Constipation Weight Gain
What Is The Connection?

By Stephanie

Constipation weight gain. It had come, that dreaded moment to weigh in.

I tip toed onto the scale, hoping that maybe if I stepped on as lightly as possible the dial would be kinder to me.

Upon stepping aboard, my technique proved unsuccessful. I stepped off with a shriek of frustration.  “Stupid scale must be broke”, I muttered.

As I was leaving the room I caught sight of the looming presence of the toilet and frowned. It had reminded me of something else that hadn't been working quite right lately. My colon.

Can constipation make us fat?

The battle of the bulge. Many of us have been fighting this seemingly endless war for some time. I have waged many wars to lose weight and be the healthiest me I can be. However, a not so amusing thing kept happening as I did so.

I kept getting constipated! Upon throwing my system into a new and healthier eating regimen, I didn't keep enough fiber in my diet. 

For instance, there was one point I ate a full diet of lean proteins such as eggs and chicken breast. Though I did lose weight; these foods made me constipated and bloated.

The scale went down but my gut seemed to magically grow out as my stool became shriveled, dry and difficult to eliminate. Ten pounds down, yet I felt fatter than ever.

What about constipation weight gain?

Maybe you have watched the commercials dealing with the colon where they talk about people losing up to 20 pounds from cleaning out a backed up colon.

Perhaps you even heard the rumor about John Wayne’s colon weighing a astronomic 40 pounds upon his death because of backed up waist.  This was only a myth.

I’m happy to say that, except for rare situations, constipation weight gain is a myth as well. It is very unusual to gain more than five pounds of weight from backed up waste due to constipation.

Why?  The tremendous pain, fatigue, fever, cramps and general state of unbearable misery caused by even a pound or two of backed up feces is enough to propel anyone into desperate action to rid it. It would take literally years of living in the horrid state of advanced constipation before one’s colon could achieve 40 pounds of backed up feces.

Actually, most colons would tear open from the sheer strain of such grand amounts of stool, likely resulting in death.

Constipation usually causes weight loss

When it comes to extreme constipation, most people find that they lose their appetites, and lose weight in the process.

As toxins build up in the system over the stretch of several days to a week's time, the gut has nowhere else to place the toxins and therefore is forced to re-distribute them back into the body.

As toxins are absorbed back into the blood and deposited throughout the body, it can cause nausea.

How to stop and prevent constipation

Even though it is much more common to experience weight loss when constipated as opposed to constipation weight gain, having a bloated, extended gut can still feel pretty miserable.

So how can we prevent this bloated, fat feeling from ever striking?  So glad you asked!

1. First and foremost, I include a mineral supplement works hard to pull water into my colon. This helps to keep stool from drying out.
   
   Stool that is moist is soft and slick, which helps it to move more easily through the colon.
   
   
2. Next, I eat a diet rich in fiber, around 25 to 40 grams worth a day.
   
   It is easy to add fiber simply by indulging in some whole wheat bread or pasta along with raw fruits and vegetables.
   
   
3. I try to drink at least eight glasses of water per day, to keep from becoming dehydrated. Dehydration is a major cause of constipation.
   
   How much water should a person drink? It depends on your weight. Simply divide your weight. This figure is how many ounces of water one should take a day.
   
   For example, if a person weighs 200 pounds, they would need 100 ounces of water per day.
   
   
4. I keep my body moving. Even a little physical activity can help keep the colon moving, and physical activity that firms up those abdominal muscles is even better.
   
   
5. Lastly, I try to keep stress at bay.  Stress can be a large contributor to many physical problems, including that of constipation.
   
   

Alternate causes of constipation weight gain

Though constipation in itself is not a solid reason for ongoing weight gain, there are a few conditions worth mentioning, for which both constipation and weight gain occur together.

• Hypothyroidism – this is a condition of a dysfunctional thyroid (located in the neck) which controls weight gain and loss.  Those suffering with this condition will experience symptoms such as constipation, depression and fatigue.
  
  
• Pregnancy – not to state the obvious but pregnancy not only causes weight gain, many pregnant women struggle with constipation as extra weight pushes down on the rectum.
  
  
• PMS – actual symptoms such as constipation and weight gain actually begin five to eleven days before the menstrual cycle begins.  These symptoms often end as the cycle officially begins.
  
  
• Hashimoto’s disease – this disease is characterized by an under-active thyroid and includes symptoms of physical weakness and weight gain as well as constipation.

A note in closing

Most of us want to avoid both constipation AND weight gain. I hope this article has been helpful. Blessings, and as always, thank you for reading!

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