Incorporate whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, and nuts into your diet to gradually increase your fiber intake. Women should try to eat 21-25 grams of fiber a day, while men should try to eat 30-38 grams of fiber a day. Fiber helps ease constipation and encourages regular bowel movements.  Talk to your doctor about fiber supplements if you have trouble reaching your fiber goals with diet alone. They can cause less gas and bloating than dietary changes for some IBS-C sufferers.  Raspberries, pears, whole grain pasta, barley, lentils, black beans, split peas, and artichokes are all high sources of dietary fiber. Pinpoint your trigger foods by keeping a log of your meals and any IBS-C-related discomfort that follows. Certain foods and drinks, such as peppers, onions, wine, and milk inflame the intestines and commonly activate IBS-C symptoms. Keeping a careful log will help you notice patterns in your symptoms. You can then better avoid foods that cause you intestinal distress. Incorporate walking, yoga, swimming, and other low-impact exercise into your current fitness regimen. If you’re not currently active, try exercising for 20 minutes at a time 1-2 days a week to slowly increase your activity level.  Avoid high-impact exercises, such as running, CrossFit, and jumping rope. These jarring exercises can inflame your intestines and aggravate IBS-C symptoms.  Jumping while constipated can also put excess pressure on your pelvic floor. Take up yoga classes at your local studio or use stress management techniques, such as deep breathing, to calm your mind. Stress can irritate your bowels and cause painful cramping for those with IBS-C. If you’re just learning how to meditate, try a guided meditation app, such as Relax or Don’t Panic, to show you the ropes. Consult your doctor to determine how much sleep they recommend for you based on your age. Sleep promotes good digestion and can help keep your bowel movements regular if you suffer from constipation. School-age children typically need 10-11 hours of sleep a night; teens need 11-17 hours a night, and adults need 7-9 hours a night.  IBS-C symptoms, such as gas and cramping, can keep you awake at night. This can further interrupt your already rocky digestive function. If your IBS-C symptoms are bad enough that you can’t sleep well at night, discuss sleep aids and IBS-C medications with your doctor. Restorative sleep is important for your gut and mental health. Some medical experts recommend drinking around 0.5 ounces of water per pound of body weight, or roughly 0.033 of a liter of water per every kilogram. Making sure you get enough water on a daily basis is one of the easiest ways to help manage constipation. Minimize the caffeine and alcohol in your diet, as these substances inflame your colon and worsen constipation in the long-term. Since these drinks can cause bowel spasms—and may cause a bowel movement—the irritation they cause usually aggravates painful IBS-C symptoms.  Caffeine causes dehydration by pulling water out of your system. This can increase constipation, as well as aggravating other IBS-C symptoms. The “safe” caffeine limit for a healthy adult is approximately 400 milligrams a day. You should strive to drink as little as possible, though.  Men should drink no more than 4 alcoholic drinks in a given day or 14 drinks in a given week. Women should drink no more than 3 alcoholic drinks a day or 7 drinks in a week.
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One-sentence summary -- Add high fiber foods to your diet. Keep a food diary to log your symptoms. Perform regular low-impact exercise to get your bowels moving. Reduce your stress level through meditation or yoga. Get sufficient sleep for your age group. Increase your water intake. Reduce your caffeine and alcohol intake.


Enter each of your monthly expenses into an Excel spreadsheet. Make sure to include the exact amounts of each bill as well as the due dates. Then, write down the deposits that you'll receive as well. Whenever you consider making a purchase, remember your existing account balance. You can also use a phone app or computer program to track your spending and create a budget. For peace of mind, it is a good idea to have six months of basic expenses saved up. Come up with this amount, write it down on a piece of paper, and post it somewhere visible in your home, such as on the refrigerator. Before you go out shopping, look at this number and recall your overall goal. If you already have an emergency fund saved up, then you can find another goal, such as saving for a major vacation or buying a home. Understanding what triggers your shopping splurges will help you to regulate them in the future. Write down a quick note whenever you feel the desire to spend extra money. Note your feelings at the time. Do you feel bored, depressed, angry? If so, these may be your emotional shopping triggers. In the future, when a particular emotion hits you, be prepared for a shopping urge to follow and you will be less likely to give into it.
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One-sentence summary -- Create a spreadsheet showing your expenses. Set an emergency fund goal. Keep a journal documenting your shopping urges.


You can host the party indoors at your home if you plan to have a smaller guest list of around 20-30 people. If you plan to invite more than 50 people, you may want to consider renting an indoor venue, such as a jazz club, a restaurant, or a community hall. You may go for an indoor venue if the weather is going to be unpredictable or too cold for your guests on the day of the party. If you know you are going to have good weather for the party, consider an outdoor venue like your backyard or a park. Outdoor venues were popular in the 1920s. You can also rent out the patio at a local restaurant or an outdoor garden. It may be fun to find an outdoor venue where you can put up white tents so guests can enjoy the weather without being directly in the sun or the elements all party long. A Great Gatsby party will be the most atmospheric at night. Parties in the 1920s were often scheduled late at night, going until the early morning. Make the start time for the party in the evening, such as 8 o’clock or 9 o’clock. Expect guests to arrive fashionably late. Having the party later at night will also give you time to prepare for the party that day. Go for a black and gold theme for the invitations to make them more Gatsby-esque. Choose art deco patterns and gold glitter. Pick font that is slim and glamorous looking. You can make your own invitations using your computer or an online invitation site. Send out the invitations at least two weeks before the party date. You can also order custom invitations from online print and design shops. For example, you may write, "The party is on Thursday, March 4, at the Kelly Jazz Bar, from 8 pm to 1 am." You can also include a note about the theme of the party, such as, “Please join us for a Great Gatsby Party.” Ask your guests to dress up based on the theme. Suggest flapper dresses, pearls, feathers, dapper suits, and silk scarves. Encourage your guests to dress in their best Gatsby style outfits for the party.  You may note that dressing up is optional, but recommended in the invitation.
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One-sentence summary --
Get an indoor venue for a smaller party. Go for an outdoor venue based on the weather. Schedule the party for the evening. Send out custom invitations. Note the time, date, and place of the party in the invitations. Request Gatsby-esque attire from guests.