FIBER and poo...
 

So how much fiber is everyone getting?

I seem to be getting 35-50g easy per day with all of the fruits and veggies I'm eating. I don't eat any fiber-filled supplements either.

today I've had/am having:
1carrot
3cups spinach
1 cup blueberries
.5 cup raspberries
1 cup honeydew melon
2 stalks of celery
roasted bell peppers
1 orange
1apple
vegetarian meatballs made out of portabella mushrooms
low sodium spaghetti sauce

along with all of my other food choices (which are a lot! about 1400 cals for me today with everything else such as my protein sources), I'm getting 36g of fiber today, which is on the low side for me.

YET, I only go poo once a day in the morning, and I've heard it's normal to go more than once a day...what do you all think.

a tender subject indeed
 

If you're eating a lot of fiber then your best friend is liquid, preferably water. Too much fiber will bind you up (think of cement: when wet it flows....)

Other thoughts, "floater" or "sinker", floater is good. If it sinks you've been "compacting" it, you're body is holding things in instead of moving them.

Do you have to strain to get things moving?

If you're a type "A" behavior person, you've trained yourself to go once a day. You can break that conditioning. Go to the WC a few times a day, even if you just pass gas you'll get the "lower half" to think about moving.

A great question on a ticklish subject.

Dave

I get anywhere from 25g to 40g of fibre daily and drink plenty of water, and I go once or twice every day. I run and find that running gets things moving in my bowels.

Same here- wake up @ 5am, drop a deuce, weigh myself and then hit the gym.
I average 24-45g of fiber daily with plenty of water- I usually drink 3- 16oz glasses during my workday.

I usually get plenty of fiber myself but I only go 1ce a day and sometimes I go days without going at all. That gets really uncomfortable. But I have found that drinking chai tea helps me. It's a spicy tea and a lot of people don't like it but I love the way it tastes and there have been studies that show that is helps aid in digestion.

If I skip out on my tea I can really tell a difference.

i drink a lot of water and have a mix of floaters and sinkers. I'll try the chai tea and try to re-train my body. I'll also keep up the running. thanks for the suggestions!

Twice a day, once a day or even once every other day can all be normal depending on your body. I'm the once-a-day type as well, and I make sure to eat 2 pieces of fruit and at least 3 servings of veggies per day. If it's hard, painful to pass, comes out as pellets instead of a "log", or is mushy and has no shape, those can all indicate issues with your diet. It looks like you're getting a healthy dose of fiber to me. As long as regular movements are happening, and you aren't feeling bloated or uncomfortable, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

TMI I know, but as a veterinary technician and mother of a 2 year old, I consider myself to be a poo expert lol.:D

this is a funny thread but still important!

i have to say that it is quite counter-intuitive for me to believe that floaters are better than sinkers. If you drink more water i feel like you're more likely to get sinkers bc you are hydrated and therefore the density of your BM is water+digestion which is denser than if there was less water in your BM.

on a similar note, i took a gap year inbetween high school and college and did an outdoor leadership semester in the fall. On the first day they said that if you were well hydrated your BM should look like chocolate frozen yogurt does when it comes out of the machine.

I've been on a quest for the last 4 years to increase my fiber intake....Nothing seams to work for me, any random suggestions? I've tried the fruit, vegetable, yogurt route with no success.

I go maybe once every other day at the max. I drink TONs of water (only water) and still I have small little pellets (sorry for TMI) I just can't seam to find the right solution for myself.

I'm so envious of you all with awesome BM's. lol!!!!!!

Lucky maybe you should eat Kashi Go Lean for breakfast...or Bob's Red Mill high fiber hot cereal! drinking hot liquids also helps. you could also do fiber capsules if you get desperate.

i rarely go everyday and according to my stats I generally get 94% of my fiber intake. sometimes i don't even go every other day! all bodies are different..I wouldn't fret. I know it adds to weigh-in variability but I guess that will just always be a factor.

So much for my love affair with chocolate frozen yogurt...

Haha..sorry Cassie!

I was reading through this thread and when I got to the bottom, saw an advertisement for RI Fiber... too funny.

I used to have issues myself a few years back, averaging maybe every other day if I was lucky.

Since the 'road to health' took to my life, my diet has helped.

Right now I can average a min of 2 per day.. sometimes I have 3 and all are floaters.
I get LOTS of fiber in a day
I do cardio 4-5 days a week
weights 2-3 times

and what I have found helps keep me 'moving' is good ole FLAX SEED.

Every morning that I have oatmeal, I myself add 2 tbsp of ground flax seeds to my bowl and stir (I started with a half tbsp and worked up literally lol)

Or I will add a tbsp to my yogurt, or add some to my salads as well.
I always try to have 2 tbsp a day and they are part of my healthy fats in my caloric daily intake as well.

my battle
 

I've learned to fine tune my GI process because I'm a graveyard shift worker. In order to have a family life I shift back to day shift schedule on the weekends. Some commitments during the week prevent me from getting a "big sleep" and I have to take 2 - 3 naps per day (polyphasic sleeping).

The first system to stop is the GI. Working the liquids and the fiber, senna tea when it gets real bad, keeps it moving.

Your mileage may vary!

Dave

TMI from some of you out there. I found this article to be helpful in answering all I ever wanted to know about the subject matter.
http://bit.ly/ui0Jh
I hope it helps!