Strange weight loss side effect

[Breadcat24]

Hi all
Not sure if this is a great way to lose weight but it is certainly working for me!
I recently had major joint surgery and they recommend you take the codeine based pain medication regularly so that you can mobilize. However codeine makes you constipated so they suggest you take laxatives.
I did not fancy doing this so have been taking a very small (less than 100ml) glass of prune juice every day or every other day which I thought more natural.
I did this for my digestion but my goodness does this stuff mobilize your bowels. It should come with a warning!
Anyway in 8 weeks I have lost 11 lbs.
Apparently it is the sorbitol in the fruit.
So this is good in that it places less strain on my joint.
Warning though- if you have a lot it is a bit like just coming back from a holiday in Egypt.

https://pointemagazine.com/eating-disorders-ballet/

https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/24-04-2017/the-monday-extract-the-ballerina-who-was-hospitalised-with-anorexia

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22290040/

There's a laxative (senna-based) tea which is literally called ballerina tea.

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/detox-teas-fueled-my-eating-disorder

And yes, actually, working in the arts and with parents who also did I do know professional ballet dancers and I do know about the culture of thinness and the eating disorders it can provoke. Obviously that doesn't mean ALL dancers but if you think that just because you haven't encountered it, it doesn't exist then do carry on.

I don't like prune juice but I have fresh orange juice with bits in and that keeps me regular. Also sugar free boiled sweets often have sorbitol in. A few sugar free Werther's also works well.

I had totally forgotten about sugar-free Werther’s Originals 😳, thank you. I will be buying these as a back up for if / when flaxseeds stop working for me when constipated.

Hi I am not promoting using laxatives as a means of losing weight. I merely commented on the fact that it had been an unexpected side effect after I was told I had to take a laxative after being prescribed large quantities of codeine. It was a somewhat joking I was not expecting that post.
I am certainly not advocating giving yourself explosive diarrhea as a means of losing weight and am really looking forward to ditching both the codeine and the prunes.

Using laxatives is not something routinely done by ballet dancers. I know rather a lot of them and professional dancer dc knows hundreds. If there was something like this endemic in that profession we would know about it. Most professional ballet dancers have a naturally narrow skeletal frame anyway (as do people like endurance athletes).

There might be a few people who resort to this, but it is by no means anywhere near as common as you make out.

To be honest, I'm fucking sick and tired of defending the profession. The general public has no clue.

Ok.😐

Just to add ... IBS sufferers should be really careful with prunes as they are high fodmap and can cause a horrid flare up.

I once made the mistake of thinking sugar free sweets was the healthier option ……. 🥵

The AuDhd male kids and adults in my family struggle with very low gut and bowel motility and they are all given 25-50 ml of prune juice every 2-3 days and it’s hidden quite well in a chocolate milk shake with a caramel drizzle sauce drizzle in the glass. Straight is absurdly gross but yeah it defo does the job!