Colon Cleansers...

What are people's thoughts on these? Avoiding the hype and the many, many internet adverts - do they work, and are they safe?

I am tempted to invest in a good one from a health food stores but have a few concerns.

I'm petite and light, so not in it so much for the 'weight loss' or losing pounds (I'm 100lbs and 5'4). However, I do suffer awful bloating and have IBS so know certain foods upset my stomach, either giving me constipation or the other one...

If I took some colon cleanse it would be to remove all the gunk from inside, giving me a fresh start with eating healthy foods. Would I be at risk of giving myself a very upset or unsettled stomach for a while after? Or losing too much weight?

If I eat too much (as I just have done being on holiday for 10 days!) no other part of my body is affected apart from my stomach. My waist measurements go up 2 inches and I want to take them back off!

You don't need to cleanse your colon... that's the hype that makes some people rich.  Most are powerful laxatives and, if you're not constipated, that can lead to a lot of problems... gas, diarrhoea, 'lazy bowel'... 

Your colon is probably the cleanest organ in your body, in reality..... no 'gunk' to remove.  If you've had a poor diet up to now by far the best way to improve the efficiency of your digestion is to eat a lot more fresh vegetables, fruit and wholegrain foods.... eat rather less refined/processed foods, meat, dairy products and similar.... drink plenty of plain fluids and take regular gentle exercise.

At 100lbs and 5'4" you're quite badly underweight, of course.  At CC we like to help people manage their weight safely and sustainably.... not remain underweight.

So you'll have to balance your healthier diet and increased iron-intake with a weight-gain amount of calories... typically 2500.   Waist measurements will increase.... that would be natural.... but that's a small price to pay for avoiding all the horrible health issues that come from chronic malnutrition and being chronically underweight.  If you're low on iron already, that's just the start....   Possibly worth talking over with your doctor and asking for a referral to a dietician.

Thanks for this feedback gi-jane! I really wasn't sure whether they worked or not, but will definitely be steering clear. Have never taken laxatives and never want to.

I also agree that I think I'll book a consultation with a dietary specialist. Whilst I am light, and am classed 'underweight' I eat around 1700 a day and am naturally very slight. I struggle to keep muscle mass on. I train weights 3 times a week in a class, and if I continue with this my weight goes up and am more toned and shapely, but if I miss it for two weeks I lose most of the muscle and become just a bit stick-like but with a soft middle. If I put on any weight it goes to my stomach, hence stomach measurements, so trying to avoid the 'apple' shape.

But yes, my goal isn't to lose weight but to be healthy and fit. I love working out and eat enough to compensate for lots of exercise.  Thanks for the concern on my weight though, and I do agree I need to improve my diet especially to improve my iron levels. I've just signed up to calorie count and think my goal will be to improve my diet and get fitter (training for a 10k).

A lot of underwieght people put weight on their stomach. It's to do with the body's reaction to under-eating, once you stay at that new weight for long enough it gets redistributed else where. Avoiding this is not a good reason to stay under weight.

Increasing your fitness and upping calories (Jane's suggestion of 2500 sounds spot on) to help put on weight in a healthy manner would be a good goal for you. If you have a very small frame then a gain of about 12lbs is probably all you need.

I do get very confused by my own body and weight to be honest. I don't look 100lbs. I do have body fat, particularly a D-cup, and round chubby cheeks. I also am known as a big eater, although as I mentioned before I think I need to change my eating habits as I'll often have one chocolate bar a day minimum. (I'm not so good with fruit and veg).

In all honesty, if I put on 12lbs I would look 'chubby' as I have a very small frame. I do want to put on muscle, which would probaly take me up 7lbs, but as I said, it's hard to keep on (and I eat lots of protein, such as scrambled egg for breakfast, chicken or tuna for lunch etc). I'm actually not sure HOW to put on more weight bar eating lots and not exercising so then it is just fat.

