9 Tips to Help You Poop More Often
1.Use your gastrocolic reflex
This reflex occurs as you’re eating and the stomach fills and stretches. The stomach tells the large intestine that there’s food entering the system. This clues in the large intestine aka colon to move things through it to make some space for the new incoming food. About ten minutes after you finish eating, try sitting on the toilet and see if things move. Typically I don’t like people to sit on the toilet for extended periods of time, but try this if it’s been awhile.
2.Known your poop schedule & use it!
Our guts are so smart. They learn our schedule (like the bladder). Most people have a pretty consistent life schedule which carries over into a consistent eat/sleep/poop schedule. Use it! If you always have to poop right after work, use that to your advantage. Be available to go # 2. If you have a week where you’re having less consistency, try to use your typical schedule to your advantage and head to the bathroom at your typical time. See what happens.
3.Drink hot water in the morning.
This can be plain water, tea, or even lemon water. This helps activate the muscles in the intestines in charge of peristalsis to move things through the system.
4.Go for a walk
Aerobic activity speeds up your breathing & heart rate which helps stimulate peristalsis & get things moving.
5.Increase fiber intake
This helps bulk up your stool and move it through your intestines easier. Typically the goal should be to get 25-30g of fiber from food, a day. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber gives stool more bulk. Insoluble fiber helps quickly move food through the GI system.
6.Magnesium!
Magnesium helps improve bowel movements. There are a few different types of Magnesium supplements so check that out. I typically suggest Magnesium Citrate for constipation. You could add magnesium rich foods to your diet. People rave about Magnesium gummies.
7.Increase fluid intake
Your large intestine removes a significant amount of fluid from the food materiel (as mentioned here), so make sure you’re ingesting enough fluid to counteract this. Remember: my goal is to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces.
8.”I Love U” massage
This massage helps stimulate peristalsis and is easy to do anywhere. I prefer to perform this on myself lying down but I have some patients that do it sitting. I typically suggest it about ten minutes before you’d like to poop (use that typical BM schedule). I’ll post a video of this soon.
9.Squatty potty, belly big belly hard, & moo!
The squatty potty is my favorite tool and belly big belly hard is my favorite technique for pooping. I’ll explain this soon. Simply put, it’s a wait to use your abdomen to help you empty without bearing down and pushing really hard.
