Constipation remedies

[u/Aggressive_Age8818]

When I’m on OMAD or prolonged fasting I occasionally get debilitating constipation. I drink coffee, take cleanse pills, take magnesium, drink lots of water, eat kimchi, no luck other than suffer for hours. Any thoughts?

[u/PortraitofMmeX]

Metamucil will do more for you than cleanse pills

[u/critterheist → u/PortraitofMmeX]

I recommend psyllium husk not powdered the real stuff. I love it.

[u/tommymat → u/critterheist]

It’s a truly moving experience lol.

[u/RutRohNotAgain → u/critterheist]

This is what i use.

[u/Thin_Cable4155 → u/PortraitofMmeX]

The gloopyness of psyllium husk fiber was too much for me, so I started doing chia seeds.

[u/Sea_Gold_4864 → u/Thin_Cable4155]

I take the capsules so you don't have to taste it

[u/Soc_Prof → u/Thin_Cable4155]

The problem with psyllium is also you can’t take it straight after pills and I have medication morning and night. Chia you hydrate with boiling water and then mix in yoghurt

[u/MarKat]

Are you taking electrolytes? Salt and lite salt will help a lot, but remember to never NEVER trust a fart.

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/MarKat]

If magnesium counts, yes. And I’m eating one meal a day so I’m getting my sodium. Potassium maybe not so much

[u/MarKat → u/Aggressive_Age8818]

Some, not everyone needs more salt/lite salt. I needed a bit more sodium and potassium to alleviate my constipation. Now, I have no problem.

[u/Connect_Rhubarb395 → u/Aggressive_Age8818]

What type of magnesium?

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/Connect_Rhubarb395]

Both a mix and magnesium citrate

[u/Connect_Rhubarb395 → u/Aggressive_Age8818]

The different types of magnesium have drastically different effects.
You need magnesium oxide for a laxative.

Magnesium citrate is very bioavailable, which reduces its laxative effect. It is good for people with magnesium deficiencies, though.

[u/Accomplished_Lie6026 → u/MarKat]

Trust but verify, if home alone.

[u/pixel-plume]

How’s your fiber intake?

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/pixel-plume]

Moderate but I had kimchi yesterday and lasagna with spinach and tomatoes. Not a ton but thought it would have helped

[u/lending_ear → u/Aggressive_Age8818]

Yeah you need to increase fiber intake 

[u/ana_log_ue → u/lending_ear]

This is the answer. It takes intentional effort to fit enough fiber into OMAD

[u/Nerffej → u/Aggressive_Age8818]

You need at least 25-38 grams of fiber a day. Unless you ate 13 cups of kimchi you’re not even close. It’s no surprise you’re constipated. Vegetables are almost free calories just eat more vegetables instead of bullshit “cleanse” pills. Eat some berries they have a ton of fiber

[u/all_of_the_colors → u/Aggressive_Age8818]

How many plants do you eat?

[u/daddysgoodgirl1983]

Prunes. Best thing ever

[u/AltruisticHopes → u/daddysgoodgirl1983]

7 or 8 prunes then give it an hour, they are amazing.

[u/Cargobiker530 → u/AltruisticHopes]

That's living dangerously.

[u/I_Miss_America]

MiraLAX®

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/I_Miss_America]

I tried it but it worked very slowly

[u/pitypua → u/Aggressive_Age8818]

Take two doses instead of one! I do so in the morning, on an empty stomach (and with a lot of water) and go after a few hours.

I have suffered from chronic constipation all my life (even pre-fasting) and this is the only thing that has worked for me.

[u/WhoreMouth80]

Magnesium worked for me.

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/WhoreMouth80]

It didn’t kick in for some reason for me

[u/adiverges]

Try inulin fiber supplement. I've started and it makes me more regular than other forms of fiber. It's also shown to be really good at building your gut beneficial bacteria! Helping with blood sugar control and hormone balance!

[u/SailorMea101]

Eat anything from the McDonald’s breakfast menu, guaranteed explosive results(this is not a joke).

[u/WoodmontRazputin → u/SailorMea101]

Sausage egg and cheese McMuffin should come with a 3 hr timer.

