!). Plus I have been having full fat Greek yogurt with frozen berries (made into a smoothy). Apart from that I have been eating mostly chicken, eggs, lamb stew, veg/chicken soup, salads, loads of veggies, two pieces of fruit per day, handful of macadamia nuts. It maybe that I am not eating enough veg so I will up that.

[Mousecatcher]

Many thanks to you all for your suggestions. I will certainly be trying them out as you could practically set your watch twice a day as I was so regular!! I tried a diet once called Lighter Life that gave me the most severe constipation that I have ever had. I lost weight but could not live with the pain, stress and sheer uncomfortableness (is that word) of not being able to go to the loo. I don't want to end up like that again as I will end up not carrying on.

I probably need more oil/fat in my diet too. It feels pretty weird having to include fats/oils after years of trying to avoid them!

Once again, thanks very much.

Kathryn

[Knifegill]

Oh, yes. Focus on total calories but also on fat ratio when you're getting dialed into this way of eating. It's old hat for many of us, and we don't use food tracking systems at all most of the time. But I know I get about 80% of my calories from fat, a little less if I have a lot of meat. Some good gateway fats include coconut milk and oil. Animal fat is really where it's at, though.