Get Inspired to Get Fit! Weight-Loss Success Story

Weight-Loss Success Story: Tricia Minnick How one reader lost more than 100 pounds to get healthy for herself and her family

Tricia Minnick, 28

Before: 278 lbs 

After: 150 lbs

Years of crash diets did nothing to help Tricia Minnick, 28, control her weight, and by the time she got married in 2006, she was carrying more than 200 pounds on her 5'8" frame. In 2007, she got pregnant, and a complication resulted in four months of bed rest—and a 75-pound weight gain. Shortly after Tricia had her son, she and her family moved from Texas to Stuart, Florida. Isolated from friends and extended family, she turned to food for comfort. With the scale stuck at 278 pounds, she says, "I was completely overwhelmed by how much I needed to lose."

The Change

By January 2009, Tricia's doctor warned her that she might need blood pressure medication. And when she found herself breathless trying to keep up with her son, Dash, Tricia realized her weight affected him too. "I didn't want him to face the physical or emotional issues that I had," she says. She gave herself a year to drop 100 pounds.

The Lifestyle

Tricia gave up soda and processed carbs, and filled half her plate with veggies at every meal. She broke out a neglected jogging stroller and started taking her son for walks. She couldn't go very far at first, but by the end of three weeks, she was logging six miles a day and had dropped 20 pounds. Tricia then started using weights at home for 30 minutes twice a week, and by March, at 240 pounds, her blood pressure returned to normal. That September, she met her 100-pound goal but wasn't ready to stop. She began jogging four days a week, and in March 2010, her scale hit 150. "I've never felt better," she says.

The Reward

The woman who once got winded grocery shopping ran her first marathon in November 2010. "Crossing the finish line, I felt as if I could do anything," says Tricia. "I'm healthier and happier than ever!"

Tricia's Tips

Brush your teeth.

"It'll help stop night snacking. Fresh breath makes you less tempted to eat more."

Hit reset.

"If I fell off the wagon, I'd look at the next meal as an opportunity to succeed instead of giving up.
As long as you're trying, you're making progress."

Give peas a chance.

"I thought I didn't like vegetables, but I'd only had them canned—mushy and salty. Fresh veggies are delicious!"

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/healthy-weight-loss-success-stories

Flat Stomach + Bigger Butt | Meals & Workout 2017

DEFINING YOUR FITNESS GOALS

When starting a health and fitness program the most important thing is to know what you want to achieve or what your goals are first and foremost.

There are those people who are actually unsure what their goals are and therefore fail to achieve much and become demotivated.

So let it be said that vague goals produce vague results, or to quote legendary baseball star Yogi Berra “if you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up some place else!”. On the flip side there are also many people who perhaps have too many goals and try to achieve too much, ending up spreading themselves too thin and achieving none of them!

So focusing on just one or maybe two goals means more focus and a likelihood to achieve them.

Establishing a goal needn’t be complicated and can be as simple as you like for example, fitting

into a dress you haven’t been able to in a while or simply reducing resting heart rate if better health

is your concern. Having a clear and specific goal is a great motivator which makes achievement of

it more likely.

This is where the SMART goal principles can be of use, SMART being an acronym that means the following:-

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Realistic

T – Time based

To give you examples on this Specific might be either a set body weight you wish to achieve, a dress or jean size, a contest you are training for or even just to train 3 times per week on a consistent basis. It’s important to remember your individual goal is YOUR goal and even if it’s simple being specific can help you achieve it.

Measurable relates to how you measure success for example, if training for a particular body weight then the scales could be your measuring tool. If training to improve overall health then lower blood pressure and resting heart rate readings might be better? Once again no need to complicate things just having something relevant to measure success is beneficial.

Achievable means it should be something that will push you out of your comfort zone a little but not to be unrealistic. This should speak for itself but maybe not a good a idea to have a goal of training 5 days a week having been inactive for the previous 10 years!

Relevant means a goal should be important to YOU! Training for a goal someone has set for you be it a spouse or partner for example can be a recipe for poor motivation. If you have set the goal and it’s relevant to you then the likelihood of you achieving it is greater!

Time based simply means a time frame in which you intend to complete your training goal for example, wanting to fit in to a particular dress for an occasion or event.

