This may seem like a strange question and I’m not sure how else to word without being as direct and honest as possible.

Having been diagnosed with Type II diabetes and put onto 1500mg of Metformin daily (3x tablets a day with or after food (have discussed with doctor and nurses at my GP), I have adopted the diet outlined by this site and the book I have now purchased. Although I don’t follow the recipes for every meal, I am incredibly strict about portion sizes and food types to keep strongly within the boundaries of the diet.

My question is this: before starting the diet (when I was eating large portions, drinking coke every day, and eating high carb junk food) my bowel movements were often multiple times daily and not, to be honest, that healthy. But since starting the diet I sometimes can go a whole day without needing to go at all and when I do it is not, how can I put this, in great quantity and is a lot more healthy.

I’ve been attempting to google for answers to this and I’m no closer to an answer. And I was wondering if anyone had noted a similar change in bodily functions and if this a sign of the body’s way of recovering and using literally every inch of what is being processed in the stomach due to their being literally no excess food and no unhealthy junk food.

Thank you in advance to anyone who provides an answer to this question. I appreciate anyone honest to discuss this subject.

I have been experiencing the same thing. I feel it is a big improvement over the functions a few weeks ago. I feel like my body is saying “thank you” for striving to help it recover.

Hi JoeC – this comes up a lot on the forums – most people seem to experience reduced bowel movements on this diet, which makes sense if you think about how much less you’re eating and it’s all nutrient rich as you noted. If you’re concerned, search for “constipation” in the search bar and you’ll get a number of hits with various advice on offer 🙂

I’m with laura and remember it is not abnormal to have a motion every other day when you are on this diet. I sometimes go once in 3 days.
I would suggest your previous activity was a clear message to you that your diet was seriously lacking nutrition and was antagonistic to your body.
Don’t get fussed, time will get all that sorted, your body will adjust to the new regime and you will experience a new normal.

Thanks so much for all the replies. That’s brilliant and certainly makes me feel a whole lot better. Good to know I’m the right track and the diet is a significantly rejuvenating/restorative effect on my body. Really appreciated you guys taking the time to answer so thoughtfully and honestly.

Besides the fact you are eating less and also getting more fibre which gives a slower but more efficient through put of matter, you were also drinking diet drinks which often contain aspartame which is a laxative (other sweeteners also have this effect).

Thanks again for your reply. That’s such great info – never knew about any of this stuff. Well, not to this detail or scientific accuracy. So really appreciate everyone’s answers! Means a lot!

JoeC, for my two- cents worth, I was on a similar level of metformin and was in exactly the same boat as you!! High carb and sugar defibately have a bad effect but combined with metformin, wrecks havoc!
Since the bsd I am so much more normal. I have also halved my dose on my own but feel good for it.
Good luck with everything!