Trim YourTummy, Heal Your Gut: What Works

Gurgle.Poofy.Bloated.Ugh. If your gut isn't happy, and hasn't been in a while, you've probably thought about changing your diet to fix the problem.I know you think you may be eating the wrong things:

• dairy
• gluten
• soy
• sugar & alcohol
• maybe corn

You may be right, but you may not have removed those tummy-trigger foods from your diet yet.Or you didn't take them out for long enough. In my 28-day Slim Down Detox program, I recommend that you take these toxic foods out for at least 14 days and re-test your tolerance. So I'm going to go a level deeper into why your tummy is bloated, uncomfortable, and poofing out over your jeans…And it ain't just what you're eating...It's about how you're eating and healing your entire gut. Slow Down I had a great chat with my client J last week. She thought she was eating too much again, and couldn't pin point the cause. I asked about her eating habits and here's what we found: 

• J has always been a fast eater
• J eats faster when eating with certain friends
• The faster she eats, the more she eats

I told her one of my top secrets to eating less, and digesting better:s…l…o…w...…d…o…w…n I'm usually the last person to finish dinner. Other health experts I know are slow eaters and we all end up eating less food, and digesting what we eat better, when we eat slowly. Why?

1. chewing your food more thoroughly: well chewed food, mixed with saliva, is easier to digest
2. allowing your gut to tell your brain to stop: when you eat slow, your gut can tell when it's full, then signals your brain: "Hey! Stop Eating! We're full down here!"
3. eating slowly allows for more oxygen: when you eat slowly you breath more while chewing and in between bites. Oxygen is a major part of metabolism and a part of healthy digestion.

Here's your Play With Your Food Exercise for this week (sounds more fun than 'home work', right?) Next time you're eating out, be the last one in your group to finish eating. Slow down your bites, chew more, and take your time.Don't get all obsessed with how much you're eating, but just notice slowing down and how it feels. If you're eating alone, try to double how long it takes to finish your next meal. If you normally take 10 minutes to eat lunch, take 20. It may be a stretch, feel weird or be uncomfortable, but do your best. Notice how your gut feels. Do you eat less? What else do you notice? NOW, you're slowing down how you're eating, which is helping your digestion and metabolism work better.But what about the health of your digestive system? Many of my clients are in need of some supplemental healing to lose the muffin top and really heal their digestion.If you've had:

• constipation or diarrhea
• stomach pain
• yeast overgrowth
• taken antibiotics in the last 2 years
• rely on antacids

It's time to Heal Your Gut with the 4 supplements that you need to fix your tummy and drop the muffin top:  Heal That Gut Fiber: most people only eat 1/2 of the recommended 30 grams of fiber necessary for cleaning your intestines and moving food down the line. If your "transit time" (aka time between eating and pooping) is slow, the food can ferment in your gut leading to gas and bloating. Not pretty. I recommend most people take a safe fiber supplement to help create easily passed daily stools. L-Glutamine: an amino acid (aka: a part of protein) that's highly prevalent in the gut, your small intestine needs substantial amounts of L-Glutamine to absorb nutrients well. If your digestion has been "off" for a while, or you've taken antibiotics in the last two years, then your intestines are compromised. Add a good quality L-Glutamine supplement to water or your shake once a day to give your gut what it needs to do its job. Probiotics: the "friendly" bacteria we need to take on a regular basis. These little guys help our body digest food and absorb nutrients. If you've taken antibiotics in the last 2 years, or have eaten a highly acidic diet of refined carbs and alcohol (hello you Sex In The Cityers!) you must take probiotics daily for several months to repopulate your GI tract. Digestive Enzymes: As we age, and if we get ill or have relied on antacids for stomach problems, our body slows down production of stomach acid, enzymes and bile which hurst our digestion. This leads to gas, bloating, heartburn and more. Use a good quality broad spectrum digestive enzyme to help digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats so you get nourishment, not just calories, from your food. What's important about all this gut healing?The Bottom Line: when you heal your gut, you get more nutrition out of your food, you eat less, and your tummy bloat goes down.You look better and feel better - win, win!  So, do this week's Play With Your Food Experiment and get your Heal My Gut Kit here: Let me know how you're feeling and what you notice! Here's to a happy tummy, and fitting back into those skinny jeans!Click and Learn more How to End your tummy troubles with my favorite probiotics!!Learn more about 21 Day Sugar Detox!! xo,Alex