Increased pooping when going vegan

by Anonymous

What is going on with my poop?

OK, sorry for asking the gross question, but it's really annoying me, and I'm trying to figure out if what I'm experiencing is normal.

I'm a middle-aged male. I've been a vegetarian for 20+ years, but I've always eaten a lot of dairy, mostly cheese. I started reducing my dairy intake about 3 weeks ago, and I'd estimate that 95% of the food I'm eating now is based around raw fruits and veggies, dried fruit, whole grain bread, legumes, tofu/soy milk, and nuts. I drink 8 cups (more or less) of water per day, 1-2 alcoholic beverages per day, 1-2 glasses of Gatorade per day, 0-1 cups of decaf coffee per day, and 1-2 sodas per week. I've never had any sort of dairy intolerance. I am currently about 30 pounds overweight.

Now I'm in the bathroom 5-6 times a day, and my stool is very loose. Sometimes my stool is not formed at all, and sometimes it's formed but very soft. It seems like there's a lot more coming out of my body than going in.

I'm going to the bathroom so much it's gotten painful. I'm hoping there is an end in sight and that my body will adjust, but it doesn't seem to be happening.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, how long did it last? Any tips for getting back to a once-a-day, well-formed-poop kind of life without going back to lots of dairy?

Answer:
Good for you dropping the dairy! Dairy products are highly addictive, so it's a big deal to be able to stop eating them.

As far as the poops, it does sound pretty normal. Your body is getting rid of the waste left over from the cheese and milk, and getting accustomed to the increased fresh foods in your diet. Don't worry-- it will even out. It's hard to say how long it will take to level out from 5-6 times to a more regular schedule because it depends on your body and personal diet.

However, I think you should be aware that you may never return to your normal one poop a day. But, that normal was when your body had the natural binding power of dairy products, and without them, your stool will naturally loosen up.

Most of the vegans I know have at least two, but they are refreshing, cleansing poops, and they happen speedily and without need for any bodily effort.

One thing I could recommend is to perhaps think about phasing out gatorade and sodas. They are chock full of sugar, which our bodies just don't need. You might also think about adding complete whole grains, such as steamed/boiled quinoa, bulgur, barley, millet, etc. They will also help balance out your body and return it to a regular schedule, and they provide you with good complex carbohydrates. Whole grain bread can sometimes be deceiving and also often has added sugar. Just some ideas!

Good luck, and again... congratulations! I am sure you are going to start feeling amazing within just a few weeks. I was just like you, and when I stopped eating dairy products, it changed my world (and body in the process). With a few simple changes, I bet your body goes to its correct weight within a few months.

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Increased pooping when going vegan

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starstarstarstarstar 		Sounds like gallstones
by: Anonymous

Sounds like you may have gallstones or gallbladder disease.

The loose stools combined with your weight and huge fat dairy intake make it very likely you have gallstones, which are affecting your bile storage ( the gallbladder stores the bile and secretes it to break down fatty foods). The signs of gallbladder disease are diarrhea, clay colored stools, bowel disturbances, upper right quadrant/back/shoulder pain.

Reduce the fat in your diet and quit dairy. Don't get your gallbladder removed unless you have no choice.

Google all alternatives and educate yourself.

Good luck
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		To constipated Carol
by: Anonymous

Part 1

Carol,

Try an enema.

Or...

Use psyllium fiber husks every day (and not that Metamucil crap which is the same stuff only with too much chemicals and sugars). You can buy pure (tasteless) psyllium husks from a health food store and it's really inexpensive. Read the directions and drink lots of water right after drinking the husks in water. Psyllium takes about a day to pass through your system so use it maybe twice a day, once in the morning and once at bedtime.