Hopefully the above gives you some clarity regarding your fitness goals and don’t feel you must stringently use ALL the SMART principles either. Even if they give you some guidance or feel only some of it is relevant to you then that’s great, just focus on the points that work for you!

https://centra.co.uk/ambassadors/defining-fitness-goals/

Cardio Fitness Party Workout: Burn to the Beat - Keaira LaShae

“You’re going to need a lot of energy for this one, so get ready. Give me everything you’ve got!” says BeFit’s dance and fitness trainer Keaira LaShae in the video introduction. With moves like body rolls, burpees, and jump squats, this 10-minute, full-body workout will rev up your metabolism and build muscle. Plus, you won’t miss going to the gym with the party vibe in this video.
http://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/best-videos-dance-workout#4

Weight-Loss Success Story

Weight-Loss Success Story:  She Lost 65 Pounds
"I never thought I would be 120 pounds—ever!"


Although she stands only five feet tall, 27-year-old Krystal Sanders was never petite. Growing up, she subsisted on fast food and "anything you could microwave." A size 14 when she moved to Austin, Texas, in 2005 to work as a revenue services specialist, she continued to hit the drive-through five nights a week. When she began planning her wedding in early 2008, the added stress drove her to eat even more. "I was in denial and avoided scales, cameras, and mirrors," she says. But she couldn't avoid the size-18 tag on her wedding gown.

The Change
When Krystal's wedding photos arrived in October 2008, she didn't want anyone to see them. "I looked at the pictures alone and I cried," she says. "It was a reality punch in the face. I was embarrassed that I'd let myself get that large." She knew something had to be done.

The Lifestyle
Krystal emptied her pantry and fridge, tossing all chips, frozen pizza, and other junk. Instead of eating out, she started cooking healthier versions of her favorite restaurant foods, boosted her veggie intake, and measured portions. "It was an eye-opener to see the difference between what I would normally eat and what the serving size was," she says. When she worked up the courage to step onto a scale, it read 185 pounds. She began jogging on her treadmill for 30 minutes six times a week. Over the next year, she added DVD strength workouts, cut out soda and processed foods...and reached her goal of 130 pounds. But she wasn't finished. She began lifting heavier weights, and in December 2009, the scale flashed 120. "I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe the scale was broken," says Krystal.

The Reward
Now Krystal has the energy to log nine-mile runs and go biking and hiking with her husband. And she is anything but camera shy. "I used to run from cameras, but now I like what I see in photos," she says. "I'm finally at peace with the way I look."
Krystal's Tips
Add iron. "Don't be all cardio all the time—lift weights! Replacing fat with muscle means you can burn more calories without even trying."
Greek out. "I use low-fat Greek yogurt in place of mayo in recipes, and it tastes great. It can also be used as a sour cream substitute."
Be prepared. "Set everything out the night before: clothes, weights, water bottle. Then nothing can get in the way of your workout."

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/healthy-weight-loss-success-stories

10 Ways Music Can Make or Break Your Workout

Killer beats do more than just make you bust out embarrassing dance moves in the middle of the gym floor. Your favorite jams have real performance-boosting effects. There’s a reason many marathons and running races have banned music, especially for pros or anyone hoping to medal. Music can give you a competitive edge and save your sanity during a grueling workout.

Let’s be real: Most of us reach for a good playlist to make exercise more fun and to motivate us. The good news is that the science backs us up. Your favorite tunes can be a powerful way to stay on track and beat your fitness goals. Here are 10 reasons to crank it up — or turn it down — during your next gym sesh.

1. It will get you out the door

Don’t feel like putting on your exercise clothes and leaving the house? It’s time to turn on the music. Music can help motivate you to get moving. One study found that listening to music may help you get started on a run and encourage you to keep going.

2. You’ll work harder without noticing

Feel like your progress is stalling? Try adding some preselected songs to your next gym session. One study found that participants pedaled more ferociously while listening to music, but they didn’t find the extra effort to be more unpleasant than their slower pedaling without music.

Multiple studies have shown that music is especially influential during repetitive, endurance activities. Choosing the music you like best can enhance the performance boost and reduce your perceived exertion. In other words, listening to music can make your workout feel easier or encourage you to work harder without you feeling like you are.

Researchers don’t know precisely why this is true, but many attribute it to the metronome effects a good beat can have. The right song may help you maintain a steady pace, keep your mind off the difficulty of the workout, or both.

3. Jams can amp you up

Music can boost your mood and get you ready to slay. While tempo and volume both affect how the music makes you perform, how the music makes you feel is even more important.

