Anyone else suffered with constipation on Low Carb

[lowcarbdieter]

Hi,

This is my 3rd year of doing the Low Carb diet to lose weight. The previous 2 years I have had no issues and easily lost the stone I was aiming to lose. This year however, I have struggled with constipation! I am eating fruit and veg, plenty of fluids and exercising more, so see no reason as to why I should get constipated?! It has got to the point where I rely on Senokot (laxative) to be able to go! This has been happening since January

I have documented what I have been eating in my weight loss blog (easy view in the PDF at the bottom), can anyone spot why this may be occurring?: http://www.lowcarbdieter.blogspot.com

Thanks in advance,
Steph

[Tril]

How many grams of fiber are you getting every day? Are you actually checking it?

WATER WATER WATER.... your digestive system can't work without it. If you need a laxative you need more water, regardless of how much you're drinking... drink more.

Your body will begin to rely on laxatives if you take them long term (since January is long term). It's a vicious cycle... you can't go with it and you can't go without it. Switch to a fiber supplement and DO NOT take a laxative unless you are PLUGGED. You need to get your body back into a natural cycle.

Also... on a low carb diet you don't "go" every day. Are you sure you're constipated and not just producing less waste? Some people think it's bad if they don't eliminate every single day.

I did look at your blog. I would suggest you substitute some of the carbs you're eating for more veggie carbs. I'm talking about the Granny Smith Apple... you could eat a LOT of fresh veggies for all of the carbs in those apples (about 17ng per 150g serving). That would help with getting the necessary fiber.

How many carbs are you eating? It appears to me you're eating a "moderate carb" diet. Nothing wrong with that at ALL so long as you're losing weight on it! Just curious how many you can eat and still lose. I guess-timated one day of your food intake and came up with about 50ng.

[lowcarbdieter]

I do drinks LOADS of Green tea! I have about 3 tea pots at work and a couple of mug full at home. I would be constantly nipping for a wee if I drink much more!

I did purchase a fibre supplement that said to take 30 minutes before each meal and tried it for a week but it didn't seem to do anything, so I stopped. I generally take the Senokot when I get stomach pains, I also feel the need to 'go' and sit on the loo to find its just a load of wind and then still feel the need to go after that. (so annoying)

It is constipated as I feel the need to go and can't. Also get a stomach ache and bloated feeling, plus once I have been (with help of the lax) I still feel like there is more there to come out, but it doesn't.

What fresh veg would you suggest that I could easily take to work with me to eat at my desk? Instead of the apple.

I don't really count my carbs, I just avoid the slow release starchy carbs, which has worked for me so far Maybe the exercise has helped to burn the extra carbs I do eat? I know its meant to be 20 carbs a day to do a low carb diet isn't it? Just out of interest, which day was the 50ng?

Thanks for your reply!

[Tril]

20g a day is for Induction... that's the first two weeks. After that you can (and should) slowly increase your daily carbs. So at this point it's ok for you to be over 20ng per day!

The 50g day was the one you had the four tortillas for dinner, the apple for a snack, the nuts and seeds and yogurt for b'fast.

Any fresh veggie like cucumber or celery would be great for a snack. Try filling celery with egg or tuna salad. Dip cucumber in a low carb ranch dressing.

Again... if you're losing don't change a thing!!!

Have you been using a laxative often since January? You really shouldn't use one longer than a week... and certainly not use one to maintain regularity. You might have gone too far... and now your body is dependent on them. Google "laxative overuse".

[lowcarbdieter]

Ah ok, so I am ok to carry on the way I am, I will try the fibre supplement pills again and purchase some celery, I like to have celery sticks with primula cheese spread (lush) so maybe I should try that instead?

Ah, last night's post? The Tortillas were 3ng per wrap that I found on a website as we can't buy actual low carb products in supermarkets in the UK.

I'd say I use the laxative once a week (ish) My sister-in-law has the same problem but she has been following the Weight Watchers diet instead. I will have a search on Google too see if I can find more info on being a laxative junkie!

