Gut Resets vs Gut Support - Why Extremes Backfire (And What Actually Heals the Gut) - Episode 8

Why extremes backfire (and how to rebuild gut health without cutting everything out)

Many women feel like they need to completely “reset” their gut in order to feel better.

Cut everything out.
Start again.
Follow strict rules.
Avoid entire food groups.
Take multiple supplements.

But while short-term therapeutic protocols can sometimes be helpful when clinically appropriate and when working alongside a specialist, extreme restriction is often not the long-term solution for better gut health.

In many cases, restriction can actually reduce microbial diversity, increase stress around food, and make digestion feel more sensitive over time.

In this episode, we explore the difference between gut resets and gut support, why extreme approaches often backfire, and how to rebuild gut health in a sustainable, realistic way.

Because gut health is not built through perfection.

It is built through consistency.

Through nourishment.

Through diversity.

Through supportive daily habits that work in real life.

This episode helps you understand how to support your microbiome, digestion, hormones, and energy without feeling like you need to cut everything out.

Welcome to the Well Body Gut Health Series -where we strip away the trends, the fear-mongering, and the supplement hype, and bring you back to what gut health actually means.

In this series, we explore:

• What your gut microbiome really is (and why it matters)
• Gut health and hormones
• Gut health and immune function
• Gut health and energy
• Gut health and weight management
• Why tracking calories alone is not the full picture of health

You’ll learn how modern life - stress, under-fuelling, ultra-processed foods, poor sleep, and chronic dieting - is quietly disrupting women’s digestive health… and what to do about it.

This series is designed to help you feel less confused, less bloated, and more empowered - with practical, science-backed strategies you can actually implement.

Because gut health isn’t about being “perfect.”

It’s about building a resilient, well-nourished body from the inside out.

Want to reset your gut without cutting everything out ?? Join my 2 week gut reset here: ⤵️

--> JOIN THE 2 WEEK GUT RESET HERE <--

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Also Listen: The Energy Series ⚡️

If you’re loving this conversation, make sure you go back and listen to the Well Body Energy Series.

In that series, we unpack:

• Why women are so tired
 • The blood sugar, protein and fat blueprint for stable energy
 • Hidden energy drains you may not realise you have
 • How to build consistent, vibrant energy year-round

Your gut, hormones, metabolism and nervous system all talk to each other. You can’t optimise one without understanding the others.

The Energy Series gives you the foundation.
The Gut Health Series builds on it.

Together, they create your blueprint for long-term, sustainable health.

For more visit : www.beyondthebody.co

Social media: @reneediment

For more info on how I can help you get in touch!
ptwithrenee@gmail.com
Instagram: @reneediment

