Let’s Talk Poop- Are You Actually Regular?

 

So today I welcome you to release any shame or discomfort you have around your bowel habits as we dive into this taboo topic and get down and dirty on what it actually means to be regular.

 

When I first started practicing, I would ask clients the question “Are you having regular bowel movements?” and without a moment’s pause, they would respond YESSS. I’d take them at their word then later in the discussion, I’d come to find out they were only pooping every few days.

 

In what world is this regular!? I’ll tell you, it’s regular in the world of misinformation we live in now. If you do a quick google search on what’s considered normal in the bowel movement department, it’s still considered normal only having 3 bowel movements a week!

 

1. To build 

2. To detoxify

 

And one of the essential detoxification pathways is our bowel movements. What comes in must come out, and it must do so in a timely (but not too timely) manner. To support our optimal health.

 

I learned very quickly I needed to get more detailed when asking these bowel movements questions because what we’ve been taught is “normal” Or “regular” isn’t exactly correct.

 

Now I’m serious when I say I ask every client that walks in my clinic about their poop habits no matter what they’re presenting with. I don’t care if it’s cancer or cataracts, acne or anxiety, headaches, or Hashimoto’s — we’re going to talk about it.

 

 

Back to our body and its two main functions… building and detoxifying. If our body isn’t keeping up with our detoxifying demands it’s going to cause downstream problems. We look at the body as a whole, something that needs to remain in balance to function optimally and do all the jobs it’s required to do to keep us going. When people come to me, something is obviously not functioning as intended or expected. We know something is out of balance. So we back it up to the basics and see what needs support.

 

Poop is a great functional analysis for us practitioners. It gives us insight into digestive health (A key pillar here at TLWL).

 

 

– Hydration Status 

– Motility time (how long it takes food to move through your system)

– How well your body is breaking down and absorbing nutrients 

– How well your body is detoxifying 

– And so much more! It really is a wealth of information and a non-negotiable here.

 

 

I consider someone to be regular if they are having between 1-3 bowel movements a day. (Preferably on the 3 side, but I’ll settle for the 1!). Now that might be shocking… considering some people think 3 bowel movements A WEEK is acceptable… but let’s think about this…

 

You most likely eat at least 3 meals a day… What comes in must come out. If you’re not regularly moving waste out of your body, that waste is sitting in there fermenting, off-gassing toxins to our body.

 

3 healthy bowel movements a day are more on track with ensuring the meals coming in are going out in a timely manner.

 

Now I want to note, everyone is unique and this is not a hard and fast rule. This is simply a starting point form which to explore from, A clue.

 

So if you’re not having at least one bowel movement a day… Call me. (Jk but also not!)

 

**What Else Do We Look For In Poop?**

 

In addition to bowel frequency, there are other areas of interest. Including:

 

– Texture 

– Smell 

– Color 

– Undigested food? 

– Straining 

– Fully emptying 

– Any substances of interest (blood, mucus, parasites)

 

We want to know it all.

 

And while I recognize this isn’t the sexiest topic to talk about, let alone talk about on the internet It’s important stuff! You could be struggling with severe migraines and something as simple as your digestion could be at play! (I say simple, our digestive system is anything but, butt (pun intended)).

 

Okay, now you know. You should be going number two at least once a day.

 

 

– Increase fiber intake (More fruits, veggies, and whole grains, flax seeds etc.)

– Increase your water intake 

– Chew your food more thoroughly.

 

While these suggestions can be extremely impactful everyone’s constipation occurs for a myriad of complex reasons ranging from anxiety to under eating. It’s always beneficial to work with a practitioner to get to the root of the problem here!

 

The last bonus piece of information I’ll leave you with is this beautiful Bristol stool chart. The Bristol stool chart is a nice clean way for us to reference our poop consistency. You ideally want to have bowel movements that look like pictures 3 and 4. If you’re regularly experiencing poops outside of these numbers, it could be something that needs investigating.

 

That’s all I got for now. I’ll let all that information flush over you and won’t waste any more of your time making you think about waste 😉

 

-Lila