TIPS TO GET MY GUT BACK ON TRACK
There's a saying I use when I'm facing a lot of struggles... it may be a wee bit tacky, but it makes me chuckle + helps me take light of the situation I am finding myself in at that moment. The phrase: LIFE IS KICKING ME IN THE LADY BITS.
And let me be clear. There's a ton of folks who have LIFE kicking them in their lady bits... harder than me. Yep, it's true. And I'm here praying for you, love.
Now. Sometimes, when I am facing struggles... I feel like things are going "okay". I'm taking in information... processing... and rolling with the punches as BEST as I can. BUT my body definitely CLUES me in to the fact that I'm a bubbly hot mess with all my gut issues, lack of sleep and a new friend in the form of a pimple on my face. I call her Roberta.
Why Roberta? Because when I was in summer camp, my roommate Roberta stole my "boyfriend" at the time... and it broke my 8th grader heart. Sorry, to all the Robertas out there in the world. But, I call my pimples Roberta.
Anywho. Enough with all the tween drama, let me fill you in on a few GUT HEALTH HACKS I use to get my gut back on track... these tips could be helpful if you experienced any of the following:
- dealing with a stressful situation
- feeling discomfort because your nutrition is not so stellar
- recently took a course of antibiotics
- cross-country relocation with 5yr old twins and two geriatric pups
- binged watched a new series on Netflix and haven't been sleeping to finish the episodes
There's a SLEW of things which can cause havoc on your gut, if you are concerned you have an underlying gastrointestinal condition OR need to discuss options (ie. nutrition, medical intervention), please seek medical attention with your primary care physician.
I am not a HUMAN doctor. I mean, I am HUMAN... and I am a doctor BUT I am a veterinarian which means my training is treating species which are not human. Which means, not you. Capeesh?
Alrighty then... moving on. Here are MY FAVE TIPS to get my GUT back on track when it's been in the shiznits!
HYDRATE WELL
Dude. This is such a simple way to get back on track... and has a good effect on the lining of your intestinal tract. Keeps things FLOWING in the right direction :) One easy way I calculate how much water I need is to simply take my body weight (lbs) and divide by 2. Then have that number as ounces. Let's do a quick example...
140 lb woman should aim for 70 oz of water throughout the day ---> (140/2 = 70)
CHEW YOUR FOOD SLOWLY
This fun hactoid (um, I just made that word up) was brought to you by my PawPaw Broussard. Growing up, he would be the FIRST at the table for Sunday dinner... and the LAST one at the table. Still eating. Because he would CHEW HIS FOOD so ridiculously slow. However, here's the thing... chewing your food thoroughly allows your body to properly digest it and may help relieve abdominal discomfort.
GET YOUR SLEEP
Let me fill you in on a wee fun fact about me... when I get LESS than 6 hours of sleep, my stomach is NOT HAPPY! And when you have little ones who are nursing every 2-3 hours... plus, working overnights as an ER veterinarian... your body lets you know, IT AIN'T HAPPY! Because you aren't sleeping... you aren't giving your body adequate time to rest and restore.
So. Maybe you aren't nursing twins. Maybe you aren't working swing or overnights. Maybe you are... Maybe you are binge watching Good Girls on Netflix (hashtag: no judgement). The thing is whatever SEASON you are in... try to get good sleep the best you can. And for all the moms out there who are NOT sleeping through the night... YOU GOT THIS, love!
FOCUS ON YOUR ENERGY
Now. Without getting all woo-woo on you, the point of this hack is to say... focus on activities to CALM your body, not stress it out. When my gut is unhappy with my life choices, it's NOT the time for me to pick up running a marathon... but instead I should try a hot yoga class. Try to limit the STRESSORS you are putting on yourself.
I'll be honest... when I'm stressed or life is kicking in my lady bits, the one thing to frazzle me is when someone says, "ah, don't stress or don't worry." This only makes me STRESS OUT MORE! So, instead... focus on your energy and shift it to calming activities. Here's some ideas: meditation, gratitude journal, yoga classes, dabbling in essential oils (I'm no expert on this), surround yourself with friends and laugh, go for a walk in nature.
CLEAN YOUR PLATE
Seriously. HOW could I NOT talk about your plate when we are talking about my favorite gut health hacks to get my gut happy. Here's the thing, when I eat poorly *GASP OF HORROR* ... simmer down Nancy, I'm human remember. But, When I eat poorly, my gut is the FIRST to let me know followed closely by the buttons on my pants. Just kidding.
To get back on track, I shift my focus to foods WHICH HEAL me... and NOURISH ME. I heard once to focus on foods which are PLANTS or have EATEN plants, not on foods produced in a plant.
Those words STUCK to me and help me get back on track... which means I focus on leafy greens, vegetables (ie. asparagus, broccoli, brussels), pasture raised chicken/eggs, grass-fed beef, seeds/nuts and berries. I also add a few other goodies like sauerkraut and stock up on bone broth due to their gut-healing goodness.
Now, every body is different... the best thing you can do is work with a medical provider to assess if you have any food intolerances AND see which foods you should eliminate.
And those are my super quick gut health hacks I focus on when LIFE kicks me in my lady bits... and my gut suffers from too much stress, lack of sleep and poor wellness choices (or lack thereof).
Hope you find them super helpful... and IF you want to take a gander of our plates throughout the week, I got you covered: CLICK HERE + snag our menu plus a handy-dandy grocery list. You are welcome.
If you have any health hacks which help you on your own wellness journey, then LOVE I fire them this way... I would absolutely LOVE to hear them because the more you know, the more you grow! Fill me in with your health hack HERE!
love + gumption.
a.
Brain + Gut Health Explorer