Tiktok: @beyondthebody__

www.beyondthebody.co

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the Well Body Podcast with your host Renee, the place where everyday women learn how to stop running on empty, reset their energy, nourish their bodies, and feel strong again. Let's get into it. Welcome back to the gut health series. Over the past few episodes, we've explored how the gut influences everything from energy, hormones, immune health, inflammation, mood, skin, and even weight regulation. We've spoken about how gut health isn't just about digestion, it's it is about how the body absorbs nutrients, it's how stable your blood sugar feels, it's how resilient your nervous system is, it's how supported your hormones feel, it's how consistent your energy feels throughout the day. And today we're talking about something I see constantly in the health space. The idea that we need to completely reset the gut, cut everything out, start again, remove gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, legumes, grain, soy, nightshades, and follow a strict protocol. Take a long list of supplements that cost hundreds of dollars every single month and eat only a very small list of quote unquote approved foods. And while sometimes short-term therapeutic protocols can be helpful when clinically required, most women do not actually need extreme restriction to support their gut. In fact, extreme restriction often makes the gut health worse because the gut thrives on diversity, consistency, nourishment, and most importantly, safety. Not fear, not extremes, not constantly starting over. So today's episode is about understanding the difference between a gut reset versus gut support within a reset and why extreme protocols can actually backfire, how restriction can harm the microbiome, and why your nervous system plays a role in digestion and how to rebuild gut health in a sustainable way that actually lasts. Because your gut does not need punishment or a chronically stressful restrictive diet. Your gut just needs more support. So the idea of these gut resets that we do see out there, they became popular because many women are experiencing the real symptoms like bloating, low energy, irregular digestion, brain fog, skin issues, hormonal symptoms, food intolerances, feeling heavy after meals, sugar cravings, and feeling like food is unpredictable. When you feel uncomfortable in your body, it makes sense that you want to just start fresh. And in the wellness industry, often, you know, things are promoted around the idea that if you just remove enough foods, your gut will heal. But the reality is most extreme gut resets focus on removal rather than rebuilding. And the gut microbiome doesn't become healthier through constant restriction, it becomes healthier through exposure to a variety of supportive inputs. Your gut is an ecosystem, and ecosystems thrive on diversity. And I always see so many like gut health healing protocols out there that require you to spend so much money on supplements. And generally the person that is, you know, promoting the reset or whatever is making a lot of money off these supplements. And then you're on their program, their protocol, and you could be you could be paying thousands of dollars a month. Okay. And you're removing a whole lot of things rather than focusing on the rebuilding, which is what we want to be focusing on when it comes to rebuilding our gut health and our and the strength of our gut health. So let's just talk about the gut microbiome and how it actually thrives on diversity rather than limitation, because this is what we do see a lot of. Okay, I need to remove everything. I need to cut out all sugar forever. This actually puts more stress on yourself, more stress on your system. So inside the digestive tract live trillions of microbes. We have bacteria, fungi, viruses, microorganisms that interact with your immune system, nervous system, hormones, metabolism, and brain. Many of these microbes rely on fiber, polyphenols, resistant starch, and plant compounds to survive. When we dramatically restrict food variety for long periods of time, we reduce the diversity of microbes. So lower diversity in the microbiome is associated with increased inflammation, reduced resilience to stress, digestive discomfort, lower immune function, greater likelihood of food tolerances, reduced metabolic flexibility, and also mood disturbances. When we repeatedly cut foods out without gradually reintroducing diversity, the microbiome can become less adaptable. This can make the gut more sensitive, not less, and the goal is not to eat perfectly all the time. The goal is to create an environment where beneficial microbes can actually thrive. So extreme protocols often create a lot of pressure, pressure to follow the rules perfectly, pressure to avoid certain foods, pressure to control every single ingredient. And when we when food starts to feel stressful, the nervous system becomes involved. The digestive system is deeply connected to the nervous system through the gut brain axis. And when the body is in constant stress response, digestion will slow down, your stomach acid production may decrease, motility can become irregular, gut sensitivity sensitivity can increase, and bloating can actually worsen. Many women notice their digestion is worse when they feel rushed, they feel anxious about food, they feel overwhelmed, they feel like they must follow strict rules, they feel like they are failing their diet. The gut feels safest when the body feels safe. So a supportive