Bathroom Problems!

COFFEE! Works for me!

(Maybe TMI, be warned)

I know this may be a stupid question, but by "going to the bathroom", do you mean bowel movements? Like, hard and painful? Or you're just used to going every day?

Before the diet and during, I've always gone once a day. Now mine are just less heavy. Maybe you are eating enough protein, but not enough ruffage? Get more of the spinach/cauliflower/broccoli/kale in your diet. Also, I don't know how much water you drink, but get A TON in your system. If this doesn't help, and you feel constipated or its painful, you should be able to take a laxative.

Someone else discussed this topic earlier, here's the link:

http://4hourpeople.com/question/491/why-no-poo

Hope you get on a normal schedule!

I have the same experience. I go to the bathroom less often for #2. I read somewhere that low/slow carb diets, will do that to you, maybe because of the lack of fiber. I went to the doc back in the day when I was on the South Beach Diet about constipation. He told me to take a fiber supplement and drink more water.

I would think about water first.

I suffered from constipation a lot last year and after trying lots of variation in my diet the one thing that fixed it was to drink less water. I was consciously drinking lots of water after I ate and was constantly in trouble. As soon as I stopped forcing myself to drink extra water my body sorted itself out.

I suspect I was washing partially digested food through my stomach or maybe washing out the digestive enzymes.

As this diet calls for increased water intake it could be worth not drinking the water at meal times and letting your body fully digest the food before topping up with water.

Chris.

It looks like you are getting a decent amount of fiber so a question and a couple recommendation

Question- are you drinking enough water? if you aren't sure, track it.

Recommendations

1- Get some fiber and have a serving in a glass of water before bed, I do this and have a very healthy BM most mornings.

2- take Magnesium before you go to bed- this helps you sleep but also can cause loose bowels at high doses so this might help at a lower dose- I take 400MG

For me Psyllium seems to have the most effect, but start out small mine says a serving is a tablespoon but all I use is a rounded teaspoon. I also keep Chia seeds and ground Flax seed on hand as these are also great and both have good fats.

I ran into the same problem when I first started, then I started having 5 forkfuls of sauerkraut before breakfast as per the book suggestion, problem solved!

I drink "smooth move tea" they sell it at the grocery store usually in the health food section, I drink a cup of tea before going to bed, first thing in the morning you go.

I've noticed similar results- not sure if it's because of the nature of the food or just cause I'm eating much less than just a few months ago - could be a combination

Oh gosh - If you're eating 4HB style you have more than enough dietary fiber. It is helpful to make sure you're not dehydrated, but @jnickell below was absolutely correct, you are probably magnesium deficient, as is much of the US population, and supplementing your diet with 400 - 500 mg of the mineral daily will solve your issue quickly. Any brand you can find in your grocery will be fine. Feel better soon!

One thing which works very well is to put two tablespoons of sea salt into the morning water you should be drinking anyway. Beware. This tastes awful. I did it daily as part of a juice fast/cleanse last year. My girlfriend couldn't drink the salt water without feeling like she wanted to vomit. I didn't have a problem with it (I have a fairly strong stomach)...but I did have a bowel movement within 10-15 minutes of finishing the water, every single time.

Take sugar free metamucil 3 tbs a day. You will be set free.

I had the same problem when I started. What I found helped me was, along with plenty of water, was to switch to lentils instead of beans. I found eating a lot of beans everyday messed with my digestive system but lentils are much gentler. Try it for few a week and see how it works!

Drink plenty of water. Plenty. Start the day with an ice cold glas of water before you eat anything. you need more water than usual on the slow carb diet.

Are you much of a coffee or caffiene person? Caffiene acts as a light laxative, so perhaps try a cup of coffee in the morning with breakfast? If coffee is not your thing, try tea.

If all that doesn't work, try a mild laxative like Mirolax. It's easier on the bowels since it allows you to still absorb water.

I hope this helps!

curse of any high protien diet. Almonds will help with that. I also take fiber gummies.

This may sound weird, but before I read the 4HB book, I had gotten it in my head that drinking room temperature or warm water (1L after waking up) was good for me.

Well, I guess I wasn't getting the thermogenic fat burning advantage, but without fail, I seemed to have a movement within 15 minutes of drinking the 1L of warm water...

Maybe give it a try?

Glucomannan is an excellent fiber supplement to take. Also, anything warm in the morning. A lot of people think coffee helps them go, when in fact, it is the warm liquid you drink. I like to drink hot tea in the morning.

I've noticed a similar trend and have been combatting it this week with 16 oz. of extra water a day...seems to make all the difference. On the days I drink less constipation is worse. Also, it makes sense (just like Tim says in his book) that some people stall out because they're not drinking enough water. Water is THE way that cells move waste into your bloodstream and out of the body, so more water means healthier cells and higher potential for weight loss.

Try a table spoon or two of ground flaxseed a day. The fiber helps a lot. Sprinkle it over your salads, shakes, or even coffee. It hardly tastes like anything and it really does do the trick. It's good for many other reasons too if you wanna look it up.

