Week 3, Day 5: Mary, Unplugged; or, take your fiber, boys and girls!

It's been a couple of days since I last blogged, mostly because sitting became a challenge for me. And since I believe in blogging my challenges as well as my victories, I'll share this with you.

I'm not one of those folks who blush at the mention of bowel movements, so I won't mince words here. If you are thinking of doing Optifast, or any liquid diet program, be sure to add some fiber to your meal replacements.

At Kaiser they touched on the fact that "maybe" you will get constipated, so "maybe" you should think of taking a fiber supplement every day. After all, we aren't allowed veggies and fruit on the program, and there is essentially no fiber in any of the meal replacements, except about five grams in the bars.

I was chewing two Fiber Choice tablets every day, which is fine if you are eating "regular" food, but it isn't enough for those on a mostly-liquid meal replacement diet. A two-tablet serving of Fiber Choice contains three grams of fiber, and the label instructs not to exceed five tablets (or 7.5 grams) daily. Benefiber contains the same amount; but if, for example, I take it four times a day with my shakes and soup, and my bar contains five grams I'm getting 17 grams of fiber with my 800 calories.

The Institute of Medicine recommended amount of fiber per day is at least 14 grams per 1,000 calories, so that's not too shabby.

I'll be 56 this year, and never in my life have I experienced anything like this past day and a half. Suffice it to say, it was very painful and something I would not wish on my worst enemy or ANYONE.

Even though I am overweight, I have always been a big fan of fresh fruit and vegetables. (It's the other junk I was eating that was the problem.) Regularity has never been an issue for me. Now I can sympathize with the folks that those TV commercials so delicately aim for. Constipation is crappy—no doubt about it.

Clear Soluble Fiber Powder, or Benefiber, contains dextrin, and will keep things moving and grooving in your system. It's flavorless and sugar-free and will dissolve into your liquids. You can pick it up at the drugstore, either the brand name Benefiber or your Walgreens (or local pharmacy chain) has a store-brand version that might be lower-cost. At any rate—get some, it's worth it.

If you (like I was) get so stopped up that you are past the point of no return, milk of magnesia should do the trick.

Last night was tough. For the first time since beginning the program I was unable to drink my last meal replacement, so I had only four the whole day (640 calories). I couldn't exercise, either. :(  Today I get back in the saddle. Yay!!