Managing Holiday Constipation
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[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the Anxious Pelvis Podcast. I'm your host Gina, a pelvic floor occupational therapist, and as the holidays come up, I wanted to talk to you about holiday constipation, explain what contributes to it and how you can manage it.
So why do we even get constipated during the holidays? So even though we're honing in on constipation right now, we're also really just talking about general changes that can happen in your bowel movements. So this can be changes in your stool consistency. Maybe it leans more looser all of a sudden, or maybe it's suddenly a lot harder.
Maybe it's more pebbly. It could be that it's suddenly harder to get out your stool, you notice more straining, or you notice that you're going a much longer period of time without having a bowel movement. So basically just how the holidays can contribute to changes in your bowel movements. So for starters, you're often traveling during the holidays to see family, [00:01:00] and whether it's a couple hour drive or it's a seven hour plane ride, this is going to have an impact on your body.
When you're traveling, you're often sitting for a very long period of time, plus it's usually not the most comfortable of seating. When you're sitting for this long, your muscles can get tighter and it can even limit the blood flow in your body. Plus we're not getting that mobility that really helps with bowel movements.
Remember, your pelvic floor is like a door, and we want that door to be open when we want stool to come out. So if that doorway is feeling tighter, then it can be harder for that door to open for stool plus that sitting position. And especially if your body's a little more scrunched. Now we're just kind of more compressed around the bowels, around the intestines.
And they're just kind of staying in that position 'cause we're not getting a lot of movement. So then when the bowels aren't getting movement, it can impact the motility happening in the intestines to help us have a smooth bowel movement and get stool out even [00:02:00] to the pelvic floor. When we bring to light what could be contributing to our constipation, it helps us better be able to pinpoint what we can do to help the constipation.
So right off the bat, one thing that we can do is get moving as much as possible when traveling. And I know that that can be easier said than done, but when you're at your gate and you haven't yet boarded, you are not yet confined to that airplane seat. Take some laps around the terminal, do some stretches while you wait.
When you are on the plane, take a walk to the bathroom, pump your ankles while you're seated. If you're unable to walk or have restricted mobility, just getting in any kind of motion that you can or that's usual for you so that you can keep things moving and less stuck. If you're driving in the car, take advantage of breaks where you have to get gas.
Do some marches. Just take a walk around your car while you wait for the gas to pump. Maybe even schedule stops just so that you can get in a little movement break. You know what else happens when we travel, we stop drinking [00:03:00] water. We drink way less water when flying or on long car rides. I need you to get slutty for water.
I'm stealing that phrase from a client of mine. And if you're limiting your water intake, because you don't wanna have to get up to go to the bathroom or make a stop to go to the bathroom to pee, that's a different conversation and we'll talk about that another time. But essentially, actually hydrating is more helpful.
And when I say drinking water, I mean slow sips, not like. I'm not gonna drink anything for hours and then chug a whole water bottle slowly sipping throughout the day. Our bowels need water. They need water to function, so get slutty for that water. So another thing that happens when we travel for the holidays and just the whole holiday season in general, is that there's huge changes in your routines, especially if you had to get up for an early flight or a long drive and you had to wake up at a different time than you're used to.
And then you're in the car, you had a whole different morning routine than you're used to. Plus now your [00:04:00] sleep schedule is all messed up and then you're at family's house and then you have to work with their routines, or you have to get together for an event during a certain time and you never really had time to rest or you haven't been able to engage in the things that you usually do in your morning routine, the afternoon, or even at night.
And here's the thing, bowels love routine. So this alone can be a huge contributor to experiencing changes in your bowel movements or constipation. So if you can try to hold onto any parts of your routine that are possible. For example, if you always have coffee in the morning and then you take your dogs on a walk and then you have a certain thing for breakfast, try to maintain that as much as you can.
So drink that cup of coffee if that's what usually helps you. If you don't have any dogs with you, ask your family if they wanna go on a walk still or just go for a quick walk yourself, even if it's shorter than you're used to. At least incorporating some [00:05:00] part of that routine and then eating what you're used to.