There’s no perfect workout music for everyone. Memories the songs bring up — or even the lyrics you can’t help but belt out — are incredibly powerful and personal. What matters most is how the song or playlist makes you feel.

4. ... or calm you down

Yes, you can be too amped. Slower music, 80 to 115 beats per minute (BPM), can help you slow your heart rate and reduce anxiety before a race, game, or particularly intense workout. While the beats matter, lyrics and how you feel about the music can impact your emotions and help you regain control, according to a review in The Sport Journal. Listening to music may also help you avoid “choking” — hesitating to act when playing sports — and get you out of your head, according to a very small study.

5. Improve coordination

You don’t have to dance to the beat for music to affect the way you move. Regardless of your movement, music encourages you to move rhythmically.

A study found that listening to music you enjoy increases the electrical activity in the regions of the brain that are responsible for coordinating movements. This is why a good beat makes an aerobic or HIIT class easier to follow. Your body naturally wants to move in time with the beat.

6. Push your limits

Nothing will put the brakes on a great workout quite like fatigue. Music can help change your perception of your limits by blocking out some of your fatigue. A study with 12 male participants found that when they listened to music at different tempos while cycling, they worked harder with faster music and enjoyed the music more than slower songs.

The right music can distract you from the extra effort and leave you unaware of your increased exertion. This means that you can work out harder and get a better workout overall without feeling like you are.

However, you can’t completely blow past your body’s limits. Music is much less effective at decreasing your perceived level of exertion when you’re working to your max.

Studies have shown that once your heart rate climbs into the anaerobic zone, music stops being effective. Your body, and your muscles’ desire for oxygen, becomes louder than your tunes. Music is no match for super high-intensity workouts.

7. Make a hard workout more enjoyable

Anyone who’s ever gone to a spin class with heavy beats knows firsthand how much easier a brutal workout is with music. Good jams can help distract you from the intensity of the workout.

One study with 34 participants found that listening to music is even more effective at making a workout more enjoyable than just watching a video without sound.

Why? Because the more you’re able to lose yourself in the music and disconnect from the unpleasant feelings of an activity, the more pleasant it becomes.

Another study found that a good playlist can also help decrease your perceived level of exertion, or how hard you think you’re working, during low- and moderate-intensity exercise. The researchers also found music and video combined was more powerful, and that the effects of this combination increased with time. The longer the participants exercised, the more powerful the music and video was.

So, don’t forget to grab your headphones before a long workout!

8. ... but you might bo too distracted

There’s a fine line between mindlessly cranking it out on a spin bike and tossing around weights while distracted. It’s easy to forget about form or how your body is feeling when you’re grooving to the beat.

Pro tip: Be careful to check in with your body and turn down the music when you need to concentrate on a difficult move to avoid injury.

9. Improve cadence and avoid injury

Runners rejoice! Music at the right tempo can help you increase your cadence and sidestep injury. A high cadence has been tied with lower rates of injury in endurance runners. Those extra small steps help reduce the force of each footfall and keep your body better aligned on impact.

A study with 26 recreational runners found that when they ran to music between 130 and 200 BPM, they sped up or slowed down their footfalls in time with the music. So, shoot for music with 160 to 180 BPM to boost your cadence.

Pro tip: Spotify and Jog.fm both let you choose songs by BPM.

10. You’ll recover faster

Bring your heart rate back down and recover faster post-workout with some slow jams. A study with 60 participants found that slow music lowers blood pressure, slows heart rate, and quickens recovery time. Researchers also noted recovery with slow music was faster than with silence or fast music.

Another study with 12 participants found that while fast music can improve your intensity during a workout, slow music can help you return to your resting heart rate faster.

This means that listening to soothing beats can reduce cardiac stress and speed recovery so you’re ready for your next workout sooner. The right songs can also help you relieve stress. Stress delays recovery and negatively impacts performance.

Bottom line

Don’t worry if you can’t bring along your tunes to every gym class. There are limits to the wonders of music, anyway.

Music can’t magically push you beyond your physical limits. It has little effect on strength, endurance, and perceived effort when at a max heart rate or in an anaerobic zone. Unfortunately, music just can’t make every workout a fun jam session.

