A Calm Gut Through the Holidays
December tends to amplify every variable that unsettles the digestive system. Richer food, irregular eating times, more alcohol, disrupted sleep, and higher stress create the perfect storm for women already navigating IBS, perimenopausal sensitivity, or general gut volatility. The goal isn’t restriction. It’s learning how to protect gastrointestinal comfort so you can enjoy the season without the background noise of bloating, nausea, or unpredictable bowels.
Common signs of gut distress:
- Post-meal abdominal pressure that builds across the day.
- Erratic bowel patterns, including smaller, incomplete movements or unusually loose stools.
- Excessive bloating that doesn’t correlate with food volume.
- Upper-GI discomfort, such as early fullness, nausea, or reflux.
- Heightened sensitivity to normal foods, especially after several days of heavier eating.
- Fatigue or brain fog linked to meals, often reflecting blood-sugar volatility and slowed motility.
Practical ways to keep your gut calm in December:
- Anchor the day with a simple, predictable first meal – Choose something you know your gut tolerates well to stabilize motility and blood sugar before the rest of the day becomes more variable.
- Use meal spacing intentionally – Leaving 3-4 hours between meals gives food time to clear the small intestine and reduces fermentation-related bloating.
- Moderate sugar-fat combinations – These slow gastric emptying and often trigger bloating or nausea when eaten in rapid succession. Pair indulgent foods with lean protein or choose one richer item rather than stacking several.
- Prioritise movement immediately after eating – Even a ten-minute walk stimulates peristalsis (gut mobility), improves glucose disposal, and reduces upper-abdominal pressure.
- Manage alcohol with dose awareness – Alternate every drink with water, avoid drinking on an empty stomach, and pay attention to your personal threshold; alcohol suppresses motility and irritates the gut lining.
- Lean into soluble-fiber buffers – Foods like oats, chia, and cooked carrots can stabilise stool form and soothe the gut, especially after a day of heavier eating. Tracy’s pumpkin chia power balls are a delicious way to include some additional fiber.
- Protect your sleep window – Late nights can impair digestive recovery. Even two nights of reduced sleep can potentially increase visceral sensitivity.
- Return to your baseline routine quickly – One meal or one day never causes long-term issues. Digestive symptoms settle faster when you revert to familiar patterns rather than trying to “compensate.”
A great resource we recommend is “Genius Gut” by Dr Emily Leeming. Dr Leeming joined Tracy on Move Daily Talks, discussing really practical tips on how to care for your gut health.
As always, if you notice persistent changes in bowel habits, ongoing pain, or symptoms that escalate rather than settle, it’s important to speak with your doctor to rule out underlying conditions.
Time Savers
A great way to save time, effort and still feed a crowd over the holidays is a Crock Pot. Start it off in the morning, or set the timer the night before and you can let it take care of all the cooking worries and stress. There’s still time to order! Try this one, which Tracy recommends. Then test it out with this amazing beef and chickpea stew.
Podcast Update
We’re taking a short break in December to rest, reset, and gear up for an incredible 2026 line up filled with powerhouse guests and inspiring conversations. Each week in December, we’ll be sharing one of your favorite and most popular episodes from the past year – the best of Move Daily Talks! It’s the perfect time to revisit the conversations that inspired you most or catch the gems you might have missed. You can check out all the episodes right here.
This Weeks Workouts!
Here is your handy reminder of the current week’s workouts. All of the workouts are available either free via the YouTube channel, or are the Members Exclusive workouts, which you can access if you sign up to our Membership. Don’t forget that the workouts are released across the week and so make sure you are signed up for YouTube notifications by subscribing to the channel.
