What constitutes constipation? Well, depending on the study or research you read, being constipated seems to be a little different for everyone. I’ve read a paper that said it’s normal for some people to only need to have a BM a few times per week. Others say it should be an event that interrupts your day three times! Holy crap!! 3 times a week to 21 times per week?? I know where I stand with that…if it only happened three times per week I’d be calling Roto-Rooter!!
So what’s normal?
It’s hard to say. We all process our food differently and some of us are more efficient users of nutrients than others. There is also the thought that if there is a lot of crap going in…then there is a lot of crap coming out.
Are you getting enough?
One of the most common reasons people have a hard time with “number 2″ is that they are dehydrated. If your colon is not absorbing enough water, it will not be able to push the bad stuff out.
You know what happens to this bad stuff? It stays inside you, making you extremely uncomfortable, fatigued, can lead to disease and prevent you from losing weight!
WHY???
Think about the explosion in recent years of “cleanse” or “detox” programs. Clear the colon; lose weight. Millions of dollars are literally flushed down the toilet. I am all for a clean colon, but not at the price of a box of colon blow pills, laxatives or liquid diets.
Yes, if you have a toxic build up inside your colon, it makes it extremely difficult to absorb nutrients and burn bad fat off your body…but the cure should never be potentially as damaging as the problem.
Here are some easy and natural ways you can combat the old Pooping problem:
1. You need to be drinking water each and every day. You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. Forget the 8 glasses of water or the drink till you aren’t thirsty ideas. Half your body weight in ounces spread out over the day. Have a little extra after you exercise and before your meals.
2. Look for great and simple options for adding fiber to your daily nutritional plan. Ground flaxseed on your oatmeal or in your protein shakes. Add more insoluble fiber to your meals. Celery, nuts, seeds, apples.
Eat your cleanse
3. Introduce more raw foods into your diet. Not only are they great for optimizing vitamins and minerals, but your digestive tract gets a better workout of it’s own processing the raws. No, I don’t mean steak tar-tar or bacon still oinking….I mean raw vegetables, salad, fruits. Every meal should have a serving (or two) or raw food. Most of the time, the natural ‘good stuff’ in raw food is lost when those foods get heated. Almost always, raw food tastes better. And here is one of those head scratching thoughts. I have never taken raw beans, carrots or celery and had any desire to put salt on them while I’m eating, but I challenge you to find a recipe or chef that doesn’t ensure salt is all over everything. (Back to the dehydration problem)
4. Start each morning with this great “digestive tonic”: 2 TBSP lemon juice in one glass of water. I prefer mine a little stronger. I use a mug of hot water and the juice of a whole lemon.
So, I now this was a bit of a “crappy” post, but I hope you understand that in the “end”, a clean colon allows for easier weight loss and a healthier constitution. Your output can be directly linked to your, well your …“output”.
Before you turn to crap for your crap…turn, again…to food.