routine often improves digestion more efficiently and more effectively than a strict elimination protocol with all these rules. Yes, sometimes we have to have a little bit of, you know, rules when it comes to nutrition, like, okay, I need to make sure I've eaten enough protein. Like that's a really good rule to follow because that's gonna support my energy, it's gonna support my satiation, it's gonna support my muscles, it's gonna support my cell repair. And then things like, okay, I've got to make sure I'm getting enough fiber and plant diversity because this this supports my gut microbiome. So there are certain things that we have in place and they're really important. But if we're super strict on certain things like, okay, I'm never allowed to eat chocolate, well, what do you think is going to happen? A, it's going to be stressful when chocolate's around because you're probably going to think about that chocolate 24-7, want that chocolate more than anything. Say no because you're on a strict protocol and then probably end up binging on the chocolate and 10 other things as well because you just didn't allow yourself to have that one little square that you initially wanted. So if our routine is very stressful and it is restrictive, it's probably going to make it worse. Our digestion's probably going to feel worse because we're going to be feeling stressed. So it's really important that we aren't on a restrictive protocol when it comes to a reset. I see so many of these online, and some of them aren't even backed with enough evidence to suggest that they're even effective. So we do need to be mindful of that when we're doing a gut reset. Gut support focuses on adding in supportive behaviors consistently. So instead of asking, what do I need to cut out? We ask, what can I add in to support my gut environment? Research consistently shows that dietary diversity, fiber intake, and regular eating patterns are associated with improved microbiome health. Supportive foundations include things like eating consistently throughout the day and doing this repetitively, including protein, fiber, fats, and carbohydrates in every single meal following that balanced meal framework. Increasing plant diversity gradually. So not just going, okay, I'm going to start eating chickpeas with every meal and then beans with every breakfast, and then I'm going to just have like all these veggies I've never eaten all in one week. You're going to feel pretty bloated and it's probably going to be a lot on your system, not to mention gassy. So it's important that you increase your plant diversity gradually. Yes, 30 plant points is the goal every single week, but it may not be at the start. It may just be going, right, my goal this week is to get 10 different types of plant points. So that could be different types of vegetables like broccoli, beetroot, carrot, cabbage, and then you might have some fruit like an apple, a kiwi fruit, and then you might have some seeds, like some pumpkin seeds, some sesame seeds, some sunflower seeds, and I'm going to add some oregano. So there's like 10 plant points right there. And that might be your focus at the beginning. So it's important that you slowly and gradually do that. Now we also want to support blood sugar stability. We do that by eating balanced meals and consistently eating throughout the day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, not just having like a random coffee and then a scone and then having a binge later on. You know, supporting our body and our energy needs by nourishing it with food that is going to help us to perform and to feel our best. We also want to make sure that we do things like chew slowly. That's a really important part of, you know, having a better healthy gut is being mindful. So not having your phone at the table when you're eating dinner, not having the TV on when you're eating, eating in environment in an environment where there are other people. So like your friends, your family, colleagues, but you're in a space where you're connecting, you're talking, you're socializing in a beautiful community way. And there are no distractions that are going to, you know, defer your brain from going, okay, we're eating, we're digesting, oh no, we're watching this. Okay, now I'm feeling anxious and stressed because this reel has just made me go, whoa, I'm on high alert. So mindful eating, chewing slowly, really important when it comes to improving your gut health. Managing your stress levels as best you can. And sometimes this is as simple as including more breath work into your daily routine. So it could be that you do box breathing, breathing in for four, holding for four, breathing out for four, holding for four, and repeating that for five minutes or even two minutes, all nasal breathing, in through the nose, out through the nose, in through the nose, out through the nose. And that's a really great way to help support the body when you're feeling stressed. It'll calm that your body down massively. And even finding other ways to manage your stress, like saying no more rather than saying yes to everyone or saying yes to every social event. All of these things massively improve your gut health. And when it comes to doing a gut reset, in my eyes, all of these tools are a massive part of that reset. Okay? Sleeping enough, this is a huge one. When you don't sleep, you feel it. You feel sluggish, you feel drowsy, you feel hungry constantly, you feel like you're literally in survival mode. So sleeping enough is a really important part