Constipation is a definite blocker (pardon the pun) to weight loss and muscle building. If your systems are not running at 100% efficiency, how can you expect to build a decent body and enhance your athletic performance? The fuelling part may be OK but the elimination part needs to work too. The problem with most people who are constipated is that they just don’t understand the concept of fibre and how it works. What’s more, they have either never been regular or have just totally lost the feeling of what it’s like to regularly go to the toilet. The length of your intestines is 27 feet long!!! Imagine that the food you eat has to make its way through this and out the other end. Put quite simply, what “pushes” the food through is fibre. Without fibre, you will find it difficult to expel food. For those of you who are regular and have no constipation problems but have a partner or friend with this problem, you can experience their suffering and problems by just removing fibre from your diet for a day or two. Then you will see for yourself just how difficult it becomes to go. You will strain, you will be uncertain, you will have to sit on the toilet for long periods and your life will be different – to say the least. Constipation comes in many different forms and affects people in different ways. It also has many different causes. In this article, we are addressing the fibre side of constipation. Generally for men, if you don’t go once a day, you are potentially classed as constipated. For women, not going at least once every 2-3 days is classed as constipated. Ideally women should also go at least once a day.
What is NOT fibre:
Water is not fibre
Fruit juices are not fibrous generally – fruit smoothies may be
Meat, dairy and most white breads are not only NOT fibrous but are actually BLOCKERS
Sweets, pastry and junk food are usually all blockers too
What contains fibre but may not necessarily still kick you into action:
Cereals
Brown bread
Vegetables
Fruit
Oat bran
What contains high fibre and is the "key" to kick-starting elimination:
The following are what you are advised to include in your diet immediately to see some movement. There is no right or wrong quantity. You have to take as much as you can (unless you are diabetic) until you start seeing movement. This can take up to 1-2 days to start giving you results:
Prunes
Dried Apricots
Dates
Dried figs
The above fantastic four are what is recommended in high amounts to get the very constipated to start seeing results.
So if you want to see immediate results, this is a typical diet for a whole day:
Morning
Oat bran corn flakes or high fibre corn flakes or muesli with soya milk, added dates, prunes, figs and/or apricots. Take your pick but you should be aiming for the equivalent of at least 5 pieces (total). So 5 prunes or 5 figs or 3 figs and 2 apricots and so on.
Orange juice.
Coffee.
Mid morning
5 pieces in total of the above 4 dried fruits.
Water.
Coffee.
Lunch
Salad with any protein such as chicken, tuna, egg PLUS some apples and/or pears in your salad and 7-10 pieces of the above 4 (total).
Water.
Mid afternoon
5 total pieces of the above 4 dried fruits and an apple or pair. You can chop them, pour them in a bowel and mix some live low fat yoghurt to the mixture. Soya yoghurt is preferred.
Water.
Coffee if you want.
Dinner
Same as lunch.
Water.
Before sleep
4-5 total pieces of the above 4 dried fruits.
Additional help:
Walk for 20-30 minutes daily
Drink tea, coffee, orange juice, water regularly
Get a foot massage
Lean to the left when sitting on the toilet
Don’t get stressed!
Good luck!
If you have any medical condition, please speak to your doctor and do not follow the above.
Areas to work on for Constipation, see below. For a more comprehensive treatment, please do an Online Consultation.
