The FastDay Forum

I stepped on the scale this morning, and my weight is up again! I feel like this makes no sense. My pants are loser and I fast religiously twice a week.

(Details: I stepped on the scale early in the morning, no clothes on, and before any type of bowel movement.)

However, last night, in preparation for fast day I ate a huge green salad. I drank a ton of water and took two psyllium capsules and then I had a almond butter and sliced banana sandwich at 6 p.m.

Is it possible the psyllium in my system (which I take to avoid constipation and to give me a feeling of fullness) is causing me to hold on to a lot of water?

Anybody else experience a lot of water weight game with psyllium? I'm going to weight myself every day to see what happens. The ups and downs on this diet have been crazy. I'm feeling frustrated. All this work for what?

I stepped on the scale this morning, and my weight is up again! I feel like this makes no sense. My pants are loser and I fast religiously twice a week.

....

The ups and downs on this diet have been crazy. I'm feeling frustrated. All this work for what?

I can't answer about the psyllium, but you answer the "all this hard work for what" with the comment that your pants are looser.
Surely this is better than anything the scales say?!

Ggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I am considering to order psyllium but if it's causing water retention I can't do it. I already have lots of it.

Don't worry though, if it show in your clothes, just tell the scales to eff off!!!

Rufus...I want to jump on the scales and love myself weither I have taken 2 laxatives or not!
"all this hard work for what?" ????? what hard work????
Could it be that you are over thinking and over working this and that is what is causing the frustration?
I dont 'prepare' for my fast day (other than knowing what I am going to eat and making sure it is in the house) 5 days per week I eat 'normally' 2 days I fast...no hard work...no frustration
Try and see the bigger picture...your pants are looser ..have you measured to see if you have inch loss?
Hang in there girl and relax!!

Virginia -- just a note. Psyllium is not a laxative. It's a natural fiber supplement.

Has anyone tried taking this before a fast? Have you noted weight gain? I'm wondering how much water I am retaining. I guess the only way to find out will be to wait and weigh myself throughout the week.

I get constipated from fasting. I take psyllium husks to keep things moving. It also makes me feel full and bloated.

Virginia, the problem with constipation is that even if we don't think about it our body reminds us that it's suffering.
On Sunday morning, I thought that I was going to get sick from all the bloating in my stomach.
If I don't take a laxative, I just don't "go" but I don't want to get used to them either.
To me, it's a constant worry that has impact to what I eat (nothing that will make it worse, lots that will make it better), to how much I weigh, to how I plan my days (laxative effects aren't smooth)...

[carorees]

I think weighing every day is instructive but it is very useful to use the Libra app or similar to create a trendline so you can see exactly whether the trend in weight is down (most likely) steady or up. Look for kencc's progress reports to see some pictures of the results you get using Libra. It makes weighing every day encouraging rather than discouraging!

I can see how psyllium could cause water retention, from my experience with it in the past. Why don't you try a naturally high fiber diet on fast days and see if you feel less bloated? My strategy (I'm now starting my 7th week on 5:2) to successfully avoid constipation is to eat all high fiber foods: FiberOne makes a cereal that has 12g fiber/104 C; bean chili or soup=7 g fiber/ 1/2 C beans + more fiber from the veges in it for <200 C/cup; an apple or a Special K protein bar = 4g of fiber for 100 C. That's my typical fast diet and I still get >20 g of fiber for <500 C. Caffeine also has laxative and diuretic effects, so I am now a born again coffee drinker (also helps with an energy boost). I pee a lot more on fast days and never feel water-bloated (maybe temporarily gassy) and have had no constipation issues. It's working for me; I'm down 11 lbs. in 6 weeks.

Psyllium husks are just a dehydrated plant material, if you soak them in water you'll see them swell up. A couple of capsules are probably less than 5g of dry husk and that might hydrate to 50g of mush.

Are people constipated - defined as wanting / needing to defecate but not able to - or simply having fewer bowel motions ?

Carorees, thanks I did see that graph. You are right, I will start weighing every day now so I get more of an understanding of weight gain due to water or loss due to fasting.

MCC, I do eat a very high fiber diet, but I still get constipated. (There have been a lot of threads on this.) When stool is not moving through your system, as happens when you fast, more and more water gets pulled out of it, thus worsening the problem. As I stated, I also take psyllium so that I feel full. I drink plenty of coffee and tea as
well.

Phil, see my note to MCC.

I don't want or need. And I feel sooooo bloated.

Hi Rufus and TML13
I suffer from constipation as I have reported on another thread and wondered if it was 5:2...asked my doctor and he thinks it could be a combination of the diet and the high levels of painkillers Im on (didnt know that painkillers could have a constipating affect but hey ho)was not suggesting for one moment that you were taking them as a dietry aid!
Was more commenting on 'All this hard work for what?' statement....your pants feel looser so you could be loosing inches not pounds?
As I am thankfully not finding this 'hard work' was just wondering if you were over thinking it...trying to be supportive..not critical..
Good luck

No, no, no I didn't take your comments as critical, no way!
I'm just saying that when something is there all the time, you don't have to think it, it's just there!
I see no weight loss and I'm pretty sure that it's the constipation and the bloating isn't helping the inch loss either.

Sadly, pain killers and non-steroid anti-inflammatory medication do cause mild constipation but it can be fought with eating prunes or dates or kiwis.

The constipation that I'm experiencing can be characterised as severe and the only that that's changed in my life is that I started 5:2 so I really can't blame anything ales.
I'm not stopping, but the fact that I have to take laxatives and not even the mild ones is not one that I like very much.

Psyllium really swells up. Psyllium and similar ingrediants are common in 'colon cleansers', they can pretty much make a cast of your insides (I'm assuming cleansers use higher levels than if you take pysllium for constipation?). The sellers then point at the wierd stools people pass and claim its years of old food, when really its just the contents of their pills/powders.

Psyllium really swells up. Psyllium and similar ingrediants are common in 'colon cleansers', they can pretty much make a cast of your insides (I'm assuming cleansers use higher levels than if you take pysllium for constipation?). The sellers then point at the wierd stools people pass and claim its years of old food, when really its just the contents of their pills/powders.

Yes, I think that would account for a few extra pounds this morning. Overall, just having a bad day. Feeling like I'm making no progress on all fronts....