5 Things You Need to do Before Hiring Help for your IBS

Hiring a gut health dietitian like myself will expedite the process of healing your hot mess gut. But it isn't for everyone! Working with a pro is an investment of time and resources, and sometimes some simple adjustments to your routine can make all the difference for you! Listen in as I go through the 5 things that everyone needs to do before hiring a gut health dietitian to help with chronic digestive symptoms.

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Transcript

Katie Lovitt: 0:00

A lot of us are overly responsible and step into a space that's just not our space to hold. We might do this out of a place of like fear and like wanting to control a situation. We may do it in a place of love and trying to care for somebody, but if it's depleting you and causing you physical harm, It may also be stealing an opportunity for another person to step into a place and be responsible for something and growth for them.

0:25

Hey, everyone. Welcome to The Nourished and Thriving Show. I'm your host, Katie Lovitt. I'm a registered dietitian on a mission to help you increase your impact and legacy on the world while healing your gut and reducing your IBS symptoms. I'm so grateful to have you here. Each week I'll inspire you to live vibrantly and provide valuable resources and information that empowers you to take bold action towards your health goals. Before we dive in, make sure you follow or subscribe to my show wherever you're listening so you never miss an episode. Ready? Let's go!

Katie Lovitt: 1:07

All right, today we're gonna be talking about five things I think everybody should do before hiring help. Now, this may sound a little bit counterintuitive to you because I'm obviously a dietician who runs a private practice and wants to help people. But you know, I think that there's a few things that you can try on your own. That can provide really good results. A lot of the time, if you fully implement all of these things and you're still struggling, it's time to get help. If you struggle to implement these five things, you can also really benefit from some help and partnering with someone to help you figure out why it's such a struggle and such a challenge to implement them consistently because. They're not completely mind blowing things that are really, really hard, but I know a lot of people can really struggle to create habits, and that's something that you can get help with. Now, not every dietician is going to go about this the same way I actually got an advanced certification in mindset coaching because I recognized how important. Mindset is in making these habits, it's the difference between forcing yourself to do something and white knuckling these changes and eventually getting tired. It's the difference between that and being able to. What feels like effortless, effortlessly change these habits and lifestyles that maybe you've really been struggling to change before. All of a sudden it feels like it's easy and you want to do it, and it's things that you are excited for. So that's the difference in what mindset can really do for you. And so if you're one of those people that's really struggling with You know, incorporating these changes long-term, that's where getting some help from somebody like myself can really benefit you. Because not only can I help you with mindset, I can also help you with really personalized strategies to implement so that you're not feeling like you're having to throw the whole kitchen sink at your symptoms. We're really targeted with our approach. So those are the two cases where, or situations where I feel like. It can really be helpful for you to get some help is if you do all these things and still feel awful. And if you can't do all these things on your own, that's when you really need help. So let's get into it. So I am gonna rattle off the five things and then we're gonna do deeper. So the first thing that we're gonna do is we're gonna chew our food. The second thing is we're gonna increase our fiber. I know that you're rolling your eyes at me right now because you've heard it 5 million times, but hang in there. We're gonna talk about it. You're gonna manage your stress, which again, probably getting eye rolls right now, you're gonna watch your hydration status and know this isn't just about drinking water. And then we're gonna really do things to support our circadian rhythm, and that is going to kind of go hand in hand with the stress management piece, but also in a more physiological way. So let's go. Okay. Chewing your food. I don't know if you've ever heard me say this or not before. I am being facetious with that comment. I say it all the time. I feel like I should maybe just have like a prerecorded segment in my podcast that I put in every episode that says, like, don't forget to chew your food. Like, maybe that should be my tagline, but it's really important you guys. If you're a client of mine, you know, from your digestion, absorption, elimination modules, that digestion begins really in the head with thinking about food and like really being in a mental and emotional space to receive your meal. To set your body up to be able to digest and break it down and absorb those nutrients, well hint, that is a rest and digest state and not a fight or flight state. So you really wanna be in a rest and digest state before you ever even take your first bite of food. But from there, even if you're like rested and you're just like swallowing whole pieces of food without chewing it really, really well, You're putting an additional burden and strain on your gut. And so if you're feeling like food is just sitting in your stomach, you're getting acid reflux or indigestion or even like down the line like bloating or constipation, diarrhea, any of those kinds of things it can all be from you just not chewing your food ball. So I don't think a lot of people understand how big of a deal this is. That is why I beat it over your head every time I have the opportunity to I want you to really chew it, and I don't want you to be like, oh yeah, I know I chew my food. Like go chew your food. Food for 30 bites, 30 times per bite. And see if it feels tiring by the end of the meal. And if it does, that's a really good indication that you're not chewing your food that much. Now obviously things like mashed potatoes are