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.

You need to drink a lot of water. My husband was told to avoid bananas because of constipation. The best thing he has found is tinned prunes, half a can a day. He also went through a phase of eating dried figs until he got bored, but they worked too. Not as well as the prunes, but they did help.

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Get your thyroid checked

Could just be you, many people struggle with constipation for non-dietary reasons.

I'd add in some lentils and dried fruits, see if that makes a difference.

Are you dieting/actively trying to lose weight? If you're doing low carb you will poo less. People doing Keto on here say that.

I eat a lot of carbs and I think they're basically like when I give my dog kibble (the dry biscuity stuff, for non dog folks) - he shits a lot more often.

Porridge and coffee works for me. Honestly, unless you're doing some sort of special diet, I'd add a bowel of All-Bran or porridge with bran sprinkled on it.

Yep, I bung up on a healthy diet. Porridge is helpful. I won't do totally low carb now, I'm way fatter but hated being constipated, took me ages to sort it out. Weirdly, DH cleaned up his diet and he's now on lactulose. GP doesn't believe him, keeps saying eat more fibre...

Eggs also bananas make me constipated. I wouldnt have both on the same day. Try having a pear or apple with your lunch.

How frequently (or not) are you going?

It's not necessarily a daily activity depending on how well you're body is utilising the foods put in.

If you want to go more often then you need non digestible fibre and fruits like prunes, pears, plums or grapes.

@KimsPonytail

Although vegetables contain some fibre, they do not contain nearly as much as fruit, pulses and whole grains.

NHS advice is to try to eat 30g of fibre per day. Beans have 13g per portion, whereas broccoli has about 2.

I eat pineapple daily as it's the only thing which helps me go. Luckily I love it!

Are you on any meds? I'm on codeine which doesn't help
Tinned pears (drink the juice too) really help me

Are you on anything hormonal? Some forms of progesterone make my system run more slowly.

My dd started drinking an Actimel a day that helped her go more regularly.

Agree that bananas and eggs will be taking it in the wrong direction.

To keep regular I would need a portion of wilted spinach or shredded raw cabbage amongst the veg. And some active yoghurt. A coffee, ideally espresso with just a dab of milk after the main meal of the day and all is sorted

3l water a day.

If I miss the daily 'event' I would add a square of dark chocolate to the coffee plus some prunes, they go well with dark chocolate and coffee. Often need extra help when away, a tea of senna pods before sleeping each night sorts everything so long as I have been eating the right veg.

Fascinating subject
I’ve had problems for years
I always had omelette for breakfast and banana on dark coloured chocolate rice cake every day for years
Then I ran into huge massive problems

Now breakfast is gf oat muesli I make at home with loads of pecans, walnuts,Brazil’s, sunflower seeds, chia seeds,pumpkin seeds, dried fruit
Topped with brambles, blueberries and black grapes and coconut milk ( we water down a tin of coconut cream)

Then we take our supplements,d3, k2 , zinc ascorbate , vit b
And I take concentrace which is the salts ( electrolytes from the salt lake in Utah)
Very important to get them I

Lunch is home made butternut squash soup often with a tin of pease pudding in ( lentils)
I defy anyone not to poop after lentils
More digestive enzymes, more concentrace

Evening meal tonight was duck breast, a stack of steamed green veg and sweet potato chips

More concentrace and another digestive enzymes

We went gf and df 20 months ago because we were both intolerant

I have movicol for emergencies but don’t need it at the moment
Also senna occasions when I’m a bit stuck

Plenty of water here and a bit of dark chocolate

Believe me I’ve suffered. So now I’m sure to eat according to the innards.

I think ibuprofen really messed me up and also a lot of antibiotics when I was younger

My dgd has problems because of her hyper mobility
Has that been ruled out

Chia seeds are the worst for me, more so than banana or eggs.

I have trouble with piles, and can only have chia seeds in small doses, not every day and mix with ground flax seed.

Due to ^ I also won’t low-carb and try to eat high fibre carbs daily (porridge, brown rice, brown seedy bread, bean and lentil salads for lunch) as it makes things more comfortable.

Beetroot is my hint for getting things moving.

I eat 1700 cals per day and aim for 28g fibre. I have
All bran, raspberries, almond milk and skyr breakfast
Wholemeal bagel or bap with chicken or a tin of tuna for lunch, with salad. Sometimes I have crisps, fruit or pickles too
For dinner I have lean protein with veg, rice, noodles, potatoes or pasta. Eg chicken penne arrabiata, stir fry noodles, curry, home made burger etc.
Then I have chocolate or ice cream or whatever I fancy, sometimes toast before bed.
I think you need whole grains to bulk up your movements.

Bananas and eggs both Bung you up. You need to eat way more fruit, oranges, pears, apples and grapes for example. Also up your veggies and things like beans and pulses (a good mixed bean chilli works wonders for me) Lots of water and exercise really helps xx

If it is just before your period then constipation is more common.

30g of fibre a day is recommended. Its actually quite hard to get this! Put your diet through My Fitness Pal or Cronometer and it will calculate fibre.

I'm not sure if the OP is ever coming back. She has left us here to discuss her sluggish bowel forever. I'm off to have a shot of Kefir.

No wonder you're constipated! Cut out the eggs and banana and eat some bloody fibre!

OP you mentioned that this was recent change to diet, in the last two months?

If so, I reckon it’s just your body getting used to the change. Just because you ate shit before and were regular doesn’t mean that the new food is causing it, it’s likely just the adjustment. Not medical advice but I have heard similar before! Maybe give it a bit more time and add in more fruit in the meantime.

Fibre for breakfast. My bowels would sieze up on that breakfast.
All bran is boring but serves it's purpose. Also a glass of prune juice.

I have IBS D and kefir makes me constipated. Take some time off from it.

Bananas and chia seeds also not quick to go through.

Are you taking vitamin supplements

I have found not only iron but Vitamin d also can make you constipated

I also take a mild laxative a few times a week