Also...
I am 51 now, but i was constipated when i was in my 20s and i did something that stopped it and it's been regular part of my routine ever since then.
Here's what i did and still do.
I used my shower hose. I removed the shower head and set up a medium pressure flow with as much hot water as you can handle - the hotter the better as it relaxes your whole anus and lets the poop come out (don't burn yourself with too hot water).
Stand in the bath tub with your bum facing the wall. Place the shower hose pointing up onto your anus opening and let the water massage it a bit - let your bum RELAX - i used to get goosebumps all over my body and it felt nice. Then, put the hose a few inches into your anus BUT (very important) constantly push like you're pooping. It's VERY important that you push because if you don't constantly push (non stop), the water will enter your colon and will/can cause cramps. Plus, if a lot of water enters your colon, it will fill the colon up and when you think you're done, you will have VERY wet farts when you least expect it (very embarrassing).
When done, just point the hose at the drain, and with the water pressure all the poop will go down the drain.
Yes, you will have to wash out the tub and yourself after. That's a given. And yes, if all the windows are closed, the shower steam will smell like poop all over the apartment - it will be like someone used the toilet while someone else used the shower. Small price to pay to have a satisfying crap. Use candles or incense.
By the way, if you have painful hemmorhoids, the water pressure can sting when it touches.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		10 Pounds lighter
by: Anonymous

I've been vegan for a month and have noticed an increase in volume but not frequency. After I hit that bowl in the morning I feel 10 pounds lighter and very energized! Every morning is Jeff Daniels in Dumb & Dumber. If I take a while, I just tell people i was shaving.
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starstarstarstarstar 		another poopy tale
by: Anonymous

Well, contrary to most of the writers here, I started a vegan, and lost chunks of my hair for the effort. After a few years of trying veganism, and not having any increase in health, and actually having some B12 anemia, I read Weston Price's Nutrition and Physical Degeneration and started a new regimen. This suited me much better. In spite of being a meat eater, I also had 3-5 poops a day. I accepted this as normal. But when I went into nursing school, I retook my childhood shots ( didn't have copies of my shot records)and began to have 12 or more diarrhea episodes a day. For about 2 years they were simply undigested food. Salads came back out within an hour and looked like chewed up salad. Watermelon too, came out looking just like chewed up watermelon, within an HOUR. I was very worried that I would lose my teeth and bone integrity and have other health problems which I did. I looked up deficiencies that caused diarrhea and I would take D or zinc and it would help for a month or two and then the diarrhea would come back. After several years of this my adrenal got fatigued, as did my thyroid. My online research led me to many hints at the root of this, and many were helpful, but finally I found research on thimerisol, the mercury in vaccines and this caused mast cell malfunction in rats, causing diarrhea and histamine overproduction. Well there it is. The shots caused all this. Natural thyroid helped a lot and natrual adrenal, but finally I tried Maca and then I began to become normal again.

Years of whole grains ond being off soda and being off junk, and candy, and white bread and salt, none of these helped. Darn the vaccines, they messed up my life really badly. I am currently trying 4 months of a steroid called ketotefen which is supposed to be a mast cell stabilizer and a cure. So far it is really making my nose run, more than normal (also an issue, and a lifelong one). I have been on it for about a month. But I hope this will get my mast cells back to normal functioning. I also gave in to pepcid, to firm up the stools, and I am hoping when the ketotefen is done, I will be able to be off that stuff too. As an H2 inhibitor, it reduces histamine production, and this has been a big issue causing my ulcers- and it is adrenal and histamine and mast cell related.

Go to the stopthethyroidmadness.com and see if your problem may be thyroid, it is worth the look. ( yes, the Adrenal Fatigue book pinpointed diarrhea as a bad sign as well as the thyroid madness info. )
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starstarstarstarstar 		Still vegan except for kefir
by: Robbie

Hi,

I have a long post on this page that i wrote last year, i think (they're not dated). However, i am, now, back on track with my poops - no more watery stools like i had for a whole year.

I started to eat lots of kefir. Kefir is really good for the digestive system - gets things back to normal again because of the live bacteria in it.

