Constipated!

[Shepdiana]

I'm constipated on the Whole30!   Anyone else had this problem?   I'm eating lots of vegetables and flax seed and drinking lots of water.  I used to eat yoghurt/kefir for breakfast, maybe that was helping me go. It could be the eggs I guess.  Maybe I'll stop them and see if it improves.  

[ShannonM816]

It might be the probiotics from the yogurt/kefir that were helping -- you could add that either as a pill, or through fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, or other fermented vegetables. Look for sauerkraut or kimchi in the refrigerated produce or maybe the deli section of your grocery store, the canned/shelf stable stuff has been heat treated and won't have as many live probiotic cultures (although it is still fine to eat as long as there's no non-whole30 ingredients, it's still vegetables, it just won't necessarily have as many probiotics). Bubbies brand pickles are also fermented. Kombucha, GT's brand should all be compliant and are pretty easy to find around most of the US, assuming that's where you are. Always read your labels and be sure there's nothing non-compliant in it -- some kimchi, for instance, has soy. Here's an article with more on kombucha:  https://whole30.com/2016/08/kombucha/. 

Be sure your lots of vegetables include different kinds of vegetables, with a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber, and I know you say you're drinking lots of water, but just to be sure, the recommendation would be 1/2 oz per pound of body weight, so a 120-lb person needs at least 60 oz each day.

I don't know how active you are, but if you're not doing some light exercise, like walking, each day, adding that may help. There are also yoga stretches that might help, if that's something you're interested in -- google yoga for constipation for more on that. If you google Squatty Potty, it's a little footstool type thing that you put your feet on when you're on the toilet -- I'm not saying you need to buy one, you can use a footstool -- but their website should have some information on how that position, with your feet slightly raised, may help you when you're struggling to go. 

[Shepdiana]

Thank you so much - lots of helpful ideas!  I also think I might be eating more protein (especially more meat and more eggs) than before, so I think I should cut down a bit.