Case Study: Overcoming Debilitating Bloating and Constipation

By Leah Barack, Gut Health Expert & Functional Nutritionist

My client V came to me after struggling with chronic constipation and bloat for years. She had food sensitivities, constant stress about what food was going to upset her gut, and she was stressed, burnt out, and exhausted.

She had tried “everything” before coming to me (see below). She told me she always felt like her gut was her “weakest link” throughout her life. She’d already had a colonoscopy, been to multiple doctors, ate a healthy diet, and exercised frequently. 

V felt she had tried everything before working together, but wasn’t seeing any lasting results.

V was very dissatisfied with her bowel movements and was often going only once a week.

But she wasn’t seeing results, and she was struggling with her gut and was more frustrated than ever. She was not satisfied with her bowel movements, and was only going 2 or fewer times per week. Her bloat was out of control, extremely painful and uncomfortable.

When we did a deep dive into her health history at our first session, I uncovered that she had a history of food poisoning (leading to microbiome imbalances), wasn’t eating enough food to support her active lifestyle (leading to nutrient deficiencies), wasn’t getting restorative sleep (which wasn’t giving her body time and space to heal), had a high-stress job (negatively affects the gut and slows motility), and had trouble setting boundaries and slowing down in her life (her nervous system was on high-alert, which was exacerbating her symptoms).

Here’s exactly what we did to heal her gut, help her have regular, easy daily bowel movements, and get rid of her bloat.

First, I had her start tracking her bloat and bowel movements in a tracker I use with all of my clients. This is one of the most powerful tools when it comes to our work together because I see exactly what’s happening in my clients’ lives  - everything from if/how you pooped every day, how bloated you were, what you ate and drank, what supplements you took, any stressors that happened, how you slept, and more.

This allows us to identify any triggers that your body has and see in real-time how your body is responding to our interventions. My eyes are on this tracker even between sessions so that I can help my clients make tweaks and support them every step of the way in their healing journey - it’s like I’m holding their hand through the whole process, and my clients find this one of the most valuable parts of our work together.

With this client V we worked on creating a morning routine for her that helped train her bowels to have a bowel movement every single morning before she left for work. Then we worked on making some healthy swaps in her diet to help make digestion easier on her gut while we worked on continuing to improve her motility (motility is the movement of food through the digestive tract).

We started her on a personalized supplement routine, and started to address the nutrient deficiencies she had. We also started to support her sleep, making sure she was setting herself up for success and a deep restorative rest with a bedtime routine and consistent bedtime.

After just two weeks of working together her bloat was already GONE. She was a stellar client and followed our protocol to a “tee,” and she was already seeing drastic improvements in her gut and increased energy. 

^You can see on her tracker above that she rated her bloat as 0, or non-existent, that whole week! This was a huge win for her.

Now that her bloat was gone, we focused on improving her bowel movements (BM’s) even more. The goal with BM’s is to have 1-3 complete BM’s per day, ideally a #3 or #4 on the Bristol Stool Chart. For your reference:

We focused on improving her digestion and also supporting her nervous system throughout her busy, stressful work days. Doing this in addition to her being consistent with her supplements and increasing her overall food intake and motility-supportive foods in her diet made a significant impact.

Her BM’s were getting increasingly better. She said she was more regular than ever in her life, with perfect type 3’s and 4’s all week! She was even going TWICE a day - which was absolutely unheard of for her before working together.

This was the first time in her life she had ever been this regular!

You can even check out how consistent her BM’s were from her Bloat & Bowel Tracker here:

She was feeling fantastic! She was no longer feeling held back by her gut issues, and no longer stressing about if she’d even have a bowel movement, or if her bloat would feel painful and uncomfortable.

We continued to support her in making improvements to her diet, creating boundaries, and making time for rest. We worked on meal prepping to save her time, and continued to support her with a bedtime routine and sleep. She had Hashimoto’s (and was already on medication), and we supported her thyroid health by adding foods high in selenium, zinc, iodine, and omega-3 fats into her diet.

She was also noticing she was feeling hungry again after not feeling hunger cues for a long time. Hunger is a very healthy sign from the body that digestion is working well, so this was a great sign!

And she was still experiencing great BM’s and very little bloat or pain.

Now that she was feeling more energized and better in her gut we also wanted to make sure she wasn’t just working and focusing on healing, but that she was also making time for doing things she enjoyed (she loved ceramics). This is a big part of healing that many people overlook.

It’s easy to forget it, but this is the whole point of healing - so that we can feel good enough that we can go do the things we love and enjoy in this life and feel great while doing them! I was so thrilled she got to a point where she was feeling good enough to incorporate more fun and joy into her life.

Lastly, let’s look at V’s symptom tracker from before we started working together to our last session - a span of three months - to see how she improved throughout the process. 

Before working together (she filled out this form on July 13th, 2025) she rated her energy as a 5/10, and at the end of our time together she rated it a 10/10 - doubling her energy levels!

^Her energy levels on July 13.

On September 20th, her energy had doubled compared to where it was when we started working together!

^Her energy levels on September 20th.

And in terms of gut health, in July, she had rated her digestion a 2/10 (1 = Bad, 10 = Good).

^Her digestion on July 13th.

Then in September, she rated her digestion a 9/10!! This was a massive shift and improvement.

^Her digestion on September 20th.

In July she had rated her bloat a 10/10 - the worst it could be.

^Her bloat levels on July 13.

Then in September, her bloat was just a 3/10! (And the majority of her days were completely bloat-free via her Tracker).

^Her bloat levels on September 20th.

In July she had rated bowel movements a 2/10 (1 = the worst).

^Her bowel movement rating on July 13.

Then on September 20th, she rated them an 8/10!

^Her bowel movement rating on September 20th.

These were such big improvements, and V told me “I’m feeling way more balanced than I have for years. Hormonally, physically, emotionally, spiritually.” She told me how grateful she was for our work together at our last session.

Perhaps you identify with some of V’s story — she was feeling so defeated and nearly hopeless by the time she found me because she felt like she had already tried everything and had struggled for years. But she finally decided to take the plunge and work with an expert who specializes in bloat and constipation, because she knew in her gut (pun intended!) there had to be a better way.

If you’re curious about what it could look like to work together, the first step is simple: apply for a Free Fit Call with me. This is where we’ll explore your symptoms, your history, and whether my program is the right next step for you.

If you’re feeling the nudge that it’s time for something different — that you can have daily, easy bowel movements and feel comfortable in your body again — trust that instinct. You don’t have to keep spinning your wheels or trying to figure this out alone. When you take the step to book your Free Fit Call, you’re already moving closer to relief, clarity, and confidence. Imagine waking up without bloat, knowing your digestion is on track, and finally having a plan that works for your body. Go ahead and schedule your Free Fit Call today — your future self will thank you.