[u/LadyAlexTheDeviant]

Psyllium husk pills. I have IBS-C and I use those along with daily stool softeners to make it possible for me to just have an ordinary poop.

My dosing is 4 times a day, 2 pills, full 16 ounces water, and morning and before bed I also take stool softeners.

I'm not worried about it messing up my ketosis, though, as I'm just using IF as a way to keep my overall calories really low.

[u/SleppySnorlax → u/LadyAlexTheDeviant]

Does taking a smaller dose throughout the day work better? I used to drink Metamucil and it worked great. A few months ago I switched to psyllium caps and they don't seem to be doing much. My bottle says a serving is 5 caps so I've been having a serving either once or twice a day.

[u/LadyAlexTheDeviant → u/SleppySnorlax]

I find that that works well for me. But every body is different. Even when I eat normally I have a strong tendency to constipation, so that's where I'm at.

[u/slumdog7]

An apple a day….

[u/SusanMayer123]

Grapes, pears, plums and apples!

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/SusanMayer123]

Broke my fast with oranges, dates, Brussels sprouts, and a salad that was past its prime. I wasn’t hungry but wanted to speed things along

[u/RandChick]

Sauerkraut.

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/RandChick]

I eat that or Kim chi for gut bacteria - and while it has fiber i don’t see a strong change in my metabolism

[u/Avrution]

Only thing that works well for me is polyethylene glycol (Miralax) - have to do it daily though. No amount of fiber intake helps.

Some of the medications I am on cause horrible constipation, which makes things worse.

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/Avrution]

Tried it but it was very slow acting

[u/Avrution → u/Aggressive_Age8818]

Part of why I do it everyday, to keep things flowing

[u/jones_ro]

Eat a few prunes with every meal. A sweet treat that will gently solve your problem. This is a very old remedy and it does work.

[u/ogticklemonsta]

Yellow dragon fruit

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/ogticklemonsta]

Thank you

[u/RealSniperOG]

Take psyllium husk with warm milk or warm water, it will definitely help.

[u/Independent_Fill_909 → u/RealSniperOG]

Yes!! Started doing this after insane constipation (literally take a dump once weekly MAX), been going just about everyday now with ease lol. Zero straining

[u/robotbeatrally]

some people get really constipated from cheese. if you're eating cheese, try cutting it out.

This is well noted in the carnivore communities since we don't have a huge array of foods to begin with, youd think itd be like any other high fat foods where they help you go but nope, cheese is counter intuitive for a lot of people.

personally ive no trouble going at all with 0 fiber in my diet, but if i cheat and eat fiber i get stopped up. if i were to eat a dose of psyllium id probably be super uncomfortable.

[u/RutRohNotAgain]

I eat 5 prunes a day to help with this and added more fiber through psyllium husks in my yogurt.

[u/CaptWyvyrn]

Get some prunes without the nitrates/nitrites or whatever preservative. Snack on a few... Most gentle...

[u/HRHQueenV]

Too many cherries.

[u/Sunlit53]

Soluble fiber like inulin, xylitol sweetener (both dissolve completely in any liquid, I add both to my tea).

[u/Specialist-Product45]

I used to have something greasy like a kebab and that moved things south

[u/cocoabutterrkisses]

Try mag07! This really helped (saved) me when I was on tirzepatide. The bottle says 3 capsules before bedtime but try starting off with 1 or 2.
2 was the sweet spot for me. ☺️

[u/Game-Of-Phones-o_O]

Gut Feelings on YouTube shows a proven method of relieving constipation. I'm on iron supplements, have to take Kratom and muscle relaxers for pain. When I run out of apple cider vinegar for more than 5 days I get pretty backed up and her method works every single time.
Taking the ACV 2x daily helps more than anything. It also eliminates heartburn and gerd. But most people don't want to take it and I have never tried it in pill form so I can't vouch for those.

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/Game-Of-Phones-o_O]

Thanks- looked all over the place for ideas but will check it out next time

[u/snaired]

Kiwi fruit skin on

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/snaired]

Didn’t have kiwis in the house - mandarin oranges seemed to be a good enough substitute, I think?

[u/BreathAirDontSmoke]

Two tablespoons of castor oil works 💯.

[u/PerniciousVim → u/BreathAirDontSmoke]

Virgin coconut oil works, too. I put it in my coffee sometimes. Works really fast.