of having a better gut. Okay, your digestive system, it almost has its own circadian rhythm. It'll, you know, sleep at night when you wake up, okay, now I need to go to the toilet. Not everyone, but in some cases it's awake now. Like we have, we have quite regular movements when it comes to our digestive tract and our rectum. So these things will have circadian rhythms. And so if we're sleeping enough and also trying to go to bed at the same time every night, this is a massive impact, has a massive healthy impact towards our gut as well. But if we're not getting enough sleep and we're constantly up all night and we're scrolling on our phones and watching TV in bed and, you know, reading emails at 11 p.m. when we should be asleep, like this is not good for your gut. This is creating more stress, wreaking havoc on your gut health. Um, moving the body regular, this is really important. I mean, we know this sitting down all day is not great for your heart. So imagine how that how it is for your other vital organs. Being too sedatory is not healthy. It's not a healthy way to live. So we do need to make sure that we are moving the body regular, moving enough, drinking enough water. It is crucial to stay hydrated, especially when you start increasing your fiber. You need to make sure you're drinking enough water as well. That'll help with like a little bit of bloating if you feel it when you first start to eat a few different vegetables. And as your body adjusts, you just have to give it time and trust the process. And then also allowing for flexibility with food, like not denying yourself of having the chocolate, not denying yourself of making a dessert, not denying yourself of having the foods that you love. It's so important that we have a flexible mindset when it comes to including the foods that we love more because this is also a really important part of gut health. As I said, sometimes when we're too restrictive and we remove too much out of our diet, then there's not enough nutrients coming in to help with that diversity. I'm not saying like treat foods and sugar and things like that, having lots of that is great for diversity. But when we take away too much, it actually becomes more harmful in the long run and mentally too. So, you know, these things that I've mentioned, they may sound simple, but these simple foundations literally create powerful shifts in the gut environment. And this is how you can improve your gut health without needing to spend hundreds of dollars on supplements every single month because of how you ought, pre- and probiotic supplements can get expensive and they literally, yeah, great, they're a nice additive, but you get more out of the food that you eat. You get more out of diversity, you get more out of moving your body, you get more out of sleeping enough, drinking enough water. Like these simple tools, which might sound too good to be true, are literally what you can do for free within your own space. You don't even have to join a gym. Joining a gym is a tool, but you can walk outside. You can do a few push-ups and squats at home. You can sleep regularly, you just have to be strict. Like that's probably the hardest one, right? Is going, right, phone's off. I'm reading a book for half an hour, and all I'm gonna do is focus on going to sleep. So these simple tools, they may not sound super sexy, but they are literally the foundations to a gut reset. And this is how I structure my gut resets within my program is that we focus on the foods that we need to include more of, and we're not eliminating anything. We might be not having something as much as we have been, like we're not gonna be eating ultra-processed foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but there is a system to follow, and it's about looking at what you're already doing and then adding in the things that are gonna help you to improve gut health with that. And then implementing these tools like stress management, mindful eating, getting enough sleep, moving the body, drinking enough water, ensuring we have supported blood sugar. All of these things in between the suggested foods and protocol is what's gonna make a great gut reset. And you actually feel so incredible. Okay, it's not as extreme as some biohackers make it out to be. And you do not need to have bone broth every single day either. So many women will move between two extremes: very restrictive eating, followed by periods of overeating or feeling out of control around food. And this pattern is very common when the body feels deprived. And restriction can increase food preoccupation, cravings, emotional eating, binge restrict cycles, fear of food, loss of trust in the body. And from a biological perspective, the body responds to perceived scarcity by increasing desire for energy-dense foods. So from a psychological perspective, restriction increases focus on the very foods we're trying to avoid. From a gut perspective, inconsistent intake patterns can disrupt digestion rhythms. Digestion rhythms. So your body thrives on rhythm. Regular nourishment helps regulate hunger hormones, digestive enzymes, and gut motility. Consistency supports the gut more than extremes, and I cannot stress that enough, and I've probably repeated that multiple times just in this one episode, but the extremes are not always the answer. If it seems way too complicated and way too complex, and it seems like something that does not, it's not gonna be able to fit into your lifestyle because you have to spend like, you know, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars on some special biohacking supplement, then it's probably too good to be true. You do not need to be spending 50 grand on a protocol to improve your gut health. Maybe spend 50 grand on a retreat and a holiday that's gonna help you improve your life and your overall well-being, but not something that's gonna, you know, cost you the end of the world just to improve your gut, because everything I'm talking about now is literally the first steps into having the best kind of a reset. Okay, so as I mentioned, a supportive framework that really aligns with the Beyond the Body philosophy, and that's my philosophy. It's gentle, it's sustainable, it's evidence-based, most importantly, and I'm always keeping up with the latest science, especially when it comes to gut health. At the moment, my gut reset, which is available on my website, is currently being updated this week just with the latest research to make sure that I have got everything in there that is aligned with what we know is going to work. So sometimes I update that with different types of foods or ingredients or even just information. So making sure it's evidence-based and also nervous system supportive and also realistic for busy women. So when it comes to doing a reset and rebuilding the gut and your energy, because when you have good gut health, you have so much more energy. Even when you're running on four and a half hours sleep like me today, my son was in my bed and my husband was snoring. So my sleep was not great, but I still feel good. And that's because I have a great diet, I have great gut health, I exercise regularly, I don't over-train, but I train hard when I do train, I move my body, I stand a lot. There's evidence in that that having, you know, one bad night's sleep doesn't completely knock you on your ass. I still feel good. I'm tired, yeah, but I still feel good. So what we want to make sure that we do, step one, is stabilize meal timing. Okay, aim to eat regular meals because this helps to regulate your blood sugar, digestive enzyme production, hunger hormones, and energy levels. Irregular eating patterns can contribute to digestive discomfort. So let's say, for example, you generally eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then every now and again you eat nothing, have a coffee, and then have something small, and then you binge later, and then the next day you eat like one meal, and then you're back to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then you have breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. That inconsistency is actually probably contributing to the digestive discomfort you could be feeling. What we want for optimal gut health is consistency, which gives the gut predictability. And predictability helps the body feels uh to feel safe. So try and have a similar-ish time where you have breakfast, have a similar-ish time that you have your lunch, have a similar-ish time that you have dinner. And I always suggest trying to have your last meal of the day at 7 p.m., not because 7 p.m. is a magic number, but because actually having a break from eating food is a positive thing. It's great for your gut. It gives your body a break. You know, you have to use so much energy to digest. So if we're constantly snacking, it's no wonder we feel tired and lethargic from just constantly eating all day throughout the day. So having those breaks in between your meals is a positive thing for your gut, is positive for digestion. And if you're eating enough fiber, protein, and fats, you should feel full and full enough until your next meal anyway. And then having dinner, finishing at around seven-ish if you if you can most nights, because then that gives you that nice break until breakfast the next day. Eating late at night, like nine, 10 o'clock, it's not great. It's not great for your energy. So we do want to try and eat as early as we possibly can, finishing our last meal or even our last snack if we'd like to have a snack at around that seven o'clock mark. Okay. Step two is building balanced meals. This is so incredibly important because the food we eat determines the type of microbes we have, it determines the energy we have, it determines everything. So we want to aim to include protein, fiber-rich carbohydrates, healthy fats, and plant diversity. Balanced meals will help to support stable energy, microbial diversity, and satiety, which means keeping you full. So an example of a balanced meal could be something like eggs with sauteed greens and sourdough, Greek yogurt with berries, seeds, and oats, chicken, quinoa, and roasted vegetables with olive oil, lentil soup with herbs and root vegetables. So these examples are great ways of creating a balanced meal. And right there, I've just given you pretty much breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner. If you're like me, I love to have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then I love to have dessert. And I generally have Greek yogurt with some like seasonal fruit at the moment. I'm having stewed apples with cinnamon on some Greek yoga, and I just love finishing my day with that. So that's kind of my flow. But some people like to have three meals a day, and that's also absolutely fine. If we're snacking too much and we're not exercising, we might be overconsuming the amount of energy we need. So it's really important that we're getting enough with the breakfast that we're having, the lunch that we're having, and the dinner that we're having, and maybe that small