I started IF about 6 weeks ago. I do 20:4 but am typically eating one meal a day. I’m doing CICO and trying to keep the calories within the 1200-1500 range most days. Once a week I may splurge and go as high as 2,000. I eat meat based dishes, vegetables, cheese, and still some carbs - so probably fairly typical eating for a home cook. I’ve lost over 15lbs so far, so I think it’s going well.
Now on to my problem. Since I started, I’ve had chronic constipation issues, and a couple bouts of really bad diarrhea. Is this normal? I’ve eliminated sweets except for one can of soda I drink with my meal. I am experimenting with a lot of new recipes but mostly comprised of things I would typically eat; chicken, mushrooms, veg, etc. If it factors in, I am a long term IBS sufferer but that has been under good control with medication for about 3 yrs now. I drink unsweetened cold brew, about 32oz in my 4 hr window and I drink a little less than a half gallon of water a day.
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I’m going to stick with my IF plan but this has been the one unpleasant thing in what has otherwise been an amazingly transformative lifestyle change.
Sounds like a lot of coffee for a 4 hour window especially if it contains caffeine. But I’m no dietician so not giving advice. That just stood out huge to me. That’s the max amount recommended for a 24 hour period. Might be too much for a 4 hour window
In addition to cutting back on the coffee and supplementing with fiber (slowly - any big increases in fiber will give you more constipation if not introduced slowly) and water.
Consider taking magnesium citrate at night. Magnesium (introduced slowly) is great at getting things moving.