What about Fiber on an All Meat Diet?

What about poop? I think I’m constipated! Does anyone else have diarrhea?

This seems to be one of our most frequent questions! People love to talk about poop, apparently.

• You do not need fiber if you are not eating carbohydrates. We recommend reading Fiber Menace, by Konstantin Monastyrsky for further information. It will change all you thought you knew about fiber and its role in our bodies.

• We can say with certainty that your bowel habits WILL change on a zero carb diet, especially if you have been previously consuming a lot of plant foods.
• You may experience a cessation or reduction in bowel movements for the first several days; this is not normally considered constipation. True constipation or fecal impaction is a painful and serious condition and you should see a physician if you are in pain.
• It is perfectly normal to not have a bowel movement every day. Eating only animal foods produces less waste, so it makes sense that less waste will be eliminated.
• It is more likely that you may experience loose stools or diarrhea in the early days of adapting to this lifestyle. This is also normal as your body adapts to more fat and no plant fiber slowing things down.
• We generally do not recommend any over-the-counter or natural remedies for either of these situations.
• If you are feeling fatigued and have had no bowel movement in several days, you may want to consider if you are eating enough food, and you also might benefit from fattier meats, like ground beef, dark chicken with the skin, (Thighs and legs), or steak. Fat helps things MOVE!
• If you experience nausea and/or diarrhea, you might want to choose leaner meat for a meal or two, like sirloin steak, white meat chicken, or eggs, until things settle down.
• These symptoms generally lessen and naturally resolve on their own. Trust the process!

Questions or Comments?  Please come join us in the Zero Carb Health Facebook Group!