It occurred to me that I dont chew my food as much as I should, also I have been eating the same things over the past weeks and my BMs seem to vary from hard to soft regardless of what I ate that day or the day before, so I wonder if it is how I have been chewing, looking around the net has given different answers from yes it makes a difference to no there is no evidence that chewing more prevents constipation.
So have any of you tried to chew your food a lot more and noticed if it made a difference or not?

I thought of the same thing early on in my fissure days and also went through a trial and error process with it :) For me, personally, it unfortunately didn't seem to make any real difference.
But if I recall correctly, happyass has gotten some pretty good mileage out of a macrobiotic approach, one part of which involves thorough and proper chewing of food (happyass I apologize if I misquote you here -- please correct me if I'm off base on this). Assuming that I haven't incorrectly remembered his post, he may be able to offer more info here.
I suspect this may be one of those things that varies from individual to individual as well. With fissures it seems that things which work great for one person may not for another :( The other thing that could account for stool consistency differences even when diet is held constant is water consumption. I don't know if that's varied at all for you over the last few weeks but maybe something to keep in mind, at least.

Hey there,
I agree with NG. It varies from person to person....Some things I couldn't eat didn't seem to cause others trouble.
Like chips or nuts would tare me apart and I know I would definitely have to chew them to a mush if I was brave enough to bite one. The water is definitely a must.

macrobiotics definitely helped me in the transition from having so many issues with my butt to giving me some time to heal.
however, i know a few people on the board tried it - and i can't vouch how devouted they became to it - but it didn't work for them.
it's definitely more than a diet and you can say it is a way of life.
in combination with chewing things completely and slowly - say allow 50 chews per bite, there are other concepts involved such as:
1. ying and yang foods and how to eat within that balance based on your location/climate zone, season, and what works best for your body type
2. how you cook your foods - with avoiding microwaves, electrical devices, and to have a combination of cooking styles on your plate - such as boiled, baked, steamed, cooled, raw, etc.
3. practicing mindful eating...
which to me also helped me think about practicing mindful bm-ing. in the sense that the way you breathe, the way you are relaxed, the way you are listening to your body when you are trying to pass gas or a poo.
viewing macrobiotics as a diet is just the tip of it. incorporating it beyond the diet is also key.
for me, it is difficult to maintain over the holidays, and while traveling for work, as well as over stressful periods of school and work. the other added complexity is when you are surrounded by others who are eating the best yummy bad foods that you so love too.....
what is nice about macrobiotics, is that if you even commit to it for a period of say six to eight weeks, you will find yourself cleansing your body. it's way easier to do this than say a fast or detox.
and you will feel great. i know i easily lost weight and i enjoyed being that mess.
i am more vegetarian at this point rather than macrobiotic but i do incorporate some of its principles here and there.
if i lived in a supportive macrobiotic community things would be so much better.
what i'd like to add, is that whatever food style you chose to embrace, just read up on what things you can eliminate from it so that you can have healthier choices that you will grow to love - and not eat just for the sake of curing your ass.
as with anything, you have to love what you do.
or find a way to love it.
i know that macrobiotics can be a positive influence, but that alone, as i said, won't be the solution. there will need to be a balance of the mind, body, spirit...a pursuit of emotional happiness and stillness along with adequate physical activity and restful sleep.
diet alone will not help us to achieve butt harmony.