The Ultimate 21-Day Plan To Restore Your Gut-Feeling Connection
As a functional medicine practitioner, I understand that certain ways of eating are necessary to help address underlying dysfunctions and heal chronic health problems. However, I also see how the emotional component of eating can get left behind when we are too focused on what, when, and how to eat. Ultimately, true health isn’t just about what you eat - it’s also about how you feel.
My new book, Gut Feelings, sheds light on the relationship between your physical and emotional health. By better understanding what the gut-brain connection is and how to nurture it, we can achieve a more well-balanced approach to wellbeing. My 21-Day Gut-Feeling Plan is my strategy to help bridge this gap.
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The 21-Day Gut-Feeling Plan
Unlike other plans you have done in the past (including ones in my previous books, Ketotarian, The Inflammation Spectrum, and Intuitive Fasting) there isn’t a specific list of foods to eat and foods to avoid, lifestyle changes, or steps to complete. Instead, the goal is to get in touch with your gut-feeling connection.
This can look differently for each person, but it starts with getting quiet and slowing down so that you can listen to your gut-feeling connection alongside delicious foods that can best serve your gut-feeling system. It’s about learning how to love your body enough to nourish it with delicious food medicine.
Instead of being broken down week-by-week, the 21-Day Gut Feeling Plan is broken down day-by-day. Every day you will have an intention to focus on along with teachings, challenges, and moments of reflection that address your gut and your feelings. These can include experimenting with breathwork that stimulates your vagus nerve, reflecting on your sugar intake and how it can contribute to shameflammation, or tools to cultivate better sleep habits and a healthier sleep-wake cycle.
Do I have to follow the plan 100%?
You do not have to follow the plan 100 percent as it is written. Shame has no place in healing and you can’t beat yourself up if you veer off the plan. Since the goal of this plan is to create harmony between how you feel and what you eat, take the word “cheating” out of your vocabulary. It is antithetical to what sustainable wellness is - if you choose to eat something outside of this plan, enjoy it and move on.
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A Look Inside The 21-Day Gut-Feeling Plan
Here’s a sneak peak of day 4 of the plan to give you a better idea of what to expect.
Nourishment
We can get so caught up in all the “rules” of healthy eating that we forget that one of the best ways to show ourselves some love is through food! Ideally, we first receive nourishment as a selfless act from our parents before we learn to take responsibility for our own nourishment. We all deserve to be well nourished. But due to modern society, our busy schedules, budgets, and other factors, we can struggle to care for ourselves in all the ways that we’d like. That’s why today is all about nourishment - for your gut and your feelings.
Gut: Lean on broths + soups
Stews, soups, and broths are some of the simplest, healthiest, and cheapest ways to nourish yourself. Not only are they made in one pot that saves you time, they can be made using frozen vegetables, leftovers, and other ingredients that are typically cheaper. Plus, soups are easy on your gut and your soul - you don’t get much closer to comfort food than a warm bowl of soup! You can find some of my favorite soup recipes in the book like, Kombu Broth, Vegan Tom Kha, and Ginger-Coconut Soup.
Feeling: Hygge it up
Nourishment is often thought of as a work done inside-out. But did you know you can also nourish yourself from the outside-in by changing your environment? The Danish concept of hygge - pronounced “hew-guh” - embodies this idea completely. Defined as a quality of coziness that brings a feeling of contentment or wellbeing, it is no surprise that the Scandinavians are rated as some of the happiest people in the world. Now it’s your turn. Make staying in the new going out. After all, if you don’t make time to slow down, your body will pick a time for you eventually.
The somatic nature of hygge can help anchor you in the present moment - almost like making your life a mindfulness meditation. So light a scented candle, pour yourself a warm drink (or broth!), grab a book, and cuddle up under a soft blanket. However you hygge, use it as a tool to calm your fight-or-flight nervous system and combat shameflammation. Hygge really is about self-care, healthy boundaries, and safety.
READ MORE: Here’s How Meditation Improves The Health Of Your Body & Mind
The Takeaway
I have said it for years: You can’t heal a body you hate. The gut-feeling connection is real and if we want to achieve real, sustainable healing we can’t just focus on one side of this equation. Healing is a journey, but it is one we can do together because it is worth it.
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BY DR. WILL COLE
Dr. Will Cole, DNM, IFMCP, DC is a leading functional medicine expert who consults people around the globe, starting one of the first functional medicine telehealth centers in the world. Named one of the top 50 functional and integrative doctors in the nation, Dr. Will Cole provides a functional medicine approach for thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, and brain problems. He is the host of the popular The Art Of Being Well podcast and the New York Times bestselling author of Intuitive Fasting, Ketotarian, The Inflammation Spectrum and the brand new book Gut Feelings: Healing the Shame-Fueled Relationship Between What You Eat and How You Feel.
Gut Feelings
Healing The Shame-Fueled Relationship
Between What You Eat And How You Feel