Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Are the number of bowel movements one has per day related to how many meals they eat?

For example, one big meal on Monday, comes out Wednesday, or two meals on Monday comes out on Wednesday, in two bowel movements.

My movement comes in the morning usually, but I like have that "cleaned out" feeling. So far, it seems that I'll have a movement in the morning, but then still feel like I need to go, and most of the time, the second movement doesn't come unless I totally gorge myself with water.

I eat plenty of fermented foods, no gluten, no dairy exp butter, and no legumes, and my bowel movements are healthy-looking.

Is there any way one can condense their bowel movements to once per day? Or am I doomed to have two a day/as per many times as I eat? (Note: I never seemed to have this problem back when I was young, and in high school.)

flag	asked Apr 3 2012 at 19:17 Knarf 4,003●1●7●19

Nemesis · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-03 23:12:32Z UTC

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BM's are funny. They don't always correlate with your meals. Foods are digested at different rates (with meat being quick, plant matter being slow). So what you're seeing on Wednesday isn't necessarily your ENTIRE meal from Monday, it may just be the slower-digesting remnants.

Plus, poop is largely made up of dead/dying bacteria which is shed by your body every day. Perhaps you're eating too many fermented foods? As long as you're going, and your poop isn't hard to pass, I don't think you have anything to worry about ;)

answered Apr 3 2012 at 23:12

Nemesis
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I think what annoys me is my body composition is different when bowel movements remain...I guess for vanity reasons I just want it all out at once, in one go. Seems like an odd tweak. – Knarf Apr 3 2012 at 23:15

And meat is quick, plant slow? Is this due to fiber (undigestibles, such such as stachyose, celluose...oligosaccharides?) – Knarf Apr 3 2012 at 23:18

Have you tried reducing your fiber intake? – Nemesis Apr 3 2012 at 23:22

I think it depends on how quickly food is broken down in the stomach. The more rare the meat, the quicker the digestion time. Overcooked meat is more difficult to digest. cleanse-yourself-lose-weight.com/… – Nemesis Apr 3 2012 at 23:24

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@ Nemesis. Hm. I will try this. Oddly enough, for the past few days, I stopped doing 2-meal, 8 hr IF's, and went back to three meals, high protein breakfast, and I seem to feel alot better, both body composition-wise and bowels-wise. I don't think I was leptin resistant though... – Knarf Apr 5 2012 at 17:51

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Seamaster · Answer 2 · 2012-04-03 20:21:37Z UTC

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I'm a once a day man. Regular as a Kennedy funeral.

answered Apr 3 2012 at 20:21

Seamaster
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Knarf · Answer 3 · 2012-04-07 18:37:08Z UTC

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UPDATE:

I started doing a protein-fat-small amount of veggies sort of breakfast and then maybe or maybe not skipping lunch, and a normal dinner...and the odd bowel movements fixed themselves...interesting.

IF doesn't seem to work for me then? That's kind of sad...it's kind of convenient.

answered Apr 7 2012 at 18:37

Knarf
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	Maybe IF less frequently, say, once a week instead of every day or every other day. – Nemesis Apr 12 2012 at 0:17
	I think this is a good suggestion, Nemesis. I used to think IF could only be done 16/8 style, but obviously...that's not true. I'm really looking into the biochemical implications of leptin resetting now, since it's very surprising that it's working...despite not being overweight, or having any serious L.R. issues... – Knarf Apr 14 2012 at 16:22

PaleoMouth · Answer 4 · 2012-04-03 22:46:35Z UTC

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Taking mag citrate before bed ensures im ready to go soon as I wake up

answered Apr 3 2012 at 22:46

PaleoMouth
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I've tried Natural Calm, it doesn't seem to do much of anything positive, except some bloating, and maybe increases my movements to like 5-6 a day. Perhaps I should dial down the dose. – Knarf Apr 3 2012 at 23:19

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I should also add some personal experience which might be helpful. I find that I often release my bowel movement and that satisfies my 'need' to go.. but I know if I start to finish up here I will not be satisfied long term. I usually wait a few minutes and move my body around abit to stimulate peristaltic movement and the 2nd movement of the toilet trip will arrive. It took me a while to discover this second movement and it has consistently come since I've allowed the time for it. Makes the whole trip abit longer unfortunately but worth it. P.S I go to the toilet in squat position which helps – PaleoMouth Apr 4 2012 at 9:58

I see. I feel, the more I think about it, the worse it gets...better to not stress about it, eat well, move around, be happy, and things may be better. So far, it's gotten better? – Knarf Apr 5 2012 at 17:52

PM, mine work the same way. The initial poop comes out, then I wait a few more minutes and the rest starts working its way out of my system. Usually the second (half) is mushier and has bits of plant matter. Makes sense, as what's coming out then is what I most recently ate (and I tend to eat veggies with dinner) and has not spent as much time in my colon. – Nemesis Apr 5 2012 at 19:26

shah78 · Answer 5 · 2012-04-03 23:28:29Z UTC

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How do you spell relief? T-R-I-F-F-A-L-A. Trifala half teaspoon at night. See what happens.

answered Apr 3 2012 at 23:28

shah78

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I think it's "Triphala." Thank you for the suggestion, but as I continue reading and researching about nutrition, I feel-like for my current state, I don't like relying on supplements of any kind. Proper nutrition should come from high quality food. This isn't to detract, in any way, that supplements are beneficial for those who need it – Knarf Apr 5 2012 at 17:54

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