saving calories = full/bloated/CONSTIPATED...I can't stop someone please help!!

I have been extremely constipated for the past 4 days [TMI--a bit gross I know] and my poo is a bit sticky [also TMI] and I can't seem to figure this out. I eat a balanced diet and get enough fiber, I am also positive that I'm eating enough. I find that when it's been a few days since going it gets harder for me to eat the number of calories that I need for gaining. It's like i go to bed and I wake up full so it's hard to eat first thing in the morning and all of my meals get pushed back a bit and i'm done eating breakfast by 11, snack 1 at 12-1, lunch at 2-3, snack 2 at 4-5, dinner at 7-8, and then my last snack ends up being at 10-11. I go to sleep and then I wake up super full so it's like a never ending cycle. I will admit that I have this bad habit....I know it's BAD but I can't break it. I tend to kinda want to "save my calories" for later in the day, not that I want to stuff myself, I honestly eat enough during the day to feel satisfied but I find that I don't distribute the calories evenly across the time periods because I have this fear of being hungry later and then eating too much. It's hard to explain. Does anyone else have this problem?

It's like I'm causing it but then again i'm not because legitimately I don't feel hungry when I wake up, I still eat breakfast but it just shifts everything later in the day. Any suggestions? Does anyone have a similar experience? I'm not looking to be criticized because clearly i know it's not the best thing to do but I can't seem to shake the habit and it's making me really uncomfortable.

chrissy

Try drinking metamucil  1 to 2x a day and getting a brisk walk daily.  Drink at least 4 glasses of water a day.  Exercise helps keep you regular and will ease your anxiety as well.  Your appetite will be more regulated as well.  A lot of people swear by the yogurt Activia as well

Pro/prebiotics might help. You can find them in stuff like live yoghurt, but you may be better off taking them in the form of a combined tablet with a multivitamin. Your stomach is designed to kill bacteria, and does not differenciate between good and bad bacteria.

How much fibre do you consume? If it is TOO high, this might be your issue.

Do you know if you have any sensitivities, intolerances? Saying that, don't self-diagnose and don't eliminate anything by yourself. Only ever do anything like that without GP supervision.

Saying all this you have to push to eat breakfast despite being full. And even if you fear being hungry later, believe it or not, "saving" calories is probably contributing to the bloat. You have to break that habit. Make breakfast your largest meal, your morning snack your largest snack of the day. The more even distribution REALLY makes it easier on your digestion.

Thanks LALA...really no intolerances, dairy I think makes me more bloated I've noticed. I also am allergic to nuts and bananas, other than that nope. Could dairy be making me bloated? I had 3 yogurts one night and since then I haven't gone. It wasn't the activia kind though...just regular so maybe that could help explain it. 

Is the bloat a regular thing with dairy? \: You may have just eaten too much in one go! Intolerance usually produces the opposite effect - lots of running to the toilet, nausea, that sort of thing. Not so much constipation. Either way don't start cutting that out at all, though I don't accuse you of wanting to do anything like that!

Has this happened before? Have you changed anything in your diet or tried anything new? I know when I change my diet even when for ex it is in a good way like adding calories I tend to get constipated which for me is already an issue. It is like my body is confused. Some people do have issues with dairy though I have heard yogurt is the easiest to digest. Maybe try to spread out the dairy through the day. It may have been an overload at one time. Like for ex one at each meal.

I am a calorie saver too.  Like you, I'm always worried that I will be hungry in the evening, and won't have any calories left.  I don't think I will overeat (too scared too, then I might not stop), I just have this thing about going to bed hungry.  I will do it if I have to, but I hate it, so yeah, I will save like half of my day's calories (sometimes more) for dinner and after dinner snacking.

I too have constipation issues, but I always have, it's nothing new.  I find the best thing is to make sure to get plenty of water and exercise.  When I increase fiber, I get even more constipated.

Also, acidophillous (sp?) capsules help my stomach issues a lot.  It is the same thing as in yogurt, but in caplets or capsules.  Make sure you get as fresh as possible, and keep them in the fridge. 

One more thing - it might sound weird, but if you just sit on the toilet for a few minutes at the same time every day, sometimes you can kind of trick your body into a little bit of "regularity". 

great suggestions guys!! i'm going to try to start being more regular and spaced out with my meals, maybe it will help. not too much of one food group in one sitting and make sure to get enough water, not too much fiber, and some sort of exercise, though not vigorous since my goal is to gain =) thanks a ton! if anyone else has any words of wisdom on the topic it would be greatly appreciated!!

per my gastroenterologist...eat prunes! If you can't stand them, try making a puree with a little water and add this to smoothies, hot cereals, etc. Just start out with one a day, and gradually increase.

I used to suffer with this same problem (sometimes it would take 6 days), I found prunes helped, as well as ground flax, psyllium husks, and oatmeal. My gastro guy also recommended hot water with fresh lemon juice and honey before bed. It works.

Have you looked at things in your diet that you eat regularly? There may a constipating food that you eat often. Sometimes we don't realize until we dissect our diet.

btw...I'm a calorie saver too, even tho' I know that having a big breakfast works better for me.

try a magnesium suppliment about 500 mg.  you can"t overdose, it will just clean you out.  Most all americans are magnisium defficient.  The daily requirments are very out dated.  Do some research on it. I take 500 mg a day and stay very regulated.

what is it about magnesium that would cause it to regulate the process? I am definitely willing to try it, but I have never heard this before and am quite interested in the underlying cause for it's effectiveness. 

Prunes don't seem to work for me, neither does coffee, metamucil tablets, eating more fiber, drinking more water, and it really bugs me. I can feel the food in my stomach and i wake up not hungry at all. I weighed myself and over the past 5 days I am up almost 4 pounds. I need to gain weight so that isn't the problem, the problem is that there is 4 pounds of food in my digestive tract and it's impeding my eating and comfort. It really is quite disconcerting and almost makes me want to cry because I'm so frustrated. 

magnesium has been shown to have "stool softening" properties and in Andrew Weil's book "Natural Health, Natural Medicine" he advises to take calcium with magnesium if it causes loose stools. The following information has been taken from this book.

Magnesium is a neuromuscular relaxant, and is certainly more preferable than commercial laxatives. Vitamin C is also a stool softener.

I encourage you to also try psyllium husks. Sometimes we don't put enough thought into what types of fibre we consume. There is a difference between insoluble and soluble, and how they function in our bodies. Simply counting grams of fibre may not be sufficient. Psyllium can be added to your oatmeal in the morning (or even just a glass of water or juice), in my personal experience, it DOES work. Please remember when using psyllium you must drink sufficient water or the fibre will "gel" together and form an obstructing mass. (ewww!)

If you get up in the morning and have whole oatmeal (not powdered packaged stuff) with ground flaxseed, psyllium husks, and prunes... You will be "going" places!!

Hope that helps.