Is this normal?

[Watto1]

Before I start I would just like to say that I am not the poo troll!

I started a low carb diet on Monday and so far so good. I have found it fairly easy and have lost 5lbs already. However, I have had the trots really badly yesterday and today. I'm too scared to even fart in case something awful happens! Is this normal with low carbing or have I picked up a bug?

Apologies if TMI and thanks in advance

[MalletsMallet]

Oh dear! I did the Atkins diet once and lost 4 stone in 6 months. During those 6 months I had the most foul diarrhoea, I literally shat on my mum's rug in the living room once
I couldn't believe it as I was eating so many eggs I thought I would be constipated all the time but no....totally the opposite way. As far as my experience tells me, it is a side effect of low carbing.

[yumyumpoppycat]

I have the opposite experience but pretty sure this can be a side effect. Are you eating anything new?

[ProfYaffle]

I've been low carbing since January and haven't experienced anything like you describe. Are you eating more sweetener than normal? They can have a laxative side effect.

[RawCoconutMacaroon]

I think either you have a bug, unrelated to your diet, or something you've started eating more of has caused the runs, and it's not caused by the low carb directly.

My money would be on artificial sweeteners if you are eating low sugar processed food (rather than things that are naturally low carb), or lettuce, which strangely, seems to have a dire effect on a lot of people!

Also, if you are eating a lot more fat than usual, this could cause a loose bowel for a few days while your digestive system adjusts.

[Watto1]

Thanks everyone. I have been eating more eggs and cheese than usual. Maybe it's that? I don't think I have had too much artificial sweetener. I have had quite a lot of lettuce though!

[Amserhaf]

Lots of fat and oils can cause you to get tummy pains and runny poos. Some bodies can't process lots of fat. I know I can't.

[Nyancat]

I started this week too and has exactly the same, think it's adding fat to things which I wouldn't normally do, ie butter to veg etc. I added some nuts in about 3 days in and ended up doubled in agony with cramps as well, won't be doing that again. it's evened out now though about a week in.

[Watto1]

Glad I'm not the only one! Things seem a bit better this morning thank goodness!

[Amserhaf]

I do medium carb/paleo but don't add extra fat to foods . If it occurs naturally then I eat it but adding it doesn't work for me. I don't eat dairy either.

[Nyancat]

might try that, I'm sticking to unsweetened almond milk and goats/sheep cheeses as I dairy doesn't really agree with me either.

[yumyumpoppycat]

Nyancat which nuts did you add when you had cramps? If it was peanuts then almond milk is probably ok but otherwise you might be better off with some other kind of non nut milk?

[Nyancat]

yumyum it was almonds, which seemed odd, maybe I ate too many. I only really use the almond milk in coffee so not very much and it seems ok. I've had bad eczema since childhood and cows milk seems to trigger it so I try to avoid it.

[yumyumpoppycat]

You could try also goats milk or coconut milk ... but actually I think the skins of almonds are meant to be quite hard to digest so it could just be that if you are usually ok with almond milk.

[yumyumpoppycat]

Oooh look something here about almonds , apparently soaking them makes them easier to digest so I guess almond milk prob is ok as soaked to make the milk, please ignore my nut comment

[Crimestopper]

Lettuce makes shit through the eye of a needle.