fighting constipation

Question
I am 50 years old, and some of the medication I take causes constipation. I have a mix of foods that prevents it totally for me.
I always have a bowl of high fiber cereal with fruit for supper, and a serving of low fat, no added sugar ice cream later. The cereal alone doesn't do it, it seems that the sweetener (and maybe the small amount of fat?) in the ice cream must be part of the equation, but it works beautifully for me, preventing any problems. If I ever miss this "evening combo" you can bet the constipation will rear its ugly head. So what's the problem? Since i have turned 50, I have started to put on some unwanted pounds. I eat a very healthy diet, but I'm thinking that I should replace the ice cream with something else that would contain the sweetener (and fat?) needed to have the effect I depend on. Please tell me, what other source would have the same amount of Splenda as 1 cup of Breyers No Added Sugar ice cream, and similar fat if you think that is part of the equation. It's quite a marked effect, I eat this combo - regular, I don't - constipation. I'm not willing to struggle with that demon, but need to head off new pounds. I eat very well, oatmeal for breakfast, salad or Healthy Choice for lunch, and the supper I have described. I walk 2 miles every morning. Can you help?

Answer
Well, I honestly have no idea what might be in the ice cream that is helping prevent the constipation!  The only factor that may be helping is the lactose, in which case you could try an extra glass of milk in place of the ice cream, and see if that extra amount of lactose is what's helping you move your bowels.  

To lose weight you might also try reducing the cup of ice cream to 1/2 cup to save 100 calories or so, and this will lead to approximatley a pound weight loss per month.  (It makes sense if you've been gaining just a few pounds over the year).

Aside from the constipation and weight gain, your daily intake is a bit concerning from a dietitian's perspective: It sounds like you have very little variety in your diet and no fruits from what I can see; also very little protein (perhaps 2 ounces of lean meat when you have a frozen lunch) and very little fat.  
If you are really eating what you tell me, and only that every day, it's less than 1200 calories and to be gaining weight on that amount of food is a problem.... If this is what you've been doing for more than a few months now, there's a chance you may have slowed your metabolism to the point where your body is trying to conserve energy.

Consider making an appointment with a dietitian at a local out-patient facility (many hospitals provide this service) to get your diet back on track so you aren't continuing to struggle with weight loss, despite what you are working on to be a very low calorie diet, with exercise to boot!

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