I'm with ya Mammoth and I took your GREAT advice about the flaxseed meal with hot water and cinnamon (I can't have dairy) and it is DELISH!
I had 3 tablespoons of it in my hot water this morning. I do the flaxseed and psyllium plus my vegies to get that 30 grams or more.
Once your bowels are really moving and used to all the fiber, you can likely add the psyllium back in small quantities without any er... colon stalling
I think keeping your colon moving is the first item on the agenda and then you can really concentrate on losing the weight. Trust me, you don't want *colon therapy* (been there, done that - it is NOT NATURAL

I can have TONS of flaxseed and psyllium and sometimes I am still constipated. How? Candida infection in the gut does all kinds of weird stuff to the body (multiplied by hormones).

Yeah, flax seed is the way to go! I eat the FlaxOMeal cereal in the am. 11 grams of fiber per serving and 1 or 2 effective carbs. That pretty much gets me going for the day... Of course, you gotta put a little Splenda and cream on it to make it worth eating, but the cinnamon and spice flavor is good, and the pancake mix isn't bad either.

Hey Jake & All,

What a thread! It seems that so many of us are just full of it

I suffered alot the first months of doing this and tried it all and in various combinations. Nothing by itself seemed to do the job. Now besides the drinking enough water and getting enough exercise givens, I currently take psylliun caps (3 daily) and generic stool softener (2 daily)and find myself getting quite comfortable and don't even work out the percentages anymore or strive for the desired balance. It seemed to be taking all the "fun" out of something that was highly overated anyway.

The flax oil was the second best, still in combo with stool softener. THe problem was the high calories, and I still am from the school that 10x your weight will not permit easy loss of weight and is more for maintenace (Oh please let's not go there again!). My flax oil expereince did definetly slow my weight loss and I have found a better use for the 200-300 calories.

The only problem with the stool softener is related to "long term" usage, which will vary in effects with the individual as will anything and sometimes the risk of minimal side effects is worth the comfort derived.
Here is a page which may shed some light on this:

http://www.fruit-eze.com/brands/col...l_softener.html

I often wonder if the petrofied dinasore and cave man stool samples in the museums are indeed petrofied or were a result of diet and the unavalability of artifical fiber suppliments.

Oh well.

Wishing everyone better and more moving experiences....
T.

Mammoth:
After looking at my flaxseed meal I am thinking that the carbs are not a problem (duh, like you don't know this) but more importantly, the protein is low and the fat is fairly high - a great Atkins combo because you don't have to worry about getting too much protein and then having it turn to glucose.
I know the calories are an issue but maybe you can take something *slippery* to compensate for fiber like fish oil pills or even flaxseed oil pills which would have a minimum amount of calories for the fat benefits of colon-moving!

Do you know cereals General Mills Fibre #1. Sort of All Bran on a boost that tastes much better. 14g of fibre by 30g with low calories. I add them to many meals, salads, omelettes...

Not quite Atkins oriented, though.

I know we're not supposed to have grain, and bla dee bla, BUT, I found that having 4tbs of unprocessed wheat bran every day mixed with cream is the only thing that works for me. That uses up nearly half my carb allowance, but if I am to live with this plan permanently everything has to "work properly" or I am not going to be healthy. I really struggled for the first few weeks on Atkins, and was not willing to live the rest of my life like that on top of trying to count everything. It can't be healthy and it certainly isn't fun! I guess we all just have to find what works for us and be willing to do it.

Moca...: THANK YOU!!!!!!!!


mrschmelz : Its not so much a case of wanting to micro-manage, but rather a need to attempt to control the elements of atkins to fullest potential and get best chance of optimal results.
The fiber issue is not simply a matter of ingesting chemicals etc to allow bathroom activity...it is more a matter of a natural approach as atkins recommends on everything, the use of natural elements such as fiber, to keep healthy and get the desired effect (in this case to vacate the bowel as it relates to fiber).

I am VERY HAPPY that you do not have this situation and I envy that you can have a much more "casual" approach. You are one of the lucky few!

T: I just LOVE your posts man...EXCELLENT!

THANKS to everyone else for the very valuable input!
Just wish to point out that for "optimal" health, based upon my Doc, my gastro-doc, and all I have read (which is ALOT) on this topic, that approx 30 grams of fiber is what is best for your colon. Your colon NEEDS to process this bulk to saty fit and healthy, and there is NO substitute for it. The colon needs to "flex" and operate as nature intended it to...and this is what HELPS in keeping it a HAPPY COLON! Artificial means just do not accomplish this. They may allow one to go to the bathroom...but thats not the entire story!

Best to all;
Jake

The probl;em with a salt water purge is the sodium. I have problems keeping my sodium in the acceptable range as is with all the salt they add to food these days. I use a salt subs and still have a little over the recomended amount of sodium.

