please help...

[jessjoy]

I have been on the Atkins plan for almost three weeks and everything was going well until a few days ago. I am terribly constipated to the point that my stomach hurts and I am retaining water and I am really bloated. It is very uncomfortable. I was taking psyllium but that made the water retention worse even though I was chugging water by the gallon to help me go. Any suggestions? I am about to quit cause I can't live like this. I am worried I will have to take laxatives for the rest of my life and I know thats unhealthy because they can be addictive. How does anyone deal? I am feeling very hopeless.....thanks

[tamarian]

Hi Jess,

It's hard to comment or try to help on this question without knowing what you are eating :) Do you keep a food journal? How much green veggies do you eat with meals? Has there been any recent changes in your diet? What does your daily menu look like?

Wa'il

[CAgirl]

Hi, Jess!

I'm new to this the diet and the forums.:confused: However, I was reading some posts in the www.lowcarbcafe.com/forums site, and someone mentioned 1 cup of steamed cauliflower, cook till mushy, and then mash and add butter. She said she's usually in great shape the next day with this.:)

She also mentioned that raw cauliflower doesn't do the same thing.

I have found that the food journal REALLY helps! I can keep good track of my veggies, and be sure that I'm getting enough!
:>
Best of luck! CA girl

[numberonewendy]

Mashed potatoes.....yep that will do it...califlower cooked, mashed and butter.....cream cheese.....ummmmm....that will help for sure.

I answered in your other thread, you need to add more low carb veggies and your problems will be solved.

Good luck!

[doreen T]

This is frustrating and uncomfortable indeed.

First, you will get over this, honest. I've read where some folks take three weeks or more for the "first" movement, after changing over to lowcarb. If your previous diet was full of highly processed and refined sugary starch carbs, changing to eating more meats and low-starch vegetables will take a bit of adjustment. Once you "go", things will return to a regular pattern, trust me.

Some suggestions -

- cut out ALL salt for a couple days. So no ham, bacon, or bottled salad dressing, mayo, mustard, pickles or diet soda pop (soda = sodium). This will help get rid of fluid retention and bloat ... sometimes the abdominal bloat itself creates pressure which slows the bowel

- try a cup of hot (but not boiling) water with the juice of one lemon -- use fresh lemon juice, not the bottled type, which has sodium citrate in it. Drink this first thing in the morning, and again late afternoon, if no result. (The lemon juice does have a few carbs (<5), but in this case, they're important)

- exercise. Keep the whole body moving, this will get the bowel moving!

- try this yoga exercise ... stand tall, shoulders back ...breathe in deeply, then out ... 2 or 3 times. When the last breath is OUT, hold your breath, then suck in your gut and quickly push it out again. No kidding! Do this several times in quick movements while still holding your breath --- the rhythmic abdominal "ripples" will help to stimulate peristalsis, the bowel motion. Take a few more "cleansing" breaths, and repeat.

- avoid using laxatives, like senna, bisacodyl, cascara .... even the herbal ones can be habit-forming. All they do is irritate the bowel, causing it to "spasm" ... and the spasm is what stimulates the bowel to move. Psyllium husks, and sugar-free Metamucil are NOT laxatives, they are not absorbed, and just form bulk in the bowel.

- are you eating enough oil? You do indeed need to ensure an adequate intake of fat ... olive and flax oil are good, add a Tbsp of either of these to the dressing you put on your salads. These will help prevent things from turning into a hard, dry rock!

- add some variety to the vegetables you're eating. If the salads you eat are composed mainly of the pale iceberg lettuce, it's full of water, and not a lot else. Choose dark green lettuces, romaine, endive and raw spinach especially is amazing for it's ability to get things moving. Have a serving of lightly steamed, high fiber veg. such as broccoli, or asparagus, or --- spinach!

Good luck .. :)

Doreen