I am still the semi cheating vegan i was before.

I still practice urine therapy (and i, still, never catch colds or the flu because of it) like i did before.

Google, kefir.

The kefir helped me a lot.


Good luck,
Robbie
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starstarstarstarstar 		Small hard poops
by: Anonymous

I have been vegan for 7days now and going strong, I was not eating meat before this. Now I find myself pooping 3/4 times a day, always small and hard whats with that. Is it because no dairy means I have less fat in my diet?? I have also uped my water intake, is this normal.
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starstarstarstarstar 		hydration
by: Anonymous

i was a vegan for over five years, and my real claim to fame, as it were, was that i managed to put on some muscle mass during. i was a regular heavy weight lifter before, and continued with no problem as a vegan.

you take in a lot of fluid during the day, certainly more than me and i'm pretty active. do you exercise regularly? you do say you're 30lbs overweight. i'd up the exercise and lower the intake of fluid during the day. on top of shitting your brains out more than once a day, you're lowering the chance of intaking any nutrients from the food you're eating, especially since it's raw and harder (takes more time) to digest.
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starstarstarstarstar 		I had the same prob at first
by: ehab

I was an ordinary person (eating everything/anything) then for many reasons I switched my eating habits into 80% fruits intake, at first 2 weeks I pooped around 7 - 12 times a day then it became painful with blood / oil I went to the doctor then I found out that it's completely a good thing coz my body is detoxing, he gave a me a medicine for pain, and then after a while my pooping started to get stable and I started to go for 3 - 4 times a day, morning and sometime in the afternoon and once around bed time.
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starstarstarstarstar 		20 tiny poops a day
by: CantStopPooping

I watched Forks Over Knives and went vegan about 2 weeks ago. Before that I had a few stints as a vegetarinan and I always have eaten alot of vegetables and bean & rice. The last week I have been very gassy and pooping about 20 little poops a day. Can I expect this to stop anytime soon? Its really annoying (and smelly!)
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Chronic Constipation Poster -
by: Anonymous

The herbal colon cleanse product you are using may be your issue. Laxatives, herbal or otherwise, are addictive and with continued use will get your body to the point where it can no longer produce a bowel movement on it's own. Also, dairy is constipating. Try giving it up. Good luck!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Vegan a year
by: Anonymous

Dairy was a huge problem for me, meat was difficult to digest. Was diagnosed with IBS decades ago. I decided on a vegan diet to see if I could stop ibs. I haven't been sick since. I decided to test my reaction to cheese after a year and I got sick, so yes...dairy was the culprit to years of misery. As for meat, my pets love me for it! They now know I won't be frying them anytime soon and I feel better than I ever have!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		oily stool
by: Anonymous

My wife has been experiencing oily stool since becoming vegan 5 months ago. Wondering if this is normal or due to high oil consumption in her cooking or something else.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		to the last poster
by: Anonymous

the dairy you eat is probably making you constipated, as it is constipation making!

hope this helps!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Pooping Vegan
by: Anna

I am a new vegan, I switched from a nearly carnivorous diet a few weeks ago, to a plant based diet because of all the health benefits. I used to poop every other day, and if I pooped everyday, that meant I was gaining weight. I poop 1-2 times per day, anymore than that is simply painful. My poop is sort of formed, it usually piles up in the bowl, or floats. Im 20 and ive been overweight my whole life, but ive never felt so free of guilt or pain on any diet before, I really believe I can make this a lifestyle.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Vegan diet has helped me also
by: Anonymous

Hello I recently found out I am highly allergic to dairy foods and that is what has been making me sick for years. I am not a complete vegan, I do add chicken or turkey to my diet once a week, but primarily stick to veggies and the morning star veggie burgers and breakfast foods. I also have cut out all dairy and have noticed the difference in more frequent bathroom trips and am thrilled I also have recently lost 100 pounds and in doing so my colon narrowed so bathroom visits were few and painful for me. I feel so much better now that I have eliminated red meats and dairy out of my diet.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Loose vegan stools
by: Robbie

Hi,
I am a (bad) vegan since about 1 year and I was vegetarian for a year before becoming vegan.

