4 Things I’ve done to help MY TRAVEL GUT- spoiler alert its changed MY LIFE
As a flight attendant, travel gut is no joke- getting backed up is the number one party pooper on any trip! Here are 4 things I have done that has changed my gut health.
One thing that isn’t talked about quite enough is the travel gut. I myself, have even had a tough time trying to really dive deep into this without it just being a tad too personal, but now that I have finally mastered this situation, I thought I’d share with you a few things I have done to help me go- while I’m quite literally on the go!
In all honesty the two most important things in my travel life besides my meal prepping, is sleep and going number 2. If you are familiar with travel gut you know that sometimes you can get backed up for days. Which can turn any trip into a shitty one- no pun intended.
Some of you may have heard me refer to my air baby- the extreme bloating I would get after flying. I’m happy to report while bloat still occurs from time to time because honestly it’s a natural thing that happens when anyone travels, implementing these few things have helped eliminate that extremely uncomfortable occurrence. Meaning, that while I do get bloated, its not like I’m 7 months pregnant anymore.
In the last 3 months I have been consistent with these 4 things and after being cross-country and back on my last trip (10 days), I can now attest that whatever I am doing is most definitely working!
I feel like the way to start my day with good gut health starts the night before! So I do my very best and I’d say 95% of the time I am successful to not eat 3 hours before bed. This helps with my digestion in general and has proven to help with sleep, so your body isn’t digesting at its peak when you finally hit the pillow.
After I eat I take my Magnesium. The one I take is from Pure Encapsulations and its mix of Magnesium citrate and Magnesium glycinate.
Magnesium Citrate is one of the most popular types of magnesium supplements and easily absorbed by your body. It’s mainly used to raise magnesium levels and treat constipation.
Magnesium Glycinate is easily absorbed and may have calming properties, which hales with insomnia, depression, and anxiety.
This combination especially helps me relax before bed and I believe its been a vital role in helping me stay on a steady poop schedule when I travel.
I have started to take a supplement called AG1 or Athletic Greens daily and have really felt a difference in my everyday gut health.
AG1 has 75 high-quality vitamin and minerals and whole food sourced nutrients. It supports gut heath, supports immunity, and increases energy.
For me I was really interested in taking a prebiotic and a probiotic daily. Probiotics support your gut health, enhance nutrient absorption and effectively support your immune system. Prebiotic's are types of fiber that feed probiotics so they can multiply and establish an ongoing presence in your digestive system.
With easy travel packets, being able to take AG1 everywhere with me has made its appeal even more satisfying. Sometimes I can go right after I take it too. I consume sometimes before my coffee and sometimes after but either way I take it before I eat to optimize absorption into my body. I love that this supplement is a one and done and supports other areas of my health, but being that I never really experimented with either a probiotic or prebiotic on its own, never knowing when to take it and all different kinds being so expensive, AG1 has eliminated that problem for me. I have really felt a difference and if you feel like trying I have a link that gives you a year supply of Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs. I personally opted for just the monthly subscription of travel packs since that’s my job ( to travel) and haven’t looked back.
Absolutely cannot recommend this supplement enough- especially if you are a flight attendant, pilot, or anyone that travels a ton. Or even if you’re not and just cannot be bothered with remembering take 5 different supplements daily. Its hard to make sure we’re getting everything we need on the daily so AG1 helps… tremendously.
The third thing I do is I try to eat fermented foods as often as I can if not daily.
You can do this by eating yogurt regularly or I like to add sauerkraut to my salads. There are so many different kinds these days, just take a stroll through that part of the fridge next time your in the grocery store- usually near produce and will see you can easily fit this simple step into any routine. The microbiome is something that needs to be taken care of to help support good gut health- a good study to take a look at and read up on is this one by Harvard.
I practice intermittent fasting.
Nothing too extreme and I don’t even really follow the strict eating windows. I just don’t eat for 10-14hrs between my last meal and first meal of the day. So basically when I sleep and those few hours before bed and after I wake up. Its a super easy thing I implemented after crossing so many time zones over and over again, I’d find myself having 3 breakfasts some days and 2 dinners. Staying on this even keel schedule helps aid in my constant digestion. Which overall falls in line with a good exit the next day.
I’ve been wanting to write this blog for sometime and hope its given you some different ways to think about how you can also aid in your gut health. I never really paid attention until I started flying to be honest, but there are times I was getting really backed up for days. Implementing these few practices have made a world of a difference.
The last thing any Babe On A Mish wants to worry about is her tum tum- it really ruins the vibe ya know?
Please tell me what you do, I find that when I have has this conversation with other people, it’s also been a factor in their life. I love hearing how different things help different people. I’ve always been fascinated with how different we all are!