Let’s take a quick minute and talk about one thing – gut health. What are the 4 KEYS TO IMPROVING GUT HEALTH NATURALLY?
I thought this blog was about food?
How can you talk about food and not talk about gut health, and inflammation, and how all of our bodies are connected in very powerful ways?!
There is one thing I know for sure, which is that what we eat and how we manage our stress has one of the greatest impacts on our overall health.
I’ve just created a very unique program INTENTIONAL CALM, which marries together all of the things we KNOW about stress and anxiety management and our diet to produce a very easy program to follow and not only gain improved energy and focus but also REDUCED ANXIETY!
One Size Fits NO ONE when it comes to diet!
The body is an AMAZING thing, and it knows exactly what to do, when it is programmed to respond the right way and when it is treated well.
Your body can kick out toxins and repair damages and heal itself in so many ways. Our gut health and what we eat are fundamental.
One of the central themes of this blog is FOOD!
We love food, but also find it so important to pay attention to WHAT KIND of food we’re eating!
In general, I believe “One size fits NO ONE” and the focus for WHOLE 30 here is really because it is such an amazing starting point for anyone.
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The bigger point is really understanding and figuring out FOR YOU what works and makes you feel differently (in a good way) and what makes you feel worse.
If you’re living with “worse” all the time, you might just be used to the level of “feeling like crap” you’ve been existing in for a long time. Dysbiosis of the gut (jacked up gut) presents too many different ways, but mostly you note decreased energy, feeling sluggish, pain in different areas, mental fogginess, increased mood changes and anxiety too.
It is programs like WHOLE 30 that really makes you open your eyes to what you’re putting in your body that may be contributing to all of that “feel like crap” feeling! I feel like it is a great starting point overall.
If the WHOLE 30 program is too restrictive or intimidating – there are so many modifications and shortened plans you can do instead. The SHRED 10 PROGRAM being one of them too.
You can read more about my experience with my starting point, the Whole 30 Program HERE .
As a whole, the fundamentals to IMPROVING GUT HEALTH THROUGH YOUR DIET?
There are some key gut health principles, let’s review:
- Listen to your body. This is actually the most important one, I don’t care what you’re doing or what you try. None of it is going to work unless you start to tune in and LISTEN. Does it hurt, are you tired, do you feel gas/bloating/ GI upset, can you think straight, are you feeling stressed all the time?
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO AND WHAT ARE YOU PUSHING DOWN AND IGNORING?
Whew! Ok, let me jump down off of my soapbox right quick.
2. I don’t care what you’ve tried in the past, everyone changes depending on their current situation and environment. So – try to eliminate some things from your diet for at least 14 days and see how you feel. It may be subtle, because of the short time period, so pay attention. Also, you may feel worse at first, so note how you feel on day 14, not day 5.
What should I do? Basic Principles and just remember ONE SIZE FITS ON ONE. But start with these basic, normal human eating principles and pay attention to how you feel.
- If you are eating anything processed (out of a box/bag) – you can identify all of the ingredients and there are less than 6 total. (REDUCING PROCESSED FOOD)
- Have vegetables in every meal – something green on your plate every meal (Increase fruits and veggies)
- Include fruits and veggies and nuts as snacks. (Replace other processed snacks with fruits/veggies and nuts)
- Keep “low glycemic”, basically reduce sugar, added sugar and if you’re going to eat something sweet, eat it with fiber and protein as well.
- This allows your body to absorb the sugar well, and not spike your insulin, therefore spiking your cortisol levels and firing up your signals to store extra sugar and fat.
- If you feel like being a little “extra” that month – you can do gluten free, or dairy free. MANY people respond with inflammation to gluten and dairy.
Dairy – Free Quiche if you’re feeling ambitious!
This is really all about finding what works for YOU because nutrition is individualized. What people eat is SO divisive. It is insane.
What I can say for absolute sure is that overall, NOTHING is going to be a perfect solution for everyone.
People will straight up die on a hill for a certain diet type or something that has really worked for them. That is AWESOME! But it doesn’t mean that is going to work for your partner, friend, neighbor, etc.
In these steps to finding the best balance for gut health, the truth is that it means really listening in for YOU.
THE 4 KEYS TO IMPROVING GUT HEALTH NATURALLY are important, and may affect each individual differently. The bottom line, is you want to feed the good bacteria and let them really take over, the good bacteria usually love fruits, veggies and fats.
So – our ONE SIZE FITS NO ONE approach is really meant to give you some guidelines to SEE FOR YOURSELF what works for you? What makes you feel better?
It is meant to be where you fall and end up maintaining and staying in your diet for the long haul, it is the place where transformation occurs and new health emerges.
Your gut health is not only the secret to mental clarity, but also to mood. So many neurotransmitters which are created in the gut are very influential in our stress response and overall temperament fluctuations.
YOU CAN DO WHATEVER AMAZING DIET ALL DAY LONG, BUT IF YOU’RE NOT MANAGING YOUR STRESS – ALL OF YOUR GOOD BENEFITS WILL BE STOLEN FROM UNDERNEATH YOU!
Don't Feed The Sugar Beast
This is also why we started with a basic fact that stress management and diet were the KEYS to overall health. Because guess what?
Cortisol (released with unmanaged stress) is a BEAST. A hungry, hormone changing BEAST.
If you do ALL THE THINGS to be ‘HEALTHY’, but don’t manage your stress / anxiety.
IT WILL BE FOR NOTHING.
Our bodies do not exist in these separate silos that healthcare wants to look at them through. Our stress is inextricably linked to our gut health, which has the overall magic wand to ALL THE REST. Our MOOD, ENERGY, FOCUS, WEIGHT. ALL OF IT!
I’ve known this for quite a while, and had a really significant transformation with a significant weight loss and change in my mood, specifically my anxiety as well. You can learn more about me here, and more about my WHOLE 30 experience HERE. Which is where my journey started.
However, really this is all one big reason I made a program to have a larger impact and a plan for anyone to follow who wanted to find FOR THEMSELVES what would help them get through stress management AND implement lifestyle changes through diet and other supportive measures to finally have the FREEDOM TO EXPERIENCE LOWER ANXIETY.
Using this LIFESTYLE base approach is truly unique and something I’ve seen can be transformational.
Through years of experience with anxiety management in my job as a nurse and nurse practitioner, I finally created a program with the ability to reach many people with this message, that lifestyle change and anxiety management together can truly set you free with your anxiety and boost so many other elements of your health as well.
Using the 4 KEYS TO IMPROVING GUT HEALTH NATURALLY, I’ve created a signature program.
Check out more info on that HERE
Otherwise, I hope for you to try some of the basics of our ONE SIZE FITS NO ONE DIET and find out for YOU how reducing processed foods, eating low glycemic and increased whole fruits and veggies can truly make a difference!
