Eating the RDA of vegetables/fruit + unprocessed whole grains = pooping all day long

[Anonymous]

I've been following or slightly exceeding the USRDA for servings of fruits/vegetables and grams of fiber AND whole grains for about a week. I am on the brink of fecal incontinence. If I'm not actually pooping at the moment, I'm sitting in a meeting, on the Metro, or in yoga class wondering if that sensation means I need to go, NOW, or whether I have 5 minutes.

I don't get it. How can people live like this? My choices seem to be scale back, Immodium, or Depends.

My diet before was pretty darn healthy, so this shouldn't be a such a shock to the system.

[Anonymous]

I'm a vegetarian and I think your body will adjust. I do go way more often than the average person, but it's rarely an emergency. I just realize when I'm already in the bathroom to pee, that I also need to poop. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

I think you will adjust. I just started a diet that includes a lot of fruit and veg and I found that everything normalized in about a week.

[Anonymous]

You may want to cut back temporarily and then gradually increase your intake. You may want to focus on softer fruits and veggies and cooked veggies until you adjust. Also, look at your portion size--you may be eating more servings of fruits/veggies than you realize.

[Anonymous]

Gradual increase. You don't do it all at once.

Do check portion size. I think half an apple is actually a portion.

Some people are just more sensitive to particular foods. So you may want to eliminate certain foods on some days and try to figure out if one is big "trigger" food. I can't eat an apple without keeling over in pain for about an hour. Amazing how long it took me to figure it out.

[Anonymous]

I agree that your body will adjust. The more gradually you increase your intake of these foods, the easier the transition. It's not unhealthy to do it all at once but you'll pay the price on the throne.

[Anonymous]

Love the subject line