Still, music can transform a miserable workout or slogging in the gym into something to look forward to. From better performance to increasing your recovery, the right songs can have real effects on your mind and body. Go ahead and pump it up!

http://www.healthline.com/health/music-can-make-or-break-your-workout#1

5 Mindfulness Techniques for Improving Your Workouts Part 2

HOW TO PRACTICE MINDFULNESS IN YOUR WORKOUT ROUTINE

When we’re trying to get the best from our bodies, how we move through the world is crucial.

Take control of that spinning top you set in motion every day when you wake – the mind –  and see significant improvements in your exercise output and results. With routines that maintain presence and grace in every moment, your capability and endurance for exercise will increase as well.

1) STAY PRESENT AND STAY ON TARGET

Want to know the mental trick successful mountaineers use to climb the Mt. Everest? To perform arguably the most physically demanding, grueling endeavor of human achievement?

It’s simple: put one foot in front of the other. The trekkers meditate upon the next step. And only the next step.

Why?

Because. Anything. Else. Is. A. Distraction. From. The. Goal.

Easier said than done when you’re lungs are screaming from lack of oxygen and every muscle cries out in protest at the almost impossible struggle they’re enduring. There’s always the voice in the back of the head reminding them that physical injury, total failure and death are permanent possibilities.

While we might not summit the highest of peaks, fending off unpleasant and unhelpful thoughts and emotions while working out is no less important for us.

Distractions at the gym – be it sweat in the eyes, burn in the muscles, ache in the lungs, a cute guy or girl nearby, or feelings of inadequacy – all pull us away from our goal-oriented activities.

If the focus goes, so might your resolve to finish (or start) the workout.

Treat your distractions as scenery and let them pass you by from one moment to the next. Emotions only last for 90 seconds before disappearing, say recent scientific research. Outlast your mind and stay the course.

Where the mind goes, the body follows.

First you need to appreciate the power of right now and the power of the single step. There’s no other way to get to the top of Everest. Or to the end of the workout.

2) PRACTICE A MOVING MEDITATION

When you think of a conscious, mindful athlete you might not think of Arnold Schwarzenegger. But Arnold himself attributed much of his outstanding success as a bodybuilder to what he called “the mind-muscle connection.”

The link was to imagine the internal processes of his musculature in the moment to thereby predict their future growth.

Vividly focusing upon the muscles he was training and visualizing their expansive progress, Schwarzenegger was able to push himself harder than anyone else. Because he grounded every set within the bedrock that was his determination, he was able to max-out reps and sets long after his contemporaries threw in the towel. The result is the renowned legacy of his Olympian physique.

You can use the same techniques and make your workout a moving meditation.

Shift your focus inside yourself, away from the external resistances of the weights you may be lifting or the pavement you may be pounding.

Feel the energetic dimensions that your muscles move within. The source of your power (and change) is the energy within the body. Connect your mind to the muscles, following their movements in a fluid way. Guide the muscles when it’s time for that extra push – and observe your enhanced capabilities.

Focus upon the energy required to complete each action. With a mind-body connection, you’re primed for a maximum-output workout because you’re connected more with your energy sources.

Getting “in the zone” like this is known as a flow state. This is an intensely powerful condition when mind and body seem to function in perfect harmony, where mindful effort seamlessly moves into reality in real-time.

Make your workout a moving meditation and focus inward to achieve the satisfying feelings of the flow state and it’s incredible results.

3) SET YOUR INTENTION

Before you begin to exercise, take a moment to review your purpose for being in the gym, out for a run, or wherever your physical routine might take. Remind yourself of where you left off last time, what you’re trying to accomplish today and the long-term goals that brought you there.

Are you trying to increase your squat reps from 135 to 155? Do you need to remember to stretch after your workout? Should you take it easy on the bench today because your shoulder is giving you pain? (Yes).

A great time to do a mental check is when you’re limbering up, doing some dynamic range of motion moves to get the blood pumping in the body.

The action is the same for the mind. Invigorate your sense of purpose by mentally preparing for action.

You’ll be able to complete your goal better with a vision of success.

Our bodies and minds work best in concert with another, so take your workout to the next level by organizing your mental zone before getting physical.

4) ENERGIZE WITH BREATH

Say what you like about protein, but the body’s energy supply while exercising is the breath.

When the breath stops coming in regular intervals, life becomes needlessly difficult. An appropriate breathing cadence within your exercise programs is essential to keeping your energy levels high.

