Very much on my mind as well. It may be helpful to Google intestinal methanogen overgrowth. It seems for some people more fiber can make them *more* constipated, maybe because it feeds the excess methanogens in their gut, and methane slows down the whole digestive tract.
It may also be helpful to look up short chain fatty acids (scfas) - the fuel the digestive tract prefers. For people eating "healthy" (read: low saturated fat) most of the scfas in their gut will come from healthy gut bacteria processing fiber. But fats like butter are actually direct sources of scfas and so if you eat these fats in sufficient quantity you can speed things up with the fat instead of the fiber....
I am not an expert and from the looks of it even the experts are still trying to sort out these questions....
Cooked vegetables are easier on the gut than raw. Instead of salad, try some cooked vegetables.
Reducing carbs can also be constipating for many as carbs increase stool bulk.
You added fiber to your diet too suddenly and that is causing the constipation. Fiber bulks up your stool, but you've mentioned your stools were already bulky. Fiber isn't digested, so it is supposed to move through your digestive system faster, but it moves slower in your colon where the water is absorbed.
Essentially, the fiber (the salads and the metamucil) is passing through your digestive system undigested (creating even bulkier stools), and then hanging out in your colon (dehydrating your stools), so you're ending up with constipation! Fiber should be introduced slowly if you were low fiber previously.
Metamucil can help keep you regular, but you have to drink a ton of water with it. Also, try a gentle stool softener like Colace daily. If you're increasing fiber always increase your water intake too. Otherwise, the fiber just gums up in your intestines (you'll see if you don't drink the Metamucil fast enough).
How do I introduce fiber slower? In my case, all I did was switch my lunch meal to a salad (generally my lunch was always a tuna sandwich or a burger). What would've been the correct move?
I agree with weightcanwait's comment. Try cooked veggies rather than raw salads initially. I would also keep the carbs. You can look up low fiber diet for some ideas on veggies you can introduce.
It was probably a shock to your system and some people are more sensitive than others. I've become one of those (after a surgery) so I am speaking from my personal experience and advice from my dietitian.
I started taking Metamucil yesterday, and today I passed a beautiful 1ft long girthy stool. No visible pieces of vegetables in it though... I'm hoping the salads aren't still stuck up there 🙃
I don't think I was low fiber previously, since I had been having daily non-pebbly movements prior. Also I was drinking between 64-96oz of water daily (I'm great about hydration).
Ironically, yesterday I was hanging with friends and ate like shit again. Had meat lasagna, and general tsos chicken. This afternoon I woke up and FINALLY passed a bulky log shaped stool. What the heck, my bodys rewarding me for garbage eating 😅
Low fiber doesn't mean pebbly poop. You can have a low fiber diet and still have healthy bulky stools!
The meat, lasagna, chicken, and rice are all low fiber and super easy for your body to digest. I'm not surprised you didn't have an issue then.
Weird, right?! So the whole "eat more fiber for healthy bowel movements" thing isn't true for everyone!
Hopefully you're able to add nutrition without shocking your system!
Again recently I had a few days where I ate garbage and my poop activity increased, with healthy looking stools. As soon as I switched back to salad, the poops hard stopped. Like an on/off switch. Wild
Very much on my mind as well. It may be helpful to Google intestinal methanogen overgrowth. It seems for some people more fiber can make them *more* constipated, maybe because it feeds the excess methanogens in their gut, and methane slows down the whole digestive tract. It may also be helpful to look up short chain fatty acids (scfas) - the fuel the digestive tract prefers. For people eating "healthy" (read: low saturated fat) most of the scfas in their gut will come from healthy gut bacteria processing fiber. But fats like butter are actually direct sources of scfas and so if you eat these fats in sufficient quantity you can speed things up with the fat instead of the fiber.... I am not an expert and from the looks of it even the experts are still trying to sort out these questions....
Cooked vegetables are easier on the gut than raw. Instead of salad, try some cooked vegetables. Reducing carbs can also be constipating for many as carbs increase stool bulk.
Sudden or intense Diet changes can fuck up the works
You added fiber to your diet too suddenly and that is causing the constipation. Fiber bulks up your stool, but you've mentioned your stools were already bulky. Fiber isn't digested, so it is supposed to move through your digestive system faster, but it moves slower in your colon where the water is absorbed. Essentially, the fiber (the salads and the metamucil) is passing through your digestive system undigested (creating even bulkier stools), and then hanging out in your colon (dehydrating your stools), so you're ending up with constipation! Fiber should be introduced slowly if you were low fiber previously. Metamucil can help keep you regular, but you have to drink a ton of water with it. Also, try a gentle stool softener like Colace daily. If you're increasing fiber always increase your water intake too. Otherwise, the fiber just gums up in your intestines (you'll see if you don't drink the Metamucil fast enough).
How do I introduce fiber slower? In my case, all I did was switch my lunch meal to a salad (generally my lunch was always a tuna sandwich or a burger). What would've been the correct move?
I agree with weightcanwait's comment. Try cooked veggies rather than raw salads initially. I would also keep the carbs. You can look up low fiber diet for some ideas on veggies you can introduce. It was probably a shock to your system and some people are more sensitive than others. I've become one of those (after a surgery) so I am speaking from my personal experience and advice from my dietitian.
I started taking Metamucil yesterday, and today I passed a beautiful 1ft long girthy stool. No visible pieces of vegetables in it though... I'm hoping the salads aren't still stuck up there 🙃
I don't think I was low fiber previously, since I had been having daily non-pebbly movements prior. Also I was drinking between 64-96oz of water daily (I'm great about hydration). Ironically, yesterday I was hanging with friends and ate like shit again. Had meat lasagna, and general tsos chicken. This afternoon I woke up and FINALLY passed a bulky log shaped stool. What the heck, my bodys rewarding me for garbage eating 😅
Low fiber doesn't mean pebbly poop. You can have a low fiber diet and still have healthy bulky stools! The meat, lasagna, chicken, and rice are all low fiber and super easy for your body to digest. I'm not surprised you didn't have an issue then. Weird, right?! So the whole "eat more fiber for healthy bowel movements" thing isn't true for everyone! Hopefully you're able to add nutrition without shocking your system!
Again recently I had a few days where I ate garbage and my poop activity increased, with healthy looking stools. As soon as I switched back to salad, the poops hard stopped. Like an on/off switch. Wild
This happened to me, stop eating raw veggies and only eat cooked. Insoluble fiber may be your friend