My mum was 91lbs when she got married, and is exactly my height and build. Photos of her show her looking curvy and healthy so I do think it's genetic. Just a very  low retention of muscle. I have a friend who is 14lbs heavier than me but actually has less fat (she is very skinny), you couldn't pinch a milimetre of fat on her stomach, but she did swimming as a child and has huge calf and thigh muscles (where I'm assuming her extra weight is).

For a while I was worried about my 'underweight'-ness, and low BMI but I've decided to pay attention to my own body and measurements rather than weight on the scales. My aim is to increase hip size (ie bum and gluts size!), decrease waist size slightly, but build and maintain tone and definition on my arms and legs.

How could I eat 2500 without putting on fat-weight? I am curious, as like I said, it's something I've not been able to acheive before!

runjenrun - I'm curious what your lifting class actually does? If you want to be increasing muscle mass, you need to be eating a surplus, but also doing enough training for it. Many of the lifting classes I know of tend to be more focused on the high reps/low weight, and if you want muscle, you are going to need to be lifting heavy.

It's totally possible you've actually found a useful class, but maybe share what a class is like (what exercises, sets/reps, weights)?

Good question amethystgirl! It's a class called 'muscle tone' and I'd say it could be both, as it's free weights and the instructors give feedback. They'll recommend a heavier weight for certain exercises but it's probably middle of the line with reps vs weight. I always take the heaviest weight and go until I can't do any more, shaking etc., and the instructors push for this saying "you shouldn't be able to lift one more rep." I trust the instructors and often ask for feedback after the class.

I've noticed since going that my arms and especially shoulders definitely 'pop' out, my calves have gotten much bigger, and my thighs are more defined. However, my gluts are the one area that is really hard to improve upon.

I'd say a general example would be doing squats holding 8 - 10kg (for me) and going down for two, up for two around 8 times, then down for four up for four 4 times then down for 8 up for 8 twice then holding at the bottom whilst ''marching' for 20 seconds. It definitely makes my muscles burn and fatigued.

The most I use so far is 4kg free weight (so 8kg total) as I find any more puts strain on my lower back. I'm hesitant about lifting much heavier weights as I don't want to build so much muscle I look bulky (this started to happen on my shoulders).

I'd definitely say I've built a lot of muscle since before doing these classes, and I find the class helpful for a guide. If I did free weights alone I'd probably quit before I should. Does this sound ok, or too little?

For the squats, is that 10kg dumbbells (so one in each hand), or a bar that totals 10kg?

I'm a little concerned that you say that using more than 4kg dumbbells puts strain on your lower back - that suggests to me that you aren't in the proper form (which exercise is this - squats, still, or something else?)

For glutes, there's nothing like deadlifts... if you aren't doing them, you should be.

Maybe, since we've gotten kinda away from colon cleansers (I hope far far away), you might want to start a new thread over in the Fitness forum, on your lifting. The mod over there (melkor) is extremely knowledgeable, especially about lifting, but is less likely to wander into this current thread due to its name.

That was slightly misleading on my part to say it strains my lower back, and laziness as I didn't type out the full explanation! The only one that strains my lower back is doing standing prone flys, as I have a natural curve in my lower back that I really need to strain to straighten out (so I kneel instead).

What I meant was some parts of my body aren't strong enough when the muscle I'm training is. For example, front raises. If I do anything heavier than 4kg in one harm, the front part of my forearm and wrist specifically is too weak to hold the weight straight, despite training my shoulder and lats. I just need to do wrist exercises...

Anyway, good point on the new thread under fitness. I'll do that a bit later today. Thanks for all your feedback and help so far though, it's really useful!