snack, okay, if we need it. And if the meals that you're eating aren't filling you up, just go, how can I make this meal that I'm eating a little bit more filling so that I can have that beautiful digestive break in between my meals? Maybe I haven't got enough vegetables on my plate. Maybe I need more protein. Maybe I could add a little bit more fat. It doesn't matter. If you're having three meals a day, it doesn't forget about the calories. Forget about the meal being 900 calories. If you're having three meals a day and they're each around, you know, 900 calories, that's great. You're eating a decent amount of energy for what you probably need. So don't stress about that, okay? Focus on the quality of each meal that you have so that you stay full and satisfied. Now, step three is to increase plant diversity gradually. Rather than removing foods, focus on increasing the variety of plants across the week. So aim towards, you know, 20 to 30 different plants, plant foods weekly over time. The goal will be to get to 30 plus, but let's just start small. If you're not even getting 10, I want you to focus on 10 and then move to 15, 20, 25, 30, because that's where we want to get to. Now, as I said before, your plants include vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices. Different plants provide different fibers and polyphenols that feed different microbes, and diversity supports the resilience as well. Okay, step four is to support digestion through your lifestyle habits. As I mentioned before, you know, digestion begins. Before food enters the mouth. So we want to support digestion by eating slowly, chewing thoroughly, reducing distractions while eating, taking a few breaths before a meal, avoiding rushing meals where possible, no driving and eating, no driving and eating lunch and snacks and breakfast, like stop. The world isn't gonna end. Like you need to slow down. Life's too short for you to be rushing everywhere and stressing yourself out. You are allowed to sit down and eat. It is your birthright to rest. So please do that when you eat. Because it's these simple lifestyle habits that really support your nervous system regulation. And when your nervous system feels safe, your digestion is going to improve. And we often see that it massively improves when people reduce the amount of stress within their lifestyle. And sometimes the stress isn't coming from what's going on in the environment per se, but it's the actions like the rushing, the eating on the go, the constant reliance on, you know, eating protein bars for every meal, the constant reliance on, you know, coffee, caffeine, the constant reliance on needing to be on a device while eating because you can't put it down like you're overstimulating yourself, and this is affecting your gut. Step five, we need to reduce extremes. So rather than cutting foods out completely, explore portion awareness, frequency awareness, food quality, and food combinations. So for example, instead of eliminating carbohydrates, combine them with protein and fiber. Instead of avoiding treats completely, include them intentionally. And instead of aiming for perfection, aim for consistency. For me, one thing I love to do every single week is to create a dessert. And I generally will bake it from scratch because there's nothing more heartwarming than the most delicious, you know, dessert made from scratch. And it just, I don't know, it feels so much better. And lately, because we're in autumn right now, I've been making like warm desserts. Like, oh, what did I have the other day? A pear fe Joa and apple tart. And the tart on the top was made with like almond flour and eggs and vanilla and butter and oh all these, like real basic batter. And I put like cinnamon and what else did I put in it? What's in a hot crust bun? Cinnamon and like cardamom and mixed spice. And oh my god, it was the most divine autumn dessert. Probably gonna have to put that on my blog now because a lot of you are gonna ask me, what's that dessert you're talking about? Can you put the recipe out? But oh my god, it was so yum and it just felt so it just felt like it it hit the soul, you know? And that to me is an intentional treat. That is me intentionally enjoying a treat. I've made it from scratch, I've generally got some music playing, I'm enjoying the vibe. I've either picked some of the fruit locally or from my own tree, you know, I've been inspired to make something, the aromas are filling my house. Like it just becomes this beautiful intentional ritual. And when I eat it, I don't feel an inch of guilt or I don't feel like I'm being naughty. I just feel like this is so fucking awesome. I love food and I love what I'm eating right now and I'm so grateful, you know. So like the intention behind the dessert is so much more than just, oh, a sweet treat. Oh, I've ruined my diet. You know what I mean? So we want to not avoid treats completely, but just include them intentionally. And when you do that, you actually have a new appreciation for enjoying the treats. Like when you eat chocolate, you genuinely go, oh my god, this chocolate's amazing, rather than oh, I have chocolate every day or I have chocolate every five minutes, and it just doesn't feel that good to me. It doesn't feel the same. But when you intentionally eat it every now and again, oh, it feels like heaven. So that's what we want to aim for when it comes to treats. And then instead of aiming for perfection, and I say this constantly, you want to aim just for consistency. So being as consistent as you possibly