Hey there,

I've been following the Induction plan as close as I can, and try not to go over 20 grams of carbs, and not over 1200 calories, yet my fiber is below 8 on most days. I eat alot of veggies but I've been constipating, so I had to start drinking a easy laxative tea by Traditional Medicine every night. It helped some. I exercise 4-5 days/wk, doing circuit training(40 min, 3days/wk), stationary bicycle(30 min, 4-5days/wk), and more weight lifting(90 min, 4days/wk). I drink 100-140 oz water. My weight is coming off very slow, 1 lb/wk. I can't seem to get enough fiber from vegetables unless I start eating bread, cereal, rice, etc. to get 20-35 grams of fiber. That kind of fiber did make me stall for 5 months, I don't want to go back to that. I am losing 2-8 inches a month and 2-5 bodyfat lbs. Is anyone else having the same problem? Any suggestions, please.

Thanks,

Cindy Q

My suggestion is to increase your fiber by taking supplements if necessary, increase your calories, and increase your fat and/or protein. 1200 cal sounds pretty low for someone working out as much as you.

As careful as I've found I have to be with calories, 1,200 sounds pretty low to me as well... but that wasn't your question, was it?

I have better luck with a combination of fiber supplementation (Benefiber works pretty well for me) and good old Milk of Magnesia taken before bed. (A magnesium supplement tablet is a less nasty-tasting alternative!)

Thanks Cindy, Freckles and Potatofree for the suggestions.

I am taking Psyllium caps(6/day), but I will increase my calories to 1500. I am eating a lot of fat(50+%) and more than 40+% of protein, I suppose I could increase my protein another 10-20%. I've tried to find info in the book as to what percentages of protein and fat for the Induction and really like to know. Do you know?

Thanks.

Cindy Q

fitday.com

I add ground flax seed to my omelettes and and other recipies I can think of to get some fibre but of course there are carbs to be careful of in flax as well.
I just went to my Fitday for PC program and did a search for foods High in fibre per unit of carb. Some of the things I noticed are that celery and cabbage are almost equal in carbs and fibre so if you can add these to meals it should help. I make a slow cooker meal that includes stewing beef, small amounts of carrots, onions and celery. Turnips and spinach also look pretty good. Oddly enough spices seem to come up on this list frequently, coriander, rosemary, cinnamen, etc.

Other items in the list:
Soy Protien Isolate
Cauliflower
Cactus(!?)

If you go to the Low Carb Kitchen Forum you can do a search for recipies that use these items.
Hope this is some help!
Archie

I can sum up my recommendations in two words:
1. Metamucil (sugar free of course)
2. Flaxmeal -- nets out to virtually zero useable carbs.

And yes, weight fluxations are related to bowel activity.

Psyllium husk powder can be used to make yummy "creamy" soup w/o too much fat! I add 1 tablespoon of psyllium into about 2 cups of veggie soup, it is soooo creamy and rich tasting!!!----- Not to mention the whoosh next day

Thanks Archie, haleyju and nutty. I'm going to try some of your suggestions, it sounds good and I hope I will like it.

Cindy Q fitday.com

Finally I had a bowel movement. I did it by using the "Fat Fast", psyllium husks capsules and a medicinal herbal tea. It was my 2nd day on the FF, I'm going to continue it another 3 days, then the modified FF for 5-7 days. Then go back to Induction.

Thanks everyone for your words and encouragement.

Cindy Q