Well, I do happen by in here from time to time, but yeah, specific exercise questions are probably best asked over in Fitness so we don't clutter up the weight loss forum ;)

Original Post by melkor:

Well, I do happen by in here from time to time, but yeah, specific exercise questions are probably best asked over in Fitness so we don't clutter up the weight loss forum ;)

You found us!! :)

Thanks Melkor! I've posted a new thread here:

http://caloriecount.about.com/weight-lifting- advice-ft154610

:)

runjenrun,

A friend of mine tried a "salt water flush" which just consists of adding salt to a glass of water and chugging a few of those.  He said it cleaned him right out, he was actually amazed at the result... which I don't want to know anything about. 

disk0thek that did make me laugh! I'm just back from a holiday yesterday where I spent everyday swimming in the sea, and on one particularly choppy day I swallowed a lot of very salty sea water and the next day had a really badly upset stomach...probably very similar results! Thanks for the tip but think I'll lay off the salt water just now, and probably all colon cleansers...not keen on laxative effects!

Yeah, I've never tried one of those.  I'm not sold on them.

Just so everyone is on the same page, Calorie Count absolutely does not support fasting or cleanses for weight loss purposes.

Here is some info from our in-house nutritionist Mary Hartley on her "Ask Mary" page:

Is it safe to do a cleansing fast?

In many cultures, fasting is used to achieve physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Brief fasting is harmless, although there is no evidence that it benefits the body. After one day of fasting, the body starts to break down protein from the muscles and organs. Protein is converted into glucose to feed the brain and central nervous system. Less muscle means lower calorie requirements, which can promote weight gain in the future. Food deprivation may also lead to overeating when food is available again. Pregnant and lactating women, growing children, insulin-dependent diabetics, and people taking certain medications should never fast.

And definitely before you go for the cleanse, PLEASE consider sorting your fibre out first! Fiber acts as a natural colon cleanser!

Insoluble fibre examples:
 -- Whole-wheat pastas, breads, etc
 -- Quinoa
 -- Brown rice
 -- Bran products
 -- Fruit and vegetable skins, such as potato skins, tomato skins, plum/prune skins, apple skins, pear skins
 -- Nuts and seeds, particularly flax, almonds, brazil nuts and walnuts

Soluble fibre examples:
 -- Oats
 -- Rye
 -- Barley
 -- Potatoes of all varieties
 -- Psyillium husks
 -- Legumes and pulses, especially lentils, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans, pinto beans and soybeans

And pretty much all fruits and vegetables. Particularly raspberries, plums, bananas, sweetcorn, prunes, apples, pears, blackberries, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels, asparagus, artichokes and dried fruit. Again, never introduce lots more fibre without drinking enough water to compensate. There is a more detailed list of fibre sources here for future reference.

Hi Jen,

Just wondered if you'd thought about your bloating being due to some food intolerance? I ask because your symptoms sound similar to what used to happen to me before I cut wheat out of my diet, I would get extremely bloated and uncomfortable. Might be worth a thought!

mayamontrose, that's really interesting, and in actual fact I did get food allergy testing done and it turns out I am allergic to wheat and gluten. I tried to go wheat free for two weeks but found it really upset my stomach (eating corn pasta etc.) and had awful stomach cramps I think from trapped gas. I'm sure if I'd stuck it out longer I would have seen it through. I also realised I would never be able to have pizza, cake or all my favourite foods again so thought I'd risk the bloating.

It is a good point and something I should have considered regarding the bloating. I know if I don't eat any bread or pasta my stomach generally stays flatter. I guess I'm choosing to live with my demons!

I also think I have general IBS which doesn't help with bloating. So foods that are high in fibre, like bran flakes or fruit, give me awful cramps. It's a bit of a bother!

nycgirl, thanks for that post - i do appreciate it, and I've never purposely seeked out dangerous methods of dieting. I posted the original question as I wasn't sure whether colon cleansers were safe. The answer was 'no' and they're unnecessary so on the back of that advice, I'm steering clear.

I would like to point out, however, that despite caloriecount not supporting any colon cleansers, my original post was inspired by an advert I saw for a colon cleanser on this site. This isn't a complaint, but merely a suggestion that if Calorie Count does not support colon cleanser products, perhaps they shouldn't advertise them. or allow advertisers to display adverts for them?