Can you look at my diet & tell me why I'm constipated? It's really getting me down.

[RubySunsett]

Typical day:

Breakfast, a whole banana chopped up with full fat Greek yoghurt, a decent sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts, pecans & chia seeds, dessicated coconut on top.

Lunch, omelette with two eggs, onions, peppers, mushrooms. Decent portion of rocket on the side and a modest piece of smoked salmon, 5 cherry tomatoes.

Dinner, a piece of plain cod with half the plate piled with cauliflower & purple broccoli

I only drink water, either hot or cold as I don't like tea or coffee. I have no snacks.

I'm fed up of being constipated. I'm beginning to think it's adding to my low mood all this old food hanging around in my gut. Any bright ideas gratefully received.

I also take magnesium & vit D

I'm having this problem. I was also better when i ate more junk. I agree about the eggs being a bit binding, I'm trying to lose some weight so that is not helping, did not lose any weight this week which is probably due to not going to the loo. I am eating lots of fruit and veg but not as much in the way of carbs. I don't know what to suggest but am following with interest.

You are eating lots of nutritious food. Not many carbs. In my experience if I cut out carbs I have fewer and significantly smaller bowel movements. Think this is because your body is using the fuel from the foods more efficiently than processed shit. Carbs and processed foods effectively leave a lot of "waste product" scuse the pun.

Could it be that? Or are you straining feeling the need to poo? Google keto poo - sorry in advance.

Op I’m calculating about 800 calories in your diet. You are not eating enough. Add a couple of slices of good bread, lentils or potatoes. Also several pieces of fruit. You should be eating double what you do. I write as someone who us size 8 and used to eat very little and also had bowel issues. Are you very thin too? Good luck.

I've noticed that whenever there is an article about eating enough fibre 30gms per day, the suggested menu always contains baked beans. Having checked the fibre in the foods that would make up a healthy diet I have found it is impossible to get the required amount without including beans of some sort. As i do not think baked beans every day is that healthy I never make the 30gm target.

The banana would absolutely kill me. Constipated for three weeks last time I had a bite of one (which I’d done to see if they still had that effect on me) evil buggers they are.

Lack of salt can cause constipation. Are you adding any to your food? You may previously have been getting enough salt from foodstuffs you've cut out your diet- e.g. bread can have quite a high content,

Certainly looks like a healthy diet OP, but i don't see much in the way of wholegrains. There is an app to track daily fibre intake, think it's sponsored by Ryvita. Input what you eat in a day - think you might be surprised at how little fibre you are eating. Have to say i have the app and i haven't met my daily target once.

I would talk to your doctor is diet changes aren’t working. Some people are made worse by fruit and veg or stool bulking laxatives and need to follow a different diet that works for them

Lack of fibre. Try glucamannan supplements. Known as the broom of the stomach. They won't cause diarrhoea but they will make you go. You need to take 1gram 3 times per day about half an hour before you eat.

It's a low carb diet. They make me constipated too. Vit C works for me- the 500mg tablets. Also porridge is great and magnesium is too.

I know it’s a bit controversial but if you’re really struggling I would suggest adding in a cup of coffee in the morning. It helps me go without fail

Failing that peppermint tea can help or you could try syrup of figs.

I take stool softeners most days - psyllium husks. Although I've always suffered despite having a diet high in fruit and veg.

Also if you are eating eggs every day that might not be helping. You can quite easily become “egg bound”

Have you tried eating some whole grains and/or legumes? You could add some oats to your breakfast easily. Add some beans or hummus to your salad.
Also, eggs quite commonly cause constipation. Try going without them for a week or so and see if that helps?

where are the carbs? Wholemeal bread, rye bread these would help.
Also my whole family swears by prunes. Have 3-5 a day as a habit.

I did a low carb diet for 2 weeks, and had the worst constipation I've ever had in my life.

You need more fibre. Once I went back to eating some seeded bread (Vogel) and more fibrous veg like carrots, I was fine.

Banana and eggs cause constipation. I can never have them on the same day or the kids too. There are lots of other sources of iron.

Make sure your drinking lots of water. If you’ve have constipation for a long time your bowel maybe stretched out of shape and you may need to take movical or similar until it reshapes itself. Take a look on the ERIC website. It’s meant for kids but constipation is the same in adults and children.

You also need fat in your diet.

Magnesium citrate powder, it has to be citrate, the other types don't work for the bowels

And a nice strong coffee, as others have said ☕

I was constipated until I quit my very stressful job so it may not be diet based! Within days of quitting I was back to normal.

Your really missing so much fibre in whole grains. You need a lot more if you want to get your bowels moving.

The recommendation is a minimum of 25g of fibre/day - do you get this? Logging your food in mfp or similar will help assess this.
It doesn't seem as if you're eating a large amount of fruit/veg

I'd add in some of the old classics - orange juice/prunes/dried fruit etc. And some whole grains It's insoluble fibre that you need