Meet Sacha

• Client’s main symptoms – constipation, morning stomach cramps, bloating

A story about waking up to less pain, through waking up to what your body needs

Morning stomach cramps 

Sacha came to me with daily stomach aches every morning for over 6 months. For most of her life she’d had some kind of digestive issues and it was getting her down. Also, she had a low BMI and low appetite, but struggled to put on weight despite eating what she felt was a healthy diet. Most days Sacha was constipated, and it was normal to have just two or three bowel movements a week. These were small, hard to pass and felt painful. 

She was anxious and experienced an afternoon energy slump. Additionally, her skin was suffering too with acne on forehead and eczema in her elbows, & dry itchy scalp.

Starting the day pain free

By the end of the Gut Reset Sacha had managed to avoid any more morning stomach cramps. This meant she could start her day feeling positive, instead of lying in bed feeling awful. It helped her get her three children off to school easier. She could even start doing a bit of exercise in the mornings before work. 

She also found she had more energy in the afternoons after work, possibly down to drinking more water, and eating more food throughout the day.

Interestingly, she felt more hunger once her digestion had normalised, so she could stomach eating more food. This was really important as she wanted to put on some more weight. 

Further functional testing

We ran a stool test which showed a high level of bacteria associated with her gut symptoms. This included:

• lack of helpful friendly bacteria (especially lactobacillus)
• some methane producing bacteria (associated with constipation)
• Some bacteria associated with degrading the mucus lining of the gut

The stool test helped to inform Sacha’s plan, including supplements and a diet to support gut health. She found it really interesting to see what might have been causing her symptoms.

Sacha changed the timing of her meals, introducing an overnight fast. She restarted exercising to build muscle and strength. She also increased the variety in her diet, particularly her fruit and vegetable intake. 

As a single mum of three she worked really hard on creating space to focus on her own health. As a parent myself I know it’s not easy getting a meal that everyone will eat, and considering hitting nutrition targets as well! 

She gradually made big changes to her diet that fitted with family life. Sacha realised she didn’t have to put herself last in the family, and it was important to make space for what she needed as well as supporting the children.