Are YOU Seeing the Results You Want? Time for a Gut Check

Gut health is one of the most important topics to consider when you are trying to get fit, lose weight, have more energy, or just desire to function as a human being! It’s a very broad subject that has many rabbit holes to go down! Here’s the thing (one of my favorite sayings): digestion is important for breaking down food into usable nutrients that your body uses to make energy, to grow and REPAIR CELLS! Furthermore, if you are reading this, chances are you have lifted a few weights in your life. If you haven’t, then start…that’s another topic.

Let’s think about what happens when you effectively lift weights. You lift slightly heavier weights than your muscle can tolerate for a number of repetitions and sets, and wolla, you get muscle breakdown! The next step is to consume protein that breaks down to amino acids which repairs the damaged muscle tissue. When your muscle tissue repairs to create more, dense tissue you get stronger and have a higher metabolism!

Digestion begins in the mouth. There are enzymes in your saliva that help break down food. Once the food reaches the stomach it begins to prepare for absorption in the small intestine. Most of the nutrients and calories get absorbed here. The last stop before the big exit is the large intestine where much of the water is absorbed from food.

All of this sounds great if you are a finely tuned machine. Not all of us are perfect genetic specimens like Matt Welters. I have a close encounter experience with gut health. A few years ago I found myself struggling with a few things in my life. I was having systems like sleeplessness, night sweats, lower back pain, gut distress, fatigue, and worst of all, I wasn’t recovering from my workouts!! My body and muscles were sore for days after a workout. It’s common to be sore, however, this was not normal. At this point in my life I had been lifting weights for 17 years so I think I know how my body should be reacting and this wasn’t right! I also knew something was wrong when I started putting on excess body fat. My body fat tipped the scales at 13%, which was still low, but higher than I was used to. I practice what I preach and eat well (at least I thought I did) and exercise regularly.

To make a long story short, I found that a portion of my gut was inflamed. It was the portion of the small intestine that is responsible for absorbing protein. I also determined that I had multiple food sensitivities that had been causing the gut distress and inflammation. You will never guess some of the culprit that was causing this pain and agony. SPINACH was at the top of the list, believe it or not! Also on the list were bananas, almonds, barley, gluten, and a few others.

At this point I wanted to feel better and shed some fat pounds. I completely eliminated the bad guys for about 4 months and then slowly introduced them. Currently, I don’t need to fully avoid the sensitivities, but I need to be mindful of their portions. I felt better, most of the symptoms went away, but I was still stuck at the 13% body fat!

A few months went by and I was still hanging on to the additional body fat. I just assumed I was getting the “dad bod.” The next step I took was doing the 24 Day Challenge by Advocare. It begins with a 10 Day Cleanse Phase that helps you eliminate toxins, clean your gut, and “reset” your metabolism. I continued with the Advocare products and after three months I did another 10 Day Cleanse, as recommended. I went from 13% body fat down to 6.5% in 6 months.

In conclusion, many of us cannot expect to get results overnight and may need to consider a healing process first. Your body gives you clues when something isn’t right. Don’t ignore them, take action and be the healthiest version of yourself that you can be! If you have questions on gut health and how we can help, contact us at FUSE Fitness Coaching and we will get you connected to our resources!

The SUNS OUT GUNS OUT Team Transformation starts this week. If your team is serious about winning maybe the 24 Day Cleanse is the place to start. For 20% off click here.