Thanks

[lowcarbdieter]

I found this when googling:

Many people who are dependent on laxatives feel that they must keep on using them because otherwise they become very constipated. A natural way to break this cycle involves eating 1-2 pieces of dried fruit a day, drinking at least 6 glasses of water a day, exercising daily, and stopping all laxative use. There may be no bowel movement for several days, and it may be very hard, but after that the body should settle down to some sort of schedule. It is not necessary to have bowel movements every day; so long as the stools are soft, things are working normally. If dried fruit is not what you like to eat, apples are a good alternative. If, after 2 weeks, you are not feeling any better, go see your doctor. There are some medical conditions that are associated with chronic constipation, which you should be checked for if diet changes do not help.

I might try the dried fruit as apples obviously don't work!

[Tril]

Do you like flax? I know many people use that and swear by it. I can't gag it down... but you like it, it might be your answer!

[lowcarbdieter]

According to my research, flax seeds (can't find them in the UK) are the same as linseeds, which is what I have been sprinkling on my yoghurt in the mornings. Maybe I should 'up' my dose? I brought some dried apricots last night, but they do seem to have a few carbs in them!

[FlorayG]

Flax (same as linseed) seeds do the job and you can get them fresh whole or ground from here http://www.flaxfarm.co.uk/ they're really friendly and helpful. Also their flax oil is fantastic, the best and heathiest thing on salads. I buy the 2.5 litres sold for animals and divide it into containers and freeze it, it's so much cheaper that way. I take 1/2 a tablespoon of whole flax every morning in water that cures constipation easily but I find swallowing stuff easy I know some people don't! If you can swallow a pill dry then you can take flax this way. You can use ground flax too sprinkled on pretty much anything. If it's ground you get the nutrients as well as the fibre (your digestion can't break down whole flax seed). Also try the flax bread recipe.

[lowcarbdieter]

Flax (same as linseed) seeds do the job and you can get them fresh whole or ground from here http://www.flaxfarm.co.uk/ they're really friendly and helpful. Also their flax oil is fantastic, the best and heathiest thing on salads. I buy the 2.5 litres sold for animals and divide it into containers and freeze it, it's so much cheaper that way. I take 1/2 a tablespoon of whole flax every morning in water that cures constipation easily but I find swallowing stuff easy I know some people don't! If you can swallow a pill dry then you can take flax this way. You can use ground flax too sprinkled on pretty much anything. If it's ground you get the nutrients as well as the fibre (your digestion can't break down whole flax seed). Also try the flax bread recipe.

Thanks, I am popping into town after work and just had a quick look on the Holland & Barrett website and they do flaxseed oil capsules on special offer at the moment Buy 2 for: £5.30 so I'll get some of them. I have been adding the whole seeds to my breakfast! That must be where I am going wrong!! D'oh!

Has anyone tried White Tea? I read it is better than Green Tea?!

[FlorayG]

I'm confused at your confusion now...
Flax oil is lovely on salad and very good for you but will not have a large effect on constipation. So I can't see any point in taking capsules because you can't taste them and anyway the oil in them will not be fresh - complete waste of time and money.
Flax seed, whole or ground, WILL help immensely with constipation
Sorry to have confused you!

White tea is lovely but I don't know much about the health benefits. It's less harsh tasting than green

[lowcarbdieter]

It was this sentence that made me think the capsules were good: 'If you can swallow a pill dry then you can take flax this way.'

I have actually successfully 'been' and not had Senokot since Monday. Not sure if the dried apricots will have worked that quick or whether its because I have eaten more green veg lately? Or that Senokot helped to restore my natural balance (like it says on the box). I'll hold off on getting any flaxseed oil until I struggle again as need to save my pennies if I can until Pay Day!

Thanks for you help with the flaxseed info!

[FlorayG]

Oh I see - yes it could be read like that, sorry. No, I meant if you can swallow a pill dry you can swallow whole flax seed in water! It makes some people gag is my point.
I would still try it rather than apricots simply because apricots are high in carbs. Whole flax seed will be zero carb as you can't digest it.

[lowcarbdieter]

Oh I see - yes it could be read like that, sorry. No, I meant if you can swallow a pill dry you can swallow whole flax seed in water! It makes some people gag is my point.
I would still try it rather than apricots simply because apricots are high in carbs. Whole flax seed will be zero carb as you can't digest it.

I only had 6-7 dried apricots in total and I starting taking my fibre pills again and it appears that something worked and I am FINALLY relieved of my constipation!

Thanks to everyone that has given me advice

[Tril]

Yeah!!! It's good information... and will help people in the future, too.