# Fat and Stool Consistency



## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

I had all out D for 10 years, never a break, countless times a day, never a formed stool in all that time. 10 years ago I began a program of supplementation that has eliminated all of the problems and most of the symptoms since the end of 1999. In the intervening years I have seen a slow climb back to "normalcy," that is best summarized as 2 movements in the morning with an acceptable level of urgency and consistency, with an occasional 3rd movement anytime during the day. I have been able to moderate softness and stickiness with an increase in fibre mix as required.Over the past few years I have also begun a program of weight loss and maintenance that has revolved around lower fat foods and exercise, increasing the vigor and time of exercise to mediate periods of higher fat intake--winter, holidays, ice cream binging, whatever excuse I can come up with... In the past couple of weeks I have agreed to join Weight Watchers as support for my wife, which has led to really counting my fat and fibre intake, for the first time, ever. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY my morning bms shifted to evening, complete with a certain amount of straining on the first couple of days. Obviously, I do not know where this will lead, but it is even more freeing, if only mentally. Since that is the only major change--other than eliminating an afternoon after exercise beer--it would seem to be a pretty clear indication of cause and effect. No, I don't think my bowels would remain stable simply by remaining at WW, without the continuing supplementation; but really watching fat and fibre is something we can all do to at least decrease some of the symptoms.Patman posted a food guide on the Dietary Board that could be helpful, and the Weight Watchers point guides are pretty generally available. http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?s...mp;#entry721749 Mark


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

A little update:I just returned from 5 days of Christmas overindulging at my brother's home, including high fat meals at every sitting. By the final day of that period my bms had returned to what I have come to think of as normal: slightly larger, softer and stickier, with almost no surface features, occurring between 9 and 10 in the morning. Because I have put back 3 of the pounds I lost and am back to 10 pounds from my goal weight, I will return to the WW program, at least for the month of January; but I think it pretty obvious that at this time I can mediate the consistency as easily with fat intake as with fiber. (There is probably a New Year's resolution in there, somewhere.)Mark


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

One thought, maybe wrong, but may be a part of this.How much bile you release is going to be determined by how much fat is in the diet. Both production and how much you release per meal.In someone without a gall bladder it is all production and they see more bile with more fat in the diet. In someone with a gall bladder it is more regulated, but you do sense how fatty a meal is and the release should be more the fattier the meal is.You should be recycling most of the bile, but no one recycles all of it. It makes some sense that the more you release the more likely you are to have more that is not recycled. In someone that can't recycle the bile (like when they remove that part of the small intestine) the bile does cause diarrhea.So it might be a bit more bile in the stool could be the difference between fully formed and being just on the soft side of formed. Now how much fiber you get, and how many foods you eat that draw water into the stool (like sorbitol in fruits) will also be a factor for some people and which is the main factor may vary between people.


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

We arrived home on the 29th and returned to the WW diet on the 30th. Something of a blowout on NY Eve but right back to it, again, on the 1st. Yesterday afternoon I had my first, solid poop of the day. Much the same results, today.Mark


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