Wow maybe my problem is that I'm not eating enough? I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and try not to eat in between because I'm scared it will cause another BM.. I just need to get a good regimen going I guess. My BMs in the morning seem to be really big which is why I asked if snacking at night could cause constipation.

Justpaintired - You're so ON base!! I totally agree with everything you've put there. You can't just stop eating - it is simply a case of substituting anything "bad" for "good"....
Luka - You can definitely get brown rice cakes here in the UK, so certain you will find them somewhere in the US!
Kreaybutt, you need to eat and don't be scared to - just eat healthy and try out all these things offered here. I'm not saying overeat, but if you feel peckish between your meals, grab a piece of fruit, a fibre bar, some chocolate even! Treat yourself now & again! It's not going to create more BM's -it should just ensure the ones you are currently producing are solid, well-formed and soft. Personally, I don't snack at night because I'm never hungry then and if I eat a decent portion of food for my evening meal, that takes me through to breakfast ( I might have a bit of chocolate now and again though!!)

I also wanted to add OLIVES to the list!! YUM.....

Kreaybutt

Another question I have is how late is too late to eat?

I noticed that exercising between meals and BM's helps my next bm come out easier with no constipation.
Sometimes though, those late night full meals right before bed, with no exercising to aid digestion, made me constipated or shall I say, harder than I'd like.
Please be mindful of those setbacks we all dread. I would hate to see ya have a re-tear. Try and see the effects of not snacking late and your consistency vs snacking late and your consistency.
Not sure, but it appears your in the early battles with this i.e. your not quite sure what triggers hard or soft Bm's.
For me, thankfully I know my triggers and I can eat a lot of junk food again and at late hours without causing re-tears or constipation.
Keep safely experimenting on when, what, heck even where you can eat.
HTH GL
GL HTH

Buttastic, you can eat junk food? And late at night? What is your secret?? lol yes I've had these AF's for 2 weeks. When I got my first one 5 months ago it went away in a couple days and I ate normally after but sadly it's back and my BM's are all over the chart. Today I bought dark chocolate bars and rain and honey bran muffins.. Hopefully they'll be an ok snack for me and help me gain some weight back!! What kind of junk do you snack on? Give me some hope that maybe someday ill be able to do that too, lol

Well, I'm glad to hear how others have found ways to eat during these long journies of ours! The ONLY positive aspect of the AF has been helping me to understand the direct connection between what I put in my mouth and what happens the next day! Not that I can control it completely, but I can certainly make things better or worse depending on these choices. Eating a relatively high fiber (soluble and insoluble) diet with plenty of veggies, fruits, whole grains, healthy oils and proteins is actually quite satisfying and I've lost unwanted pounds on it. My focus is closer to survival eating than eating for pleasure or comfort, but all in all, it's OK. Good thing, because I know these are permanent changes I need to make! (whether it be botox, LIS, SAD or the least likely, healing a chronic AF with just diet and ointments!!!!!) I'm going to start a new thread on eating out--anyone interested please see that. I don't want to hijack this one!

My new favorite snack I've had for the last few weeks everyday... Whole grain graham crackers with peanut butter, honey and a dash of cinnamon. Yum! Also dark chocolate covered almonds. Mmhmm

I'm a popcorn lover myself, but since the hulls are apparently dangerous when you've got a fissure, I just ordered some popped sorghum to try. I guess it's very similar to popcorn, just a bit smaller with a sweeter taste, I think, and more nutritious. And it's totally hull-free.

Ohhh let us know how it is! I love popcorn too

The bag I bought just shipped this morning, I think, so hopefully it'll arrive soon. Someone else here on the forum mentioned it. So far as I know, it's the hull that's the only issue with popcorn, because otherwise it's not, y'know, jagged or hard or anything.
I bought prepopped sorghum with sea salt on it because I guess it's a bit difficult to pop it yourself. They sell a special popper for it, but some people said it smoked a lot.