How My Client Got Rid of Life-Long Constipation & Bloat: A Case Study

By Leah Barack, Gut Health Expert & Functional Nutritionist

My client N came to me after struggling with constipation her entire life, and her bloating had gotten significantly worse more recently. “I’ve always been a constipated girlie, even in childhood” she told me during our Fit Call. She told me pooping hadn’t felt satisfying in a really long time, and she was sick of it.

N told me she’d tried many things on her own, and she didn’t want to guess anymore. She was at a loss as to what the next right steps were for her, and wanted more than anything for her bowel movements to just be consistent and regular.

Trying to figure out gut issues on your own can be incredibly isolating and overwhelming. N was done trying to carry it alone, and finally decided to seek out help.

N is a very high-performing, accomplished and driven woman, much like most of my clients. I see many women with these tendencies tend to think they should be able to figure out their gut on their own – they figure out other things in their lives just fine, but in reality, this do-it-yourself mentality is actually keeping many women stuck. N was self-aware to realize this had been the case for her.

N had also been dealing with skin issues and acne breakouts, and said if we could solve that as well, it would be an added bonus. 

Lastly, N had also dealt with a history and occasional recurrence of restrict/binge cycles, which is also very common in many of the clients I work with. This is something we also would work on throughout the program.

A history of disordered eating actually ties in very closely with gut issues, and by the end of the program N discovered she could listen to and interpret her hunger cues for the first time in her life – a huge win, but let’s rewind to the beginning.

The first thing we did together was work on N’s motility, and part of that was optimizing her morning routine to help retrain her gut to have a bowel movement every morning. A big part of N’s struggles were her very erratic work schedules, including having extremely early mornings. We focused on optimizing her first hour of the day to help, and focused on helping her eat at regular intervals throughout the day.

I also recommended some personalized supplements for her to start on based on her symptom picture and history. 

After just 11 days of following her protocol, she started to notice improvements with food noise, cravings, and even her skin.

She also told me she’d had a few days the previous week that she hadn’t felt bloated. She was starting to have some better bowel movements, and was understandably very excited!

We then made some more tweaks to her diet and daily routine, and worked on improving her digestion.

After a few weeks, her gut symptoms were starting to significantly improve. She went from regular 4’s and 5’s in the severity of her bloat (with 0=no bloat, and 5=extreme bloat) at the beginning of our time together, to a week with days that were 0.5, 1.5, and even a 0 bloat!

 On April 10th (just about 3 weeks after starting my program), she sent me this message:

One thing we realized was a big issue for N was sleep, so we worked on helping her improve the quality and quantity of sleep she was getting daily, since proper sleep is essential for gut healing. We also worked on helping her nourish her body more, which meant both eating more calories, and also including foods and nutrients that are essential for a properly functioning gut. This is also a big piece of the puzzle when it comes to our relationship with food, decreasing cortisol (stress) in the body, and getting out of the binge-restrict cycle. 

It was becoming more and more normal that N’s bloat hovered around a 0-1.5, which was a great improvement from her regular 3, 4, and 5’s at the start of the program.

She was also noticing continued improvements in her skin, bowel movement quality, and mood.

Then a couple of months into the program, N was really starting to feel her bloat and gut discomfort she had been struggling with so much was consistently significantly better.

She also went on a trip while we were working together, and told me historically whenever she would travel she would get very constipated, but during this trip she did not, which was another good sign her gut was moving in the right direction and becoming more resilient.

We continued to support her body through improving her motility, digestion, nutrients, and microbiome through targeted nutrition interventions, while at the same time supporting her nervous system and sleep throughout the program.

She was having more days with zero bloat, which of course positively impacted her life in ways people without bloat don’t even think about, like feeling self conscious in your shirt, or feeling like you have to suck in your belly.

After almost 4 months of her consistency in the program, this resulted in her gut feeling the best it had felt in a very long time. She sent me this message after I checked in with her:

She mentioned “the little changes that have built up over time.” Very often the things I have clients do in my program are not huge, complicated life-overhauling things – and part of the value of working together is that I help streamline the process for my clients so that they are only adding in things that actually work, and not overcomplicating things.

By the end of the program, N was feeling so good in her body, and felt a renewed sense of groundedness and trust in her body.

Now let’s take a look at how N rated her symptoms when we started, and again when she finished the program to see her improvements. 

When we first started, she rated her bowel movements a 2/10 (1=BAD, 10=GOOD).

After four months together, she rated her bowel movements 8/10 – that’s a 4x improvement!

Her relationship with her body also significantly improved throughout the program, starting with a 2/10 just four months prior (1=BAD), and ending a 9/10 (10=good).

Before working together:

And after working together:

This is such an important marker for me with my clients, because as much as I love helping them improve their constipation and bloat, it's equally as important for me that they improve their relationships with their bodies. 

So many women struggle with their relationships to their bodies, and this trickles into every other aspect of their life. Once they improve this, they become more confident and comfortable in their bodies, and treat themselves with more kindness and compassion. 

Lastly, let’s look at her symptom severity tracker to see how these symptoms improved. For this one, 0 = non-existent symptom, and 10 = the worst the symptom could be. 

Before the program, she rated her constipation a severity of 9/10, and her nausea a 1/10.

After the program, her constipation decreased to a 1/10! And her nausea vanished.

She also experienced a significant reduction in lower abdominal pain and food sensitivities. Before working together her lower abdominal pain was a 7/10, and after, it was a 1/10. Her food sensitivities also reduced from a 5/10 to a 2/10.

Before:

And after:

If hearing about N’s transformation stirred something in you, I hope you’ll listen to that. This type of transformation is possible for you, too – even if you’ve been struggling your whole life like N was.

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.

Remember, even if you’re a strong, accomplished woman, that doesn’t mean you have to figure this out on your own. Just like N realized, it was time to ask for support, and she was so happy she did.

On our last call N said the program changed her life as she teared up, thanking me. She was so grateful she decided to work together, and I was so honored to help her through the journey. If you’re feeling called, I’d love to chat with you to see if working together is a good fit. Schedule your Free Fit Call today.

Leah Barack, CN, M.S. is a functional nutrition practitioner and owner of Grace Functional Nutrition, LLC, specializing in gut health and chronic constipation. The information in this post is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplement routine, or lifestyle.