Are you pooping 1-3 times per day? First thing in the morning? Without the help of supplements or medications? Without straining? Your poop looks like “foot long floaters”? 

If you answered yes to these questions - bravo! You likely have healthy poops! 

One of the keys to helping reduce your fibromyalgia symptoms of pain, fatigue, stiffness and insomnia is getting your digestive system on track and improving your poops.

In this photo here of the Bristol Stool chart, you can see that you want your poops to be at type 3-4 most days. If you’re not pooping a type 3/4, this could be for various reasons.

There are many things that can cause your stools / digestion to be off, including:

• Stress

• Foods such as gluten, dairy, egg, sugar, alcohol

• Caffeine

• Lack of water / hydration

• Lack of exercise / being sedentary

• Medications

In the past, before I became educated and did tons of research on nutrition and how it affects our health, I lived with alternating constipation and diarrhea, I experienced stomach aches, I was bloated after meals, and I felt pretty gassy. I was this way most likely because I was not eating the healthiest diet for my fibro (I didn’t know better), I was working long hours sitting at a desk / computer, I was living a relatively sedentary lifestyle (outside of the competitive soccer in my youth), I was stressed out, and I was taking medications for my fibro symptoms.

Now, I wake up, poop, and get my day started. Sometimes I go twice (lol). Always soft. Always quick. Always easy to pass. Rarely do I see undigested food in my stool (sometimes that can be an indication of a food intolerance). Rarely do I experience diarrhea, and I practically never get constipated. I am very rarely bloated, rarely gassy, and almost never experience stomach aches.

Here are some poop and gut health tips:

1. Try ditching your morning coffee, or at least try to reduce it

2. Increase your water intake

3. Drink warm lemon water or herbal tea first thing upon waking

4. Get outside every day for a walk or some form of exercise

5. Add probiotic rich foods to your diet - yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut

6. Reduce your intake of processed foods

7. Add magnesium supplements and magnesium rich foods to your daily routine (avocado, banana, leafy greens, fatty fish like salmon)

You can also try tracking your eating habits for a few days, and observe / note how the foods you’re eating are making you feel. Do they make you feel good? Do they weigh you down and make you feel heavy? Do you feel bloated? Are you getting stomach aches? Headaches? More pain? More fatigue? Does it affect your sleep? It’s good to tune in to your body to know what is going on, and then begin eating intuitively. 

One more thing I can recommend you do today is to do the following: a transit test. Your food should be passing through your system within 18-24 hours. No less, no more. You can either drink or eat beets (you’ll see the red in your poop), swallow a few seeds hole, or eat corn since our bodies don’t digest it well. Try that, and let me know what your transit time ends up being!

Everything starts in the gut. That’s why one of the keys to my fibro program is working on healing your gut, in order to have daily healthy poops, reduce your digestive complaints, and reduce your chronic pain, fatigue, stiffness and insomnia.

You are what you eat, digest and absorb. Choose wisely!

To stay up to date on my weekly health and wellness tips for fibro, join my email link (button below), and you’re always welcome to send me a message, or follow me on instagram!

Cheers to living your best life with fibro!

xo,

The Nutritionist Mama

*Disclaimer - this is my own personal experience and not medical advice.