Fiber

Am having a difficult time getting appropriate amount of daily fiber; eating products like Raisin Bran, Fiber One Cereal & other high fiber OTC products (metamucil, fibersure, etc) gives me severe stomach cramps.  6yrs-post surgery & dealing w/severe constipation - Any suggestions?

I'm not as far out as you... but this might seem a little strange but when I get really constipated I eat something high in sugar alch. to get things moving... but I also use apple juice to help too... a glass a day seems for me to keep things right....

But what about getting your fiber from just fruits and veggies and skip out on all the other stuff... that stuff just binds me up... so I quit taking them... maybe it is doing the same for you... I posted my chili recipe here last night for someone asking about veggie... it is high in fiber and protein...

If I can keep my fiber intake to around 25-30g per day consistently, my constipation issues are minimal.  But I also take some supplements to help.  I use 2 generic colace per day and 2 fish oil (Omega 3 fatty acid) tablets per day.  I also use 1 serving of FiberSure (5g of fiber) once per day to get me to that 25-30g goal.

I don't bother with starch-based fiber sources (no cereal for me!).  I get most of my fiber from fruits and veggies and whole grain tortilla shells (for tortilla pizza about 5 days/week).

Checking my food journal... here's a typical day's fiber intake:

FiberSure -- 5g (mixed in my protein shake)
Carb Master Yogurt - 1g
South Beach Strawberry Crunch Cereal (1/4c mixed into yogurt) - 2g
Apple - 3.3g
Wendy's Chili - 5g
Triscuit Crackers (w/ chili) - 3.5g
Tortilla (part of my tortilla pizza) 5g
Popcorn (100 cal bag) - 4g

Total: 29g fiber

(This is a day when I ate 1,100 calories and 109g protein)

Here's a post I put on my blog with a list of foods that are high in fiber:
http://pamtremble.blogspot.com/2008/03/increasing-my-fiber.h tml

Good luck
Pam

Carrie, I have just discovered All-Bran Ice Tea Fiber Powder Drink and All-Bran Pink Lemonade Fiber Powder Drink. They are packets you mix with 16 ounces of water, not bad-tasting, and contain 10 g of fiber per drink for only 20 calories. They are hard to find, but you can use the store locater function on the Kellog's All-Bran site.

Hope this helps.