Day 6 - Still Extremely constipated

[cleaninguplife]

I could use some help.  I have suffered from constipation for most of my life even having to go to the ER at times for the issue. This is one thing I was really hoping would resolve with the Whole 30.  I have food allergies to hazelnuts, malt and barley and a number of food sensitivities: carrots, avocado, pork, crab, rice, rye, oats, buckwheat.  Tested negative for eggs and dairy, but I know I cannot eat cheese without having problems.  Have been eating meat and fat and lots of veggies at each meal.  Even cut out white potatoes as I used to get extremely hungry a few hours after eating them.  Overall I am finally feeling more cheerful, I have energy to play with my dog, I can actually speak when I wake up as opposed to my normal hour of complete fogginess, my muffin top was significantly less today...  But I am so constipated that it literally hurts to sit on hard wood chairs.  I'm afraid to try laxatives so I don't get my body trained to need them.  And would normally solve the issue by juicing a pear and blending it with some prunes. But I know we're not supposed to be drinking our calories.

 

Any suggestions on how to solve this? 

 

Today's meals:

 

3 Scrambled eggs, ghee, red pepper sauce, spinach with blueberries

Snack - cashews (raw)

Smoked salmon, onions, 3 poached eggs, cup of mixed fruit

Snack - prunes

1 cup beef broth

Salmon cakes with 2 eggs (salmon cakes with pumpkin instead of sweet potato)

 

Yesterday:

3 hardboiled eggs with red pepper sauce on top

Apple

Red pepper slices

Prunes

Cashews (Raw)

Leftover brisket, creamed spinach, roasted sweet potatoes

Canned tuna, homemade mayo, half a cucumber with salt

Dried mango

 

Help greatly appreciated!

 

[ShannonM816]

First, understand that longstanding issues are not going to resolve themselves in six days, and maybe not even in 30 days. Some things just take longer to deal with. 

 

My first question would be, are you drinking enough water? Aim for at least half your body weight in ounces per day -- so if you weigh 120 lbs, aim for at least 60 oz each day.

 

My second question would be, are you taking a magnesium supplement? Natural Calm unflavored is one that is Whole30 compliant (only the unflavored one, the others have sweeteners) -- but there are other brands out there as well. You can also try soaking in epsom salt baths (epsom salts are magnesium, and some will be absorbed through the skin as you soak), or there are topical magnesium oils that you can use too.

 

I think you should lose the cashews (or any nuts and seeds) -- they often cause digestive problems for people.

 

The minimum amount of vegetables you should be getting at a meal is one cup, and ideally you should be getting 2-3 cups at every single meal, and if your vegetables are raw leafy green stuff, aim for even more, as they tend to mush down to nothing. And focus on vegetables over fruit. 

 

Ideally, you shouldn't need snacks between meals. You want your meals to keep you satisfied for 4-5 hours. If they're not, then you need to work on increasing meal sizes. The meal template gives you the basic guidelines for portion sizes.

 

 

I hope you find something that works and get some relief soon.

[cleaninguplife]

Thank you Shannon!  I have been drinking water like it is going out of business.  Just can't get enough.  I'll definitely cut out the nuts.  And have heard of Mg before being a good supplement.  Will try that.  My weakness has been the snacking.  Job stress just escalated tenfold over the last week so i'm sitting at my computer at least 10-12 hours a day and that craving has been taking over me the past 2 days.  They have these dried mango packets that have no other ingredients other than mango and are 40 calories so I've been thinking they could be pretty harmless.  I do like bell peppers and get the same satisfaction from them. So i'll cut some up and keep them at the ready.

 

One question... do you think adding Ghee to my diet could be an issue?  I've never used it before and am cooking with it at most meals.  I've found the coconut oil that I used to cook everything with tends to make things just a little too sweet for my liking.

 

Thanks for your help!

[ShannonM816]

Thank you Shannon! I have been drinking water like it is going out of business. Just can't get enough. I'll definitely cut out the nuts. And have heard of Mg before being a good supplement. Will try that. My weakness has been the snacking. Job stress just escalated tenfold over the last week so i'm sitting at my computer at least 10-12 hours a day and that craving has been taking over me the past 2 days. They have these dried mango packets that have no other ingredients other than mango and are 40 calories so I've been thinking they could be pretty harmless. I do like bell peppers and get the same satisfaction from them. So i'll cut some up and keep them at the ready.

One question... do you think adding Ghee to my diet could be an issue? I've never used it before and am cooking with it at most meals. I've found the coconut oil that I used to cook everything with tends to make things just a little too sweet for my liking.

Thanks for your help!

Ghee shouldn't be an issue, but it's always possible. You could try not using it for a while and see what happens.

For the coconut oil, look for refined coconut oil. It will still be solid in a jar like regular coconut oil but will say refined on the label. The refined stuff doesn't have the coconut smell and flavor, so you might prefer it.

If you're truly hungry between meals, as in you could eat something bland like plain fish and broccoli, have a mini meal of protein, fat, and vegetables. But you really shouldn't need to snack if you're eating enough at meals.