Most people, when reading about weight loss fads, will never hear about having regular bowel movements.  It is something that people tend to shy away from writing about, yet it is vitally important. 

It is important for a bowel movement to occur for every single meal that you eat.  If you eat three meals a day you should have three bowel movements.  If you are eating three meals a day and you do not have three bowel movements, where is the excess stored? Answer:  It is stored in the colon, which becomes more and more impacted over time, causing the belly to bulge.  We have seen very attractive people that look thin and they have a bowel movement only once a week!  People have said, "Well they look good, so it cannot be all that bad."  Unfortunately this attitude causes much more harm than one would think.  The excess fecal matter is stored in the body and as it adds to the body weight of these individuals, muscle is lost.  So, if a person is constipated, their body is filling up with fecal matter!

This leads to weight gain problems, because of poor nutrient absorption. When sludge begins to line the colon walls it becomes harder for nutrients to be absorbed into the body, as the body must now try and extract nutrients through this wall of fecal matter.

When this occurs, guess what happens?  Your body tells you that you must eat more!  You are not getting the right nutrients so you continue to eat in a vain attempt to get what the body needs!  Cravings kick in because of a lack of certain key nutrients.

Further. colon or bowel blockage results in several bodily problems. As the colon becomes impacted, just like an old rusty drainpipe, the hole in the middle becomes smaller and smaller.  The more impacted the colon becomes, the more weight you carry. Not only does weight become an issue, but diverticulosis (herniated bowel pockets filled with trapped fecal matter and caused by constipation), colon polyps (a tumor that rises from the colon's surface and then protrudes into the inside of the colon), and cancer can be down the road.  This is a progressively degenerative disease where eventually you end up with total colon blockage, cancer and even death. 

Maintaining regular bowel movements promotes better health and keeps you looking your best.  Bowel regularity will help to give you that flat stomach that doesn't bulge out, aid it will aid you in losing weight and keeping it off.  It will allow you to absorb nutrients efficiently which helps stave off cravings and allows you to build lean muscle without gaining fat.  And most importantly, maintaining regular bowel movements can greatly reduce chances of diverticulosis or colon cancer. 

For more great tips about exercise and nutrition, please visit: http://www.dynamicsofmotion.com.