OK, I am new to this vegan thing and I completely elminated all animal and diary from my diet  4 wks. ago and I am so shocked at how my BM's have changed!  I know, not the easiest thing to talk about but this result is so significant that I had to bring it up.  I now have any where from 3 - 5 BM's per day when I used to have only one per day.  I find this fascinating because I am I don't worry about portions or desserts.  Alicia said I could have Newman's Chocolate Creme's and I am having Newman's Chocolate Creme's!!  I did not turn vegan to loose weight, so portion control or desserts are not something I worry about.  Having said that, I am astonished how my body has changed by just cutting out chicken (which was the only animal I ever ate before) and diary.   I am completely amazed!

I <3 pooping too!

I am actually trying to lose weight (with WW) so having BM's is very necessary for me and I've always been irregular.  I have been drinking prune juice every morning for months now.  I started flirting over a week ago, basically cutting out all meat & dairy and things have taken a major turn.  I have not had prune juice since last friday and I'm going everyday.  I so jealous that you actually go 3-5  wow..  I envy you.. lol. 

Me too...constipation is a symptom of hypothyroid and i have had trouble for years. Went vegan two weeks ago presto chango! going at least twice a day. Go brown rice!

Good to know. I just read The Kind Diet last week and I was amazed by all of the information brought to my attention. I'm so happy you brought up the dreaded topic. I have struggled with digestive and BM issues for the past two years and I attribute them to my poor diet. I'm happy to know that after a few weeks I'll see major changes. Yay!

I have always been regular, my husband calls me the fiber queen LOL. The biggest difference I've seen is in my husband. He has never been regular and this has always concerned me. While he still occasionally eats meat & dairy ( maybe 3 or 4 times a month) he is really starting to embrace this life style. The last few weeks he is astonished at how regular he has become, he keeps telling me about it which I find really funny because I never expected to see him so impressed with poop! Aside from a recent "girl issue" I feel great  and I can really see this working for him as well. I plan on really cutting out cheese from our diets and expect GREAT progress in our future !!

I have IBS and have the opposite problem - I go too much and have to go at just the wrong time (like in the car - in the middle of a rural area with no bathroom!!) Needless to say, it has been a deblilitating disorder. That said, since I started this diet, I too have better BM's (no diarrhea) but I still have to go several times a day, which hasn't helped on car trips. Nevertheless, with medication, I seem to be able to venture out some. I won't change my diet though because as far as my digestive health goes (I used to get a stomache ache after every meal), I am cured.

This is an excellent thread!

These results are due to the fact that this is the food that our bodies can digest, assimilate and metabolize with a high degree of efficiency.

That crap we were eating was basically as poison to the system.

 That is why it's good for both constipation AND diarrhea, as well as preventing a host of even worse stuff from happening.

Truth, Meat = NO FIBER= no poops for long periods of time =hard poops.

Whereas vegans= lots of fiber= lots of easy poops.

Anyone who says humans are supposed to eat meat and dairy products has never been a vegan pooper. The proof is in the poop. I swear it's science! (and seven-year-old boy humor)

LOL  "the proof is in the poop."  I agree. I go 3-4 times a day and it is always effortless, unpainful and unmessy (if you know what I mean).  I have adult friends who go every other day.  What?   Crazy.

I remember before i went vegan i was constipated all the time, i was lucky to go poop. I never had regular bowel movement and it worried me. I went maybe two times a week (how scary is that?). When I went vegetarian I started pooping once every day, then I turned vegan (though I slip with cheese, i'm a newly turned vegan...i still have some habits to kick out :)) and now i go two to three times a day! It makes me so happy, I'm finally regular! Go veganism!

LOL - It still needed to be talked about. I initially went vegan because my grandmother died of colon cancer and it was a standing joke in my family that I inherited her "guts" Chronic constipation, gut pain, bloating and issues my whole life!
So 3 years ago - went for a colonoscopy and decided that is it! The funny thing is after 2 years i started slipping - cheese, some dairy, then went the whole hog (pardon the pun) and started eating meat - yes I caved to pressure!
Well - it took no time to start feeling like absolute garbage again!! And two weeks ago I decided "to hell with everyone" I am eating what makes me feel good!So back to vegan (primarily - sometimes there are traces of things but I avoid most!)
and in two weeks - lost 4lbs and feel GREAT!!!

oh - and am pooping daily - sometimes 2-3 times rather than my every 4-6 days!

I think this thread should have been titled "Everyone wants to talk about this...!!!"  It is such a personal subject but pertinent to our daily health and well being!  I have a question regarding this subject in general.  I suffer from Crohn's disease and had been well on my way to a vegan lifestyle to try and manage my disease when I had started to suffer from constipation again and severe all-over joint pain.  (I am 35 but was feeling and moving like an 80yo woman).  My last meeting with my health counselor I reviewed my issues and she asked me to work some animal protein back in and see what happens.  I did that about 2 weeks ago and am feeling much better, the achiness has much improved and so have my bowels.  I wonder what I need to add more of on a vegan diet to accomplish the same goal?  Any suggestions as I would prefer to return to my mostly vegan lifestyle but without the pain.  I limit my animal product consumption, but would like to eliminate it safely.

Christine,
I don't really have any advice for you, I'm just wondering how long were you vegan, with NO animal products, when you felt the severe joint pain?  Did you not feel that before, then you went vegan, and the joint pain began?  Could it be part of the "detox?"  Just another symptom, since we all go through it in different ways?  Like I said, I'm not sure, just wondering.  How long did you stick with the vegan diet, even with the joint pain?  B/c if it WAS part of the detox, then you may need to stick it out for a month or so, before it gets better.  I don't know how bad it was, but it sounds like you were in some serious pain, so that might be difficult.  I'd just be curious (if it was me), if you stuck with the vegan diet and lifestyle, and could stick with it through the pain and whatever comes up, and see if your painful experiences DO get better over time.  Also, try a wide variety of vegan foods (maybe you were already, I don't know).  Or try eliminating wheat (some people have problems with that).  I'd just try anything I could think of that MIGHT possibly help, and see if it does.  If not, then go back to the old ways.