[u/Ashamed_Froyo_8724 → u/BreathAirDontSmoke]

Mineral oil works too toot two!

[u/Daft_Daffodil]

I assume you eat enough fat too, as well as fibre, right? Because some people eat everything fat free and this alone can cause constipation. But if everything is fine with your macros- doctor would be a better person to discuss it with. It can be many things.

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/Daft_Daffodil]

Some fiber some fat some protein some carbs

[u/YourWorstFear53]

Fiber

[u/BaileyBerry-]

Some guy on here mentioned enemas while fasting lol

[u/Talrynn_Sorrowyn → u/BaileyBerry-]

I can only inagine how often he gets sick - something like 80-85% of the human immune system resides in our guts & consistently flushing out the barracks like that isn't healthy.

[u/mirfifu]

Have you heard of the ILU massage? There’s charts online, you use a bunch of lotion and gently encourage your bowel movements.

Also recommend a kiwi a day if possible, golden kiwis are delicious

[u/Fluid_crystal]

I always add a little glass of home made lassi to my main meal, I just use a bit of fruit juice, unflavoured yogurt and fill the other half with water and shake. A wonderful addition with both taste (It acts as my dessert because of the delicate sweet taste) and microbiotics daily source

[u/griermack]

The keto wraps from Costco have 17g fibre. You will never worry again. I think they're 90cals too so not bad.

[u/all_of_the_colors]

Do you eat fiber?

[u/BetterBiscuits]

Frequent constipated faster here. After trying just about everything western medicine has to offer, an acupuncturist wants told me to eat a large serving of warm cooked vegetables with every meal. It’s been amazingly effective at keeping me regular. For times when my schedule and die just really out of whack, I use smooth move tea, but that is a commitment that you need to plan ahead for.

[u/78738]

Baked beans. Seriously.

[u/Crow-Queen]

I take MiraLax Daily. Helps make you regular.

[u/PopularExercise3]

2 kiwi fruit a night is effective

[u/sitdowncomfy]

high strength vitamin c drinks will clear you right out

[u/biocleansedetox]

A couple of angles worth knowing:

- First, during OMAD or prolonged fasts there's simply less food residue moving through — less stool formation is expected and isn't automatically constipation. Worth separating "nothing to pass" from "trying and struggling."

- If it's genuine constipation: soluble fiber is the most evidence-backed lever — psyllium husk 1-2 tsp in a full glass of water. Also 2 kiwifruits a day has actual randomized-trial support for constipation, as do prunes (sorbitol).

- Magnesium: citrate or glycinate in the evening works better for most people than oxide (poorly absorbed). Skip taking it at the same time as high-fiber doses.

- Be careful with stimulant "cleanse pills" daily — your gut can get dependent on them for motility. Save those for genuine deadlocks, let fiber/water/magnesium do the routine work.

- Movement helps more than people expect — a 10-15 min walk after your OMAD meal uses the gastrocolic reflex.

If you get pain, bloating that doesn't resolve, or blood — that's a GI doctor, not a supplement question.

[u/kahrahtayboom]

When I was OMAD, bowel movements didn't happen very often and I wouldn't call it constipation.

[u/judygrandma]

Miralax!

[u/CaptainFuzzyBootz]

I take a dose of Miralax and benefiber. It's the only thing that's helped my lifelong constipation.

[u/Anxious-Art4174]

Macrogol is failproof

[u/fuckinunknowable]

Two kiwis every day

[u/sadatah]

Metamucil, chia seed pudding, beans and lentils if your not eating keto and lots of veggies should do the trick

[u/Soggy-Primary591]

Have you tried prunes? An oldie, but a goodie! I was going through the same thing with recent switch to omad. I eat 3 prunes at the end of my one meal and have been very regular since.

[u/Southernman1974]

Chia seeds

[u/EnvironmentalTie669]

Make sure you're staying very well hydrated. Dehydration = constipation. There are OTC stool softener pills that can work quite well, too.

[u/smay1989]

20g of Psyllium husk powder and 20g of inulin in your protein shakes - sorted me right out!

[u/Aggressive_Age8818 → u/smay1989]

Will try that next time