u/martina-gabriela

Stress can make digestion noticeably more sensitive, but the gut doesn’t always settle at exactly the same speed as the rest of you.

Before cutting out foods that used to be fine, I’d check:

1. Did your meal timing change? Skipping or speed-eating meals, eating much later or having most of your daily food in the late evening, or similar, are you still carrying on with it now after the stress is gone?
2. Did you increase your fibre intake rapidly as an attempt to fix things? Going from low fibre to huge amounts of beans, whole grains, seeds and raw veg can make an already sensitive gut feel much worse.
3. Are you stacking too much fibre into one meal? Sometimes smaller amounts spread across days are much easier than one giant “gut healthy” bowl which in reality just ends up overloading the system.
4. Would simpler meals feel easier for a week? Easy and plain-ish like tofu, rice or pasta, cooked veg, potatoes, sourdough, a little healthy fat. You can widen things again once things feel calmer.
5. Did you start a few gut health fixes at once? Probiotics + fermented foods + fibre supplements + diet changes make it almost impossible to tell what’s helping.

I’d give it a week of simple regular meals, gentle fibre in small amounts and fewer variables, then see whether there’s a pattern before cutting out whole food groups.

Anyone else had their digestion stay weird for a while after the stress was over?

More fibre is usually good advice, but when people increase several things at once, like beans + whole grains + seeds + lots of raw veg, sometimes all in the same meal, digestion protests and they assume their gut hates healthy food.

Before cutting those foods out, I’d check:

1. How quickly the fibre went up. Your gut may tolerate a gradual increase much better than a sudden jump.
2. How much is packed into one meal. Spreading beans, whole grains, seeds and high-fibre fruit across the day can be easier than stacking everything into one bowl.
3. Your pulse portion. A small amount of beans or lentils more consistently can be easier than a full serving that overwhelms your gut.
4. Raw vs cooked veg. Cooked vegetables can be much easier during a sensitive patch.
5. Whether you changed 5 things at once. If you can’t tell what caused the bloating, simplify for a few days and add things back gradually.

I wouldn’t automatically respond by cutting fibre right out without context. But I'd test less multiple sources of fibre at each meal, more small consistencies across the week.

Anyone else find their gut has a fibre threshold you can't go over?

Lunch structure check, for a steady energy release all afternoon:

- Quarter of a plate protein

- Quarter of a plate whole food carbs (sweet potato, white potatoes, anything wholegrain)

- Half a plate well-tolerated fibre & cooked / roasted veg or salad

- A source of healthy fat as a topper

- Enough total food volume

- Close with a small but satisfying bite of your choice (for a crunch, for your sweet tooth, dark chocolate etc.)

Keep it realistic to how demanding your afternoon is, if you still get tired later, adjust protein and / or add fruit.