If you do not optimize your gut health, you will not reach your fat loss goals.
This is where it takes a more individual approach and some CONSISTENCY in figuring out what exactly could be going on with your bloating, the lack of/or frequent poops, extreme gas, and stomach pains.
*It’s always a good idea to contact a healthcare professional if issues persist and food is under control*
Here are 5 possible ways your gut could be on the fritz:
You’re stressed to the max.
Stress and gut are directly correlated as the Vagus nerve runs from your brain to your gut, giving off signals of distress. This doesn’t always mean stress from work or home, but also being in a calorie deficit for way too long, or working out 7 days a week at a high intensity, with no recovery.
You’re not sleeping.
Sleep is essential for gut health and healthy digestion. Also, there have been studies that shown eating high sugar/high-fat meals prior to bedtime (an hour before) can not only disrupt your digestion but impact sleep quality as well.
You’re eating too quickly.
Shoveling food between clients, zoom meetings, during your shift… which is doing a ton of harm to your GI tract by not allowing your food to fully digest. Chewing your food slowly helps secrete the enzyme Salivary Amalyse which is responsible for breaking down carbohydrates. For coaches, and other professionals on the go, I recommend getting nutrients in liquid form to help to get it down easier.
Enzyme insufficiencies
You have some enzyme insufficiencies that, when you eat a certain food, you notice they aren’t breaking down properly and they are making you feel uncomfortable.
Let’s use a client case for example. Every time they ate a higher fat meal, an avocado, or cooked food in olive oil- they got a pinpointed stomach pain that persisted for some time. We noticed that lowering dietary fat intake and increasing carbohydrate helped, however, dietary fats are still an essential part of anyone’s macronutrient profile. So what we did is add a digestive enzyme complex that contained Lipase, the enzyme responsible for metabolizing fat. And they had much more pleasant experiences with those certain foods when the lacking enzyme was added. This is an example where supplements are super beneficial in a person’s health.
All macronutrients have certain enzymes that help with breaking them down. Without a proper supply of your own body’s production, supplementation will be needed.
Lack of fiber, or improper ratio of soluble: insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber helps you feel “full”, and Insoluble provides a laxative effect. So balancing these evenly in your day to day diet helps provide the ying to your yang.
Examples of soluble fiber: Oatmeal, lentils, apples, oranges, nuts, flaxseeds, beans, cucumbers, carrots.
Examples of insoluble fiber: Barley, couscous, brown rice, zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, green beans, dark leafy veggies, and rooted vegetables with skins.
These 5 things may scratch the surface of gut issues, however, looking at these things can help to START to determine what’s going on at a deeper level. These must be addressed FIRST.
Most of all, unless you work at your gut health consistently for months on end- it really doesn’t matter.
So no, it’s not just all about MACROS, especially when it comes to specific issues (gut, hormonal, adrenal, etc…).
And no, we don’t give out meal plans.
We optimize your health and lifestyle.