something you're not gonna chew 30 times per bite. You want your food to feel like applesauce, consistency before you swallow it. So for things that are more crunchy or textured, that's gonna be closer to that like 30 ish time, you know, area. For things that are softer, you're not gonna need to choose so much. So chewing your food is number one. Really do it. You know, like do it for every single meal for a few days in a row and see how you, see how you do. The ne you'll probably also find that you're going to eat less. So if you're struggling with weight issues, that can actually really help you because it gives your body time to recognize that you're full. I'm gonna kind of run through these'cause I'm realizing maybe I bit off more than I could chew. Here figuratively. With this, I started with three and I was like, ah, there's really two more things I really need them to know, and I want it to all be in one place that it's easy for you to get to. So hopefully it's not, it's not too much, but so chewing your food. The second one is fiber. I know that every doctor you've ever been to is, you know, blanket told you, like, drink more water, water, eat more fiber and exercise whenever you're trying to, to heal your gut. But it really like, Take a good look. You're probably eating less than you think you are. You know, average Americans I think are getting like in the like 12 to 14 gram of fiber range per day. You really wanna be at like 25 to 35 grams. If you get to this a lot of the time, you're gonna feel a lot better if you do that again for a few days in a row, like consistently every day. If you're not getting that much every day, it's not something that you can just do without planning. So you really need to sit down, carve out a few minutes and think where is this fiber gonna be coming from? So let me know if that's something that you need help with, and I can definitely kind of give you some tips. Send me an a message over on Instagram. If you are a person who. Is trying to increase fiber and just cannot tolerate higher fiber foods. You get bloating, you get indigestion, you get symptoms. That's another sign that you need some help, that something else is going on. So if you just are trying to increase your fiber and you can't tolerate it, reach out and let's talk some. Fiber actually, like, let's talk about the benefits of fiber just a little bit because I think I might need to do a different podcast episode on this. But fiber is not digestible by humans. It is undigestible. It passes through your entire gut, but the good organisms in your large intestine can digest it and eat it, so it's like food for them. It can also help to increase the bulk of your stool, which helps. It to go through more quickly, and it can also help increase how much water is in your stool or regulate the amount of water. If you're struggling with diarrhea, you don't wanna increase the water in your stool, but it can help. Like the consistency basically to where it's not too watery, not too hard. So fiber can really do those things. I know I said stress next at the beginning, but we're gonna talk minerals next because minerals, electrolytes really go well with what we're talking about. So the third thing is consider adding some minerals or electrolytes to your water intake, especially if you are drinking reverse osmosis water. Fat water does not have minerals in it, and we don't have enough minerals in our soil. You've probably heard that before, that. Our soil is really depleted from minerals, so a lot of us just aren't getting all of that that we need. So adding in some trace mineral drops to your water can help with fluid balance in your body. So, Let's say for example, that you are drinking, you know, a ton of water a day, like 80 ounces of water a day, like that's sufficient you know, water intake for most people, and you're still like struggling with constipation. There could be other things going on that you need more help with, but it also could just be that even though you're drinking enough water, you don't have enough minerals and so your body. Thinks that you're still dehy, your body is still dehydrated, basically. So you know, the minerals help rehydrate your body too. That's why people drink like sports drinks with electrolytes, right? It's important for hydration and, and hydration status. And so if you're dehydrated due to electrolyte deficiency, it doesn't really matter how much water you drink, it's not fixing the problem. So that can cause your body to. Continue to pull more water from your gut in an attempt to hydrate it because it feels dehydrated, but the problem actually isn't water, it's electrolytes. So whenever you rehydrate your body with minerals and electrolytes, your body is going to not pull that water from the, the intestine as much, and it allows more water to stay in your intestine. So if you're constipated, that can really help a lot with that. So something to try with that. Let's get into four and five here. But before we do that, if you've been listening for a while and you love what I share and you find it helpful I would really appreciate it if you would help me share the word and get the word out about the work I do, how I can help people. And it would take like two seconds of your time. If you could just pause this episode and go, leave me a five star. Rating in a quick, like one or two sentence review telling people why you love the show. It would really mean the world to me. And help me to get into more people's ears and help more people who are struggling just like you are. So go pause this. Go do that. Come back. Let's get into four and five. So thank you so much. So number four is, I know I told you you're gonna be rolling your eyes at this, but stress management and active relaxation. If you haven't heard of Active Relaxation, let's just like unpack that for a minute. So, You know, a lot of the time people do things to relax or unwind that aren't actually leaving us feeling relaxed. This could be typically things where you just like check out instead of relax. So it's like a passive relaxation. It doesn't actually satisfy your, your brain and actually make you feel refreshed. This can be things like, Scrolling social media or even watching TV where you're just like zoned out and like checked out, but not really necessarily relaxed. So active relaxation looks more of like some deep