Many of us have developed physical habits and mindsets surrounding our workouts that obstruct our fitness goals. And only by fixing these issues can we accomplish the workouts we want.

For example, my current challenge is keeping my breathing steady during cardio. If I don’t consciously correct how I breathe, I fall back into a nearly hyperventilated pattern after a short time. When this happens, running a three mile warmup turns from a cardio session into a gruelling sweat-fest of pain.

I don’t know how I got to this point but I know how to fix it: slow and steady breathe circulating deep into my lower abdomen, inhaling and exhaling through the nose. The image I use to keep pace is a cup being slowly filled and drained of water.

As I’m kicking my legs and doing a few dips before stepping on the treadmill, I remind myself to start my run slowly and allow myself to breathe easily.

And it works wonders. I’m able to run harder for longer and with greater enjoyment. Thanks to a mindful technique, all it takes is 15 seconds before starting off to secure increased performance.

5) FEEL YOUR BODY

It’s easy to take the body for granted. We live inside it every day and only pay it mind when something starts to hurt or seems out of place. This is normal because our body is a relative system; if it wasn’t, we’d go crazy from the over-stimulation.

Being aware of body sensations that arise is a great way to stay mindful. Being conscious of your energy level, aches and pains and overall physical condition provides a gauge for your current status and protects your body from injury.

And let’s you know when to ramp up the intensity.

Start by closing your eyes. Take an inventory of the feelings in your extremities, from your head to your toes. How does your stomach feel? What’s your breathing like?

Most of us only become aware of these factors after we’ve been exercising for a bit. But you can reach that heightened state from the beginning of your workout for higher quality workouts every time.

Being well attuned to the body improves form while exercising, aligns movements with breath and increases spatial awareness. Attend to your body in this way and you’ll see how quickly you feel connected to your physical form.

Try this technique for getting motivated to go to the gym.

LAST THOUGHTS

These have been five mindful practices you can use to improve the quality of your workouts. By using meditative techniques, a potent mind and body connection is realized and can be enjoyed both in and out of the gym. Staying present with the body is first  a matter of conscious breathing and sensing the body. The mind is a powerful tool as well, best used with a clear sense of purpose and a vision of what’s to come. The combination is more than the sum of the parts, so practice exercises with meditative techniques to reach a new state of achievement and satisfaction with your workouts.

https://blog.fitplanapp.com/mindful-fitness/

High Cardio Workout: Nagada Sang Dhol Baje - Ram-Leela Review

Doonya describes themselves as “your at-home solution for fun dance-fitness! We bring the energy and dance of Bollywood, India’s movie and music industry, straight to your living room.” With loads of energy, Doonya co-founders Kajal Desai and Priya Pandya give you a taste of their high-powered dance routines with this four-minute video that’ll leave you wanting more.

http://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/best-videos-dance-workout#8

5 Mindfulness Techniques for Improving Your Workouts Part1

Any sports psychologist will tell you that performance is 90% mental.

And yet, reconciling mindfulness with the labored physicality of our workouts can seem like an oxymoron, as sensible as the Little Giants peacefully going to war with their faraway neighbors.

Those who take advantage of the greatest of performance enhancers (the brain), make time for meditative practices surrounding their physical activities. Because being aware of what’s going on within and around ourselves is more powerful than we may realize.

Dr. Steven Selchen, director of mindfulness-based therapies at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center says:

“I often talk about mindfulness as training the mind the way physical exercise is training the body… Mindfulness is more about tuning into our experience so we can handle it better.”

For gym time, the mental state you create for yourself directly affects both your results and the amount of satisfaction you receive.

Let’s take a look at how to increase your mind-body connection with meditative practices and take your workouts to whole new level.

WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?

Mindfulness is the quality or state of being aware. It is achieved by staying focused upon the present and one’s thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations within this space.

What can this do for you?

“Mindfulness helps train the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that creates a calm and alert state of mind, which helps us stay focused, avoid distraction and perform at our best,” say Dr. Kirstin Race, Ph.D. and founder of Mindful Life and author of Mindful Parenting.

According to Dr. Race, bringing the attention inward activates the insular cortex as well, resulting in an experience of heightened sensory awareness and improved communication between mind and body. This state of awareness helps us perceive physiological changes in the body and make rapid-fire adjustments based upon what we perceive both inside ourselves and from the outside world.

The best part is? You can increase this perceptive and adaptive capability.

