If you are familiar with my health journey then you will know that I used to struggle with gut health to the point of hospitalization. Back when my gut health was at its worst, and before I healed my own gut (using my 28 Day Guided Gut Healing Program) I used to dread eating out as I knew I would be in severe pain with gas, bloating, and constipation the next day.
Fast forward to today and eating out is one of my favorite things to do, and Tim and I eat out at least once a week. Healing my gut has given me what I call ‘digestive resilience’ and I love being able to enjoy treat foods and a glass (or two) of wine, and still feel amazing the next day.
These 5 tips are the exact strategies I use when wanting to eat out AND love on my digestive system at the same time – it is possible!
- Pregame: the worst thing you can do is starve yourself before eating out. Not only will this disrupt your blood sugar and have you making low-quality food choices (and have you storing your food as fat rather than burning it for fuel), but eating a large, rich meal on an empty stomach will be challenging to digest. Instead, stick to a low carb, medium fat diet with lots of vegetables throughout the day, with 3-4 hours in-between meals.
- At the table: there are a few super simple techniques whilst you are eating that can make a huge difference to how your digest your meal. Eat slowly, ensuring you are chewing your food until it becomes a paste (there are essential digestive enzymes that are only found in your salvia, and chewing thoroughly makes it easier to digest later in the GI tract). Put your knife and fork down between bites, and never take the next bite until you have fully chewed and swallowed what is in your mouth! And please, ditch the iced water – cold liquids can really slow down digestion and cause painful cramps. Room temperature is ideal for digestion.
- Digestive enzymes: if you feel like you need to take a digestive enzyme at every meal, then you should consider working on your gut health to help you naturally produce more of these enzymes (my 28 Day Guided Gut Healing Program can help you achieve this). However, taking a digestive enzyme with a bigger meal is a great option to help your body break down and absorb a larger amount of food than it is used to. My recommended digestive enzyme is from RMDY – you can save 15% off their products with the code HEALYOURGUT and this link.
- Charcoal & L-Glutamine: when I get back home from a meal out I always do 2 things – drink a large glass of water with a teaspoon of L-Glutamine, and take 2 Activated Charcoal capsules. L-Glutamine is an amino acid that has been clinically proven to help heal the intestinal lining of the gut and is also very soothing to the digestive system. I recommend the Poliquin Group for L-Glutamine, you can save 10% on their products with the code H92OON2F9YLZ, and this link
- Get back on track the next day: it’s so easy to think that because you had a treat meal the night before that there is no point being healthy the next day, but it’s exactly the opposite that is true! Sticking to your healthy habits 80% of the time means you can enjoy treat meals and still feel incredible the next day! If I’ve had a weekend of meals out, or are returning from traveling or vacation I like to use the meals in my 3 Day Gut Reset Guide which you can access here.
Looking for more advice on how to heal leaky gut, balance your microbiome, and improve your gut health? You’ll love my new FREE masterclass ‘Gut Health: the Foundation of Wellbeing’. RSVP here.