can. Most days, having those foundations in place, not letting yourself derail, you know, your mindset around your progress because you had one day where you ate a few things that weren't aligned with what you want to be doing or your protocol or whatever. That's okay. You just get back on that horse the next day or the next meal. There's no falling off track. It's just we're trying to be as consistent as we possibly can because that is a healthy life when we have this beautiful balance around the food and, you know, the things that we do. Otherwise, what is life? It's boring and we just take it far too goddamn seriously and we we stop actually remembering the real meaning and purpose of life. Okay. So step six is to support the gut environment daily. So examples of small habits that you can consistently repeat create change in the microbiome, microbiome environment. And these examples are things like, okay, I'm gonna add vegetables to two meals per day. I'm gonna include fermented foods if I can tolerate them, at least once a week to start with, or even, you know, with breakfast. I'm gonna make sure I drink enough water, and to do that, I'm going to have a glass of water as soon as I wake up. Warm water is probably best, including fiber gradually. I'm not gonna go and overhaul my life and just all of a sudden eat a shit ton of fiber when I'm not used to it. I haven't been eating much vegetables, I haven't eaten any much fiber in general, so I'm gonna gradually do this. And I might do this by starting with my breakfast, get used to that for a week. Now I'm gonna boob my lunch up, now I'm gonna add some more veggies to dinner. Moving your body daily. It doesn't have to be formal exercise. It can be going for a walk, it can be cleaning your house, it can be dancing around your lounge, it can be just moving, but not sitting sedatory for hours on end. Moving as well as in formal training, like strength training at least three times a week, because it's incredibly powerful for your body, helps you to build muscle, and it's just an incredible metabolic health tool that every single population should be doing. Every single person should be strength training. It doesn't mean you have to be going and doing deadlifts and extremely heavy weights, but it's some form of resistance base-based training that gets you to a point where you can lift heavy. That is just one of the most powerful things you can be doing. But we're talking about the gut. I will talk about muscles and and lifting weights in another episode, but it just reiterating the fact that it is so incredibly important for every function. Okay. So as I said, these are not extreme interventions. You're not spending hundreds of dollars on pills and potions and powders. But these are little interventions that are that seem so basic, they almost seem too good to be true, but they are pretty much what you need to be focusing on. They are so powerful when done consistently. When you go on an extreme diet, like a keto diet or a carnivore diet, and you, you know, you cut out a whole food group and you cut out this and you cut out that, like you might see a drastic result at the start. But is that going to be something you can maintain for life? Is that something you can be realistically following for, you know, the next 50 years? And if so, great, you found a diet that works for you. But if not, and I would say 99% of people, that's the case, then, you know, stay away from those extremes. No matter how tempting they are, no matter how tempting the person promoting it looks and feels and the claims they make, everyone is unique and everyone is individual. And nutrition works differently for everyone. And someone might start increasing their fiber diversity and see a great result straight away. Someone else might struggle a little bit and it just takes a little bit of time getting used to. Some people, it can take like a year before they start feeling incredible again. And I that's like worst-case scenario, right? But when you do these basic powerful tools and you do them consistently, honestly, you will see the best results and you will start to feel some freedom in your mind and your soul, and you just, you'll just, you'll feel so much more yourself again. And that's what I really want for you. So it's really important just to note down that some individuals may require more structured protocols under practitioner guidance, particularly when they are managing diagnosed gastrointestinal conditions or, you know, they've got some kind of medical condition. However, even within structured protocols, the goal is usually short-term strategy followed by gradual reintroduction and long-term dietary diversity. Long-term restriction is really the end goal. And that's never really going to be the, you know, end goal with a lot of practitioners. The goal is resilience, it's flexibility, it's confidence with food, and it's building a gut that can adapt. And this is the key thing I really want you to know and take away is that, you know, your gut health and how you feel right now, like that's not fixed. That doesn't need to be the definition of who you are. It might be where you're at now, but it can 100% get better. And you can make a change. Never define yourself by a minor condition that you might have. Now, I'm not undermining anyone's conditions, but sometimes things like bloating, fatigue, low energy can be helped through diet and through lifestyle changes and through improving your gut health. And if things still aren't working and you're 