Also, you can up your dose of green veggies. You NEED a lot of fiber because of all the protein you're in taking.

Magnesium citrate works great for me.

3 - 4 times a day 200 mg with or without meals.

Start slowly because too much might give you diarrhea.

Just finished my 2nd cheat day. pfff; happy to be eating my beans/spinach/protein again!

succes!

Thanks to those who advised on the Calcium/Magnesium supplement.

So far it has been 2 days in a row that I have taken 1x 525mg of the above right b4 bedtime and was able to go the very next day. The urge of needing for the BIG toilet break comes right after my first meal upon finishing the 16hrs IF.

My question: does the taking of the supplement b4 bedtime make the appearace that of the "departing matter" runny?

I am not complaining nor I am feeling uncomfortable. Just curious...

Mag Mag Mag, and water. Try Natural Calm brand and GO SLOWLY, use their suggested amount to start ( I think this is mag citrate, which is better absorbed than other pill forms I was using). You will go. They have a plain, no sugar type. Mixed with warm water in th PM before bed works well. Also helps with sleep. I was really magnesium deficient for a while, and also had muscle cramps. That is gone now too.

My first two weeks were very similar and had the same issues. I now take a flaxseed oil supplement with my vitamins in the morning with breakfast and am back to regular!

I am the opposite of you! My stomach is making funny noises as I'm typing this comment! I actually am getting the runs this entire week on the SCD, is that too much info?? LOL.

But, for you I wonder if you are taking in enough water! I found that this week I am drinking a lot more water then the first week especially the ice water before breakfast, the lemon water before and during meals and also lots of green tea to help flush the fat away!

Just a suggestion to try! I noticed that b/c of the water and exercises before every meal I lost an inch off my waist, 29 to 28, within 4 days.

Has anyone used any natural "cleansers". A while back I bought stuff called natural balance colon clenz and was wondering it if would hurt to do one of these maybe weekly.

This may be TMI but the first week of doing slow carb my stomach was all over the place and I couldn't stop going to the bathroom. Now on to week two Im not hardly going its weird. I just want to go! haha

Has anyone tried your standard laxatives (i.e. Ex-Lax)?

Just add chili flakes to your food. It speeds up your metabolism and helps with digestion, so that's really just killing 2 birds with 1 stone. works for me (i had the same problems)

I had the same problem, smooth sailing lately:) Get calcium, magnesium Try fiber supplement, smooth move tea coffee

Oh Yikes! My spa friend thinks one should "go" 3 times a day, I'm happy with once, but it does add up on the scale if delayed! I am taking 2 of these dissolved in warm water every evening chased by a big glass of cold water. Does the trick! THE STUFF IS made by the "awareness Corporation" 25 south Arizona Place, Chandler AZ. It is called "Experience" Their phone # is 1-800-682-9273. I bought mine from Jivana -the organic spa where I go in Burlington VT. Awareness -'Experience' empty the caps into the water and stir-looks weird but is tasteless. I tried swallowing the caps once but there was a sort of weird tummy thing. Also, Try psyillium -1teaspoonfull in your protein drink. Are you drinking a LOT of water? This helps too.

Hi!

I had the same problem the first few days of the diet. I sorted it out by taking 2-3 teaspoons of Psyllum husk with 500ml-1L of water in the evening. I usually have a decent movement just a few minutes after waking in the morning. Remember to drink enough water if you decide to do this; Psyllum husk absorbs a lot of water!

Regards,

Ajit.

I had the same problem. Nothing was working. I went two weeks without a bowel movement. This is what I did.

#1 Flush your system with a laxative: Mag Citrate didn't work for me, so I had to use exlax

#2 Start taking probiotics for digestive health

#3 Lay off the beans. I switched to just protein and veggies.

#4 Enjoy going twice daily

Black beans did that for me--they actually worked TOO well and stopped me up for two or three days. Finally after several rounds of mineral oil and milk of magnesia I was able to get things going again. My system is very sensitive to fiber, and my gastroenterologist recommended that I stay away from eating too much fiber. I switched to lentils and that problem disappeared.

take some Calcium at night, also try a coffee in the morning. Coffee works the best for be, drink it and like 10 min later were all good

Adding a Ca2/Mag supp helps (as has been mentioned), but i have found that flaxseed oil (fresh) added to smoothies and/or salads to be the most efficient, plus the taste is good and the profile is excellent.

I know this was posted a while ago......I had similar issues. Although I have not completely overcome them, here is what I learned about myself:

Tomatoes and avocados are fantastic; My Body responds best to lentils (either red or the regular); Kidney Beans are a no no for me; Drinking too too much water actually made it harder to go; The AGG/PAGG supplements help a bit; If all else fails, some metamucil will help; Drinking water away from meals also helps and the best trick which did not stall my weight loss...........HALF of a SQUEEZED LEMON EACH MORNING in warm water (drank through a straw to not erode the enamel on my teeth).