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Does chronic constipation prevent weight loss?
I am on a diet and eat between 1000 and 1200 calories per day. Yet it is very difficult for me to lose any weight. I am wondering if my chronic constipation could be the reason for that? Has anyone had this experience?
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@blessyourheart
Welcome to Connect!
I don’t believe constipation in itself makes it hard to lose weight.
Hypothyroidism is associated with constipation and slow metabolism. You may want to be tested for this.
Another reason why one doesn’t lose weight is a too low calorie diet- the body goes into starvation mode.
Of course, the daily caloric requirement depends on a person’s size and activity level.
Do you have doctor that you can talk to?
Yes !
Similar situation and I was given a strong laxative that really helped. I was extremely surprised with a 7pound loss within 2 days.
Good luck,
Connie
All I can add is that one may have to do something extra (more water, some type of fiber supplement) to poop on so few calories. I could imagine you are not producing much waste, but it depends on what you are eating.
I lost weight even while very constipated, but my condition was SIBO. While I'm not suggesting you have SIBO, Dr. Mark Pimentel (Cedars-Sinai) has a SIBO protocol section that is about improving motility. Regardless of if you find a way to lose weight, please find help on improving the motility of your gut. It's critical to overall body health. I didn't understand that when I was younger because my Mom was chronically constipated. It's wreaked havoc with our bodies as we aged. Now, I'm using an artichoke/ginger extract product that improves motility much better than the fiber products that were recommended by my nutritionist. It was a type of product recommended online by the doctor mentioned above at Cedars-Sinai. Best wishes!