100% like consistently trying your best to follow the protocol and these, you know, these kind of not rules, like let's say systems, that's when you probably need to seek extra support. And there might be something further that needs investigating. But most cases just need to prioritize themselves for a period of time and they need to get the tools in place, they need to make sure that they're trying to find ways to manage their stress, sleep enough, move the body, they need to increase their fiber diversity, they need to drink enough water, they need to do some things that are going to actually make a positive impact on your health. So, you know, if you're still relying on a V and a piece of toast in the morning, and then you're having a very low protein, low fiber lunch, let's say you just have a Subway sandwich, and then for dinner you have either sushi or just like, you know, some sausages and potatoes, and you're going, Oh, you know, nothing's working for me, I'm not feeling good. Like, that's not gonna help you to feel good, you know, like eating that way all the time. Once in a blue moon, it's probably not gonna hurt if you have a good foundation to start with. But consuming food like that and structuring your day like that, that is wreaking havoc on your gut health consistently. And you're not gonna feel good if you keep doing that. But if you change that and you let's say go, okay, I'm gonna swap the V for a coffee or a matcha, I'm going to put eggs on my toast and add some spinach. Like if you do things like that and make things better and you start to notice you feel good, then it's working, you know? So you've got to give things a really good go. You've really got to stick to it, put your mind to it, not restrict yourself in the process, but just go for it, you know? Because what have you got to lose in the end? So if, you know, you're needing to seek extra support and your and your gut isn't feeling the greatest, your energy's not the greatest, and you feel like this is something you need help with, then I highly recommend you check out the protocol down below in the show notes. It is a beautiful reset that is going to basically put everything we've spoken about in the podcast today into one place. It's a two-week reset. It's actually a little bit longer because I give you a couple of days to read the material, know what you're doing, and get yourself sorted and then start for the two weeks. It's only 49 New Zealand dollars to do this two-week protocol because I feel like this information needs to be available at the fingertips of everyone. So I have created it but made it super affordable so that everyone can get their hands on it. I also just want to reiterate the fact that if you do have a condition, it's so important you either chat to me first or chat to your doctor first before starting anything, especially if you're on certain medications or there's certain things you need you need to take into consideration. You know, always make sure you get that clarity first before jumping headfirst into something. But nine times out of ten, if you're telling your health practitioner, your doctor that you're starting a nutrition plan that is increasing your fiber diversity to improve your gut health, and you're implementing all these beautiful lifestyle tools, they're going to tell you to absolutely go for it. So the goal in the end is to remind yourself as well that your gut does not need constant fixing. Your body is always adapting because she's very clever. And healing is really about doing everything perfectly. It's about creating an environment where the body can do what it is designed to do, and that's support digestion, absorb nutrients, communicate with the brain, support your hormones, and regulate inflammation. And when we remove the pressure and build supportive foundations, many symptoms improve naturally, not overnight, but steadily and sustainably. So if you've been feeling like you need to start over with your health, this is your reminder, you likely do not need to cut everything out. You may just need to support your body more consistently. Support your gut through nourishment, support your gut through diversity, support your gut through rhythm, support your gut through calm. Health is not built through extremes. It's built through supportive daily habits. And in the final episode of the gut health series, we'll bring everything together in a simple, realistic framework for supporting gut health long term, specifically diving into mental health and the connection between your gut and your brain, because a lot of the anxiety and depression that is so present in our environment with a lot of people, especially young people, is directly related to our gut health. So I'm really excited to dive into that into our next episode. So make sure you tune in. I really want you to feel confident and feel confident knowing what actually matters based on the science, based on the latest evidence, and what doesn't. So thank you for being here. If this episode has helped you reframe how you think about gut health, please share it with someone who might need to hear this as a reminder too. Remember, your gut does not need perfection, it just needs time and it needs support. Thanks for listening to the Wild Body Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a review or share it with someone who needs to hear it. You can find more support, resources, and information on my website at www.beyondhebody.co. Until next time, I look forward to having you in the next episode.