“It’s like strengthening a muscle… The more we practice, the stronger we become.”

So you be more focused, better at avoiding distractions and perform at your best – always.

Meditation is the physical practice of becoming mindful and realizing the benefits of a more conscious, tuned-in existence. Meditation keeps the monkey mind stay centered, helping us remain calm and rested yet mentally alert.

The benefits can be accomplished while seated quietly on a cushion or while running full sprint. Here’s some techniques for a more mindful and physically rewarding exercise program.

https://blog.fitplanapp.com/mindful-fitness/

20-Minute Cardio Dance Workout from a Celebrity Trainer

When trying to learn a new dance workout, sometimes the choreography can be downright intimidating. Thanks to this 20-minute PopSugar Fitness dance workout, learning the routine just got a little easier. Celebrity fitness artist Nicole Winhoffer guides you through the movements in an encouraging tone. Think you can’t dance? “Everyone can,” says Winhoffer. “It’s about changing the thoughts in your head. Try studying a dance video like one of my NW Method dance workouts. It will be sure to get you moving!”

http://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/best-videos-dance-workout#8

The Top 3 Foods Registered Dietitians Eat Daily To Keep Their Guts Healthy

The Top 3 Foods Registered Dietitians Eat Daily To Keep Their Guts Healthy Hero ImageRegistered dietitians are some of the healthiest people we know—after all, they've devoted their lives (and years of study!) to learning everything there is to know about eating well. It's no surprise that their daily diets are packed with inflammation-busting, gut-healing ingredients. We reached out to the top R.D.s in the country to find the top good-for-your-gut ingredients they eat every single day. Here's what they said:

1. Sauerkraut.

By far the No. 1 thing R.D.s referenced was sauerkraut and other fermented foods. "I try to incorporate as many probiotic foods as I possibly can into my diet to keep my gut healthy," explains Leah Silberman, R.D. and founder of Tovita Nutrition. "I love to eat sauerkraut. I love fermented foods and how they are a source of natural probiotics, so I try to order kimchi and get pickles with my food whenever possible," says Alanna Waldron, R.D. and founder of Eats Real Food, while Miranda Hammer, R.D. and Crunchy Radish founder, notes that "fermented foods like sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, and cultured dairy like yogurt and kefir contain beneficial bacteria that help to create a healthy environment in your gut. A strong amount of beneficial gut bacteria can help assist with not only supporting smooth digestion but overall health."

2. Bone broth.

Courtney Swan, who has her master's in nutrition and is the founder of Realfoodology, recommends bone broth and/or collagen powder. "Bone broth and collagen contain healing properties for the gut that help 'seal' and heal the gut. This is especially helpful for people suffering from leaky gut or other digestive disorders," she explains. Diana Rodgers, the R.D. founder of Sustainable Dish, further explains. "Bone broth is rich in minerals, collagen, gelatin, glycine, proline, glutamine, and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which are all important for maintaining a healthy gut. Thirty percent of the protein in our body is made of collagen, which builds the tissue that lines the GI tract. Low levels of collagen have been associated with inflammatory bowel diseases. Drinking broth or supplementing with collagen can help keep your intestines working well, which means better nutrient absorption."

3. Fiber-rich foods.

Fiber-rich foods are filled with prebiotics, which are, according to R.D.s, as important as probiotics for optimal gut health. "Prebiotic foods are essential for gut health because they provide food for the probiotic bacteria to feed off of," explains Jessica Cording, R.D. and founder of Jessica Cording Nutrition. "Ideally, you want a balance of soluble fiber (found in foods like oats, barley, certain fruits like apples and pears, veggies, nuts, and beans, among others), which attracts liquid to form a gel-like substance and crest stool bulk, and insoluble (the hard-to-chew parts of fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc.), which moves things through the GI tract. 

While food is incredibly important, McKel Hill, the R.D. behind Nutrition Stripped, cautions against forgetting lifestyle factors. "A healthy gut extends beyond eating fiber-rich whole foods and keeping our inner ecosystem balanced, i.e., probiotics, prebiotics, and 'bad' bacteria in check," she says. "It's important to also keep in mind the importance of managing stress, sleeping well, exercising, and adding in gut supportive supplements or functional foods if needed to address inflammation, gut permeability, or food intolerances/allergies."

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/the-best-foods-to-eat-daily-for-gut-health