breathing or meditation or prayer. Even going on a walk and just having some quiet time in nature. All of those things are active relaxation now. I have three kids. I run my own business. I volunteer in the community. I am a really busy person too, and a lot of the time I hear, I just don't have time to do that. The cool thing about active relaxation is it actually doesn't take that much time. It's not like you have to go meditate for an hour. Even doing something for like five to 15 minutes can really help a lot. And the cool thing about it too is whenever you practice those, Deep breathing techniques or even meditation and relaxing your body. It helps you to gain skills in active relaxation so that whenever you are under times of stress, you have some tools in your toolbox, so to speak, to draw on. You can actually stop that stress response, stop that fight or flight response and put your body into more of a relaxed state. So it's like building up a muscle, right? A relaxation muscle. I. For longer term, but also in the short term, you're getting those benefits of actually feeling refreshed and relaxed instead of just like checked out and more drained. Like how many times have you gotten up from a Netflix binge or a scrolling social media and you feel actually like more drained after doing that than you did before. So that's because you need some active relaxation. Journaling is another great way. So that is. Active relaxation and kind of some stress management where we talked about how those tools from active relaxation can help with stress. But you know, girl, you gotta manage that stress. Like what are you taking responsibility for? That's not your responsibility. That sound familiar? A lot of us are overly responsible and step into a space that's just not our space to hold. We might do this out of a place of like fear and like wanting to control a situation. We may do it in a place of love and trying to care for somebody, but if it's depleting you and causing you physical harm, It may also be stealing an opportunity for another person to step into a place and be responsible for something and growth for them. So I just encourage you to reflect on that and, and really think about like, what am I stressed out about? What am I holding onto that I really just don't need to hold onto anymore? And, you know, all of that. Mindset's really big here too. Like are you telling yourself throughout the day like, I'm so stressed, I'm so stressed, I'm so stressed. Because guess what, if you are, your brain is gonna think I'm so stressed versus, you know, I'm joyful, I'm relaxed, I'm so grateful for my life, you know, then you are going to think all of those things. So it really is like you are what you think about. So hopefully that's some helpful stress and active relaxation tips. Actually, I want you, no, we're gonna wait on that. Sorry. Okay, the last thing is circadian rhythm. So sleep is so important. That's when your body heals itself and repairs any damage from throughout the day. It's so, so important. And if you're struggling with sleep, one thing that you can do is to just encourage that circadian rhythm, help. So go outside, you know, first thing in the morning. Get some sunshine without sunglasses. Morgan, the sleep coach, who I have partnered with a few times taught me that, you know, or like helped me have that aha moment is sunglasses block the UV light. So it actually makes you not gain the full benefit of sunshine first thing in the morning. So go stand outside on your patio for a few minutes in the morning, drink your coffee, take your dog on a walk or whatever. But don't wear sunglasses because you want your eyes to see. Sunlight and be like, hello body. It is morning time. We are in the sunshine. And then similarly at night, you know, try to limit that blue light exposure. I know you've heard that before. But just try it, you know, try it for like an hour before bed, either doing blue light blockers or turning on the night shift mode you know, dimming your overhead lights and doing more like yellow lamp. You know, yellow toned light bulb lamps, especially like fluorescent overhead lights and stuff that are super bright, you know make it more cozy. Do a nighttime routine, do some gentle stretching, all of that, and just do you know, everything you can to encourage really restorative sleep overnight. So those are the five things. I'm gonna go through them again. Chew food. Make sure you're hitting your fiber target or get help if you just can't tolerate fiber stress and active relaxation versus passive relaxation, minerals and electrolytes. So you can truly rehydrate your body and encouraging your circadian rhythm. I know that was a lot of information. I want you to come away with this and take some action though, so. Decide right now, which one of those things are you gonna try first? Like, which one are you gonna try this week? You've got a week before the next episode comes out. Which one are you going to try? And remember, like you can't try it once and decide there if it helped or not. Like you need to be doing this for like three or four days in a row and then see how you feel. So decide which one you're gonna do. Chew your food, well increase your fiber, like make a concerted effort plan in advance increase minerals or electrolytes in your water. Stress management, inactive relaxation, or boosting your circadian rhythm. Think through which one you wanna start with, which one you've maybe tried but not fully, or which one you really resonated with today. Pick one, take some steps toward it. Send me a message on Instagram and let me know which one you're gonna do and I can't wait to hear it how it goes. So y'all have a great day and we will talk soon.

18:17

Thank you so much for listening to the entire episode. I hope you are feeling inspired and empowered to take bold action towards your health goals. If you enjoy what you heard, don't forget to follow my show so you never miss a new episode. And it would mean the world to me, if you left me a review, so others know what to expect from my show. Last, get in touch. Let me know what bold action you're taking. Let me know how you're inspired. Follow me on Instagram@the_healthygut_dietitian. I've put a link in my show notes for you, so you can simply click and follow. Come say hi, I respond to all my messages and I can't wait to get in touch.