Jake, eat your veggies, not just spinich. I usuly have 10-20g of fiber just from food. I've found that cooking with psyllium husks can raise that to 30. It is also alot easier then trying to drink down the darn things when I do drink them I put them with a little soy milk.

Ya know, Jake...after reading your post and seeing the sense in what you are saying and wanting to simplify my life, I say the hell with the fiber...bring on the constipation...lol.

I mean afterall...it has to come out eventually...right???

(JK)


L

For good health - 2 to 3 bowel movements per day. Mammoth, you are so right. It has to be "working" not just evacuating eventually.

This is what my gal says. 1 foot long, diameter of a silver dollar and just barely floating. This size thing is important. It helps to clean off the plaque from the walls of the colon. The bends getting too narrow can be part of the problem of getting bound up.

I know from some "therapy" I had before, that I have good peristalsis, so I work with psyllium, water and the slimming tea(it doesn't have any of the harsh herbs or chemical). The psyllium takes working up slowly. 1/4 tsp for some days, then upping it little by little. If I jump into it to fast I also get bound up. Sometimes I do the tennis ball massage, it helps to break down the build up on the bends of the colon. It also helps to stimulate peristalsis, which I believe sit-ups and crunches also do.

I'm new here, but I will try to find the colon info from the health course I took, and see if I can post the info.

Jake, have you tried going for a slightly lower fiber intake? It might work for you. I find that if I get in 15 g fiber a day, everything functions smoothly. Anymore, and I suffer greatly!

25 - 35 grams of fiber per day is a MYTH, promulgated by the same "experts" who want us to believe we must have 6 - 12 servings of breads and cereals every day in order to get it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber intake of 30g or more per day can interfere with absorption of important nutrients, in particular calcium, iron and magnesium. Especially bran fiber from grains .. these contain substances called phytates which are anti-nutrients. You might find Barry Groves' (author of Eat Fat, Get Thin) essay, The Bran Wagon to be illuminating. Also this article .. The Tail End of the Fiber Myth, from JunkScience.com.

IMO, when you're eating all kinds of refined starch carbs such as white bread, rice krispies, white rice, twinkies, cake etc etc etc ... you need 25g or more fiber to keep all that gluey sludge moving along. A hundred years ago, white bread was a folk remedy for diarrhea because of its well-known ability to plug you up.

Meats and fats leave little residue when properly digested. Vegetables, nuts, seeds and low-carb fruits provide plenty of fiber, although it's true your intake will be limited while eating very low carbs, such as Atkins Induction. A fiber supplement might be helpful, such as psyllium husks. Ground flax seeds are excellent too. Make sure you're consuming adequate fats & oils, and drinking lots of water; dehydration can lead to constipatioin no matter how much fiber you eat. If you're eating a carb-controlled diet of natural, minimally processed proteins and fats, along with plenty of leafy greens and other vegetables, then a fiber intake of 15g per day is quite adequate.


my 2.5¢


Doreen

Remeber those Saturday Night Live comercials for Colon BLOW! Some SUPER COLON BLOW would come in real handy on this board.

I must say that it would be very nice indeed for the gastroenterology people to "be up on" lo-carbers problems and give CORRECT advice. It was the surgeon who told me 30 grams per day fiber AFTER being inside my unhappy colon. They KNEW I was on Atkins too. They wrote 30 grams fiber per day on my discharge papers from the hospital. This varying of basic data is a real problem.

You all know that I am fussy about particulars...and that I follow my induction "to the letter"...always...pysillium is NOT an alternative for me and I have gone past it...Flax seeds (ground) are great for me as far as taking them and Not wanting to hurl...in fact, I think they are tasty! It has not been long enough as yet to tell what my "results" will be, and if 2 TBSP per day is enough for me.

My concern with fiber is not simply being able to have regularity...although that would be NICE ...I am concerned about a healthy, functioning, colon. The limited veggie , no nuts or fruits, of induction, simply create a problem for those of us who wish to stay on induction longer then 14 days and not turn purple from lack of colonic activity.

I will continue to work on the balance "for me". I can tell you that 15 grams of fiber for "me" is not enough. My colon laughs at 15 grams

I need more.

Best to all;
Jake

Stop limiting your veggies so much. If you cut down on carbs form other sources such as dairy, treats, and a few other sources you can safely up your veggie intake and stay below the 20g of carbs a day. I've been trying to have veggies at every meal. I usually have 2-3 cups of salad veggies for lunch, then 1 cup of something like spinich or zucchini for breakfast, and for dinner broccoli, cauliflower, or squash. I have a really hard time getting near 20g of carbs per day because of all the fiber. I think the 3 cup rule is to keep carb count low, but that assumes carbs coming in from alot of other sources. When mixed with a protien source veggies won't have that much of an impact on blood sugar compared to other sources of carbs.