I say "bad" vegan because i still eat pizza once in a while, or even occasional Italian sausages by the company called, Olymel.

I no longer eat dairy except for kefir. Other than that, there are no steaks, chops, roasts, chicken, turkey or any meat, fish or dairy in my diet. I only became a vegan because I have gout in both feet. I loved eating meat, and bacon and milk and cereal and ice cream and, and, and.... The list goes on and on. That's all changed now as i have a huge salad for breakfast with a fresh, fruit smoothy poured over a bowl of quinoa.

I started practising Urine Therapy around the same time I became vegetarian. Also, I started to eat mangosteen powder. At first, too much mangosteen power caused diarhea, so I slowed down on that. I've read that urine therapy can cause diarhea, also, as it causes an internal cleansing.

I had diahrea for a long time due to a friend convincing me that drinking water from the hot water tap was healthier than the cold water tap. For almost a year I drank that water and I had the runs like brown water. I never had to run to the toilet, but when I finally sat down, it was watery.

My poop, now, is still unformed three years after drinking that water. I am a vegan now, and it looks like mucus-like, loose porridge. It's light-brown-coloured, and some of it floats and some of it sinks to the bottom of the bowl. However, my doctor can't get over my blood test results - I am so healthy she says. And I feel GREAT, I am active and people usually can't believe it when I say I am 50. (It feels weird even saying I am 50, I feel 30).
I never had any gut pains or blood in my stool.

But my poop is still loose, unformed, light coloured - like caramel. The toilet paper gets wet when I wipe.

I keep thinking I have some sort of disease but I have no pains to back that up.

Comments?

Robbie
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Dairy and Constipation
by: Anonymous

Yes your dairy can cause constipation. Especially if you have any kind of an intolerance you dont know of. Me and my family went vegan recently and do have multiple poops a day and they are extremely healthy. We all have minor intolerances to dairy and have found after cutting it out we feel amazing. I'd try it for a month and see how you feel. Then, re-evaluate from there.
Rating
starstarstarstar 		For the person with constipation,
by: Anonymous

If you are taking medicines such as opioids for the chronic pain, this could be the cause of the constipation (which will also be chronic and will need to be treated daily as long as the pain is being treated on an opioid). Also, with constipation you often need a combination of a laxative and a stool softener to go.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		poop, sorry!
by: Anonymous

I went vegan, and began pooping 2-4 times a day! At first, they were yucky. Now, they are totally "normal" and formed...regular poops.
When I was a plain "vegetarian", eating dairy and eggs, I went once a day IF THAT.
Now, since becoming vegan...it seems like whatever I eat comes out just as it is suppose to! I could set a watch by it now! Your body will take some time (few months) to regulate, but it will.
Even with all this pooping, I had blood-work done recently due to an un-related topic. My doctor was THRILLED at how healthy I am! He said he "rarely" sees numbers as good as mine! He asked me about my diet and lifestyle, and told me "It's working, keep it up!"!
All that said, watch for cramping, blood in the stool, dark colored stools...you could have a digestive disorder! They are pretty common.
Hope this helps,
Stacey
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		chronic constipation
by: Carol

Just read the pooping article. I have just the opposite problem, chronic constipation. I've used cascara sagrada, an herbal colon stimulant. I'm am vegetarian w/dairy, but I still don't poop regularly. I may be a little obsessed with not pooping, because I was told that if something goes in, something should go out, so I try to have a bowel movement every other day. This is only possible with the cascara sagrada.

I have chronic pain and multiple chronic illnesses, which is why I'm trying vegetarian. Long story short...do you think dairy is the problem...the reason i am constipated so much?

Please help!

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