Actually brings me to a couple other points. Oftentimes during the holidays, we're eating foods that we're not used to. This can be during the main event when we're eating larger portions or richer foods than we're used to, or just daily during the day. If you're staying with family and you're just kind of eating different things in their house than what you would usually be in your house, and I wanna be very clear when I say larger portions or I say eating different things that you're not used to.
Food is nourishment. I want you to eat. I am not saying, oh, just eat less or eat. Quote, unquote healthier things. That is a complex word in itself. All I'm saying is that the food that you're having is often different than what you're used to. And when you eat things that are different than what you're used to, this can upset the gut.
Plus, when those portions are just larger than what you're used to, that can upset the gut and [00:06:00] so can having richer foods, or maybe you're having more alcohol or anything that can maybe be more triggering to the bowels. So maybe for the big holiday meal you suggest or bring a certain dish that you know agrees with you, that you know that your bowels typically like, or maybe you take with you different supplements or things that you're already used to taking to help with your bowel movements, like fiber gummies or magnesium gummies.
While we're on the topic of food to help you with your constipation, chew your damn food. Slow down. When you eat and chew, that is your first line of digestion. If you wait all day and you haven't eaten anything 'cause you're saving up and I just did air quotes in case you were wondering for this big meal later in the day.
And then you scarf it down, eating so quickly 'cause you're so hungry 'cause you haven't eaten all day, your gut's not gonna like that. So if you can [00:07:00] try to spread some of the food out throughout the day. Eat slower, have breakfast in the morning and chew your food. And when I say chew your food on average, I mean it depends on the type of food, but you could be needing to chew 32 times and I bet you that that's more than you're used to chewing.
Okay, the last thing that I wanted to talk about today, and you already might know what's about to come up, but it is stress. It is no secret that there is so much stress during the holidays. We can experience this stress with all of the traveling, getting to a flight on time, making sure you have all of your stuff packing, making sure no one at airport security yells at you.
If you're hosting the stress of getting everything together, getting your house cleaned, getting gifts in order, getting the food together. With gifts, we can put so much pressure on ourselves for getting a good gift. Maybe it's just the task of [00:08:00] making time to get gifts and then plus the financial strain of getting those gifts, plus all of the travel expenses.
And then of course seeing family, we might love them, but that does not mean that family does not drive us a little crazy sometimes, especially during the holidays, and create increased stress. So obviously to address that one, we want to manage our stress, and I know again, this one can be easier said than.
And it can totally depend on what exactly is causing that stress for you. Do you need to work on setting boundaries or how you respond to certain questions during the holidays or working on slowing down and not acting like everything is an immediate emergency when you're getting the house ready and slowing down?
And it can also vary by person on what works for you to help with that. But one thing I will say is that if you're able to take a break step outside. Feel the cold air. Take some deep breaths [00:09:00] that can really help reset your nervous system. So if you're at the holiday, get together and things are feeling really overwhelming, step outside for a minute.
Maybe even take a quick walk and come back. It would especially help your bowels if you take that walk after dinner, or maybe when you're feeling really overwhelmed and stressed by all the gifts that you have to get and all the things that you have to do. Take that break. And I know sometimes it feels like you don't have time for that break, and sometimes for some of you, you really don't.
But see what you do have time for. Do you have time for five seconds? Because the break could be five seconds. If you have time for more, great. Get in a minute. Five minutes, maybe 10 minutes. If you only have five seconds, take some deep breaths, splash some cold water on your face. Find somewhere quiet. Or put in headphones and play some music while you're getting the gifts together or cleaning the house.
Start singing. Singing and listening to music can be really [00:10:00] helpful for your nervous system. There's something else that I wanna mention really quickly. And that is the use of a stool when having a bowel movement. This is something that ideally you're always doing, just something to get your knees up to be in a little bit more of a squatting position on the toilet.
But the reason I'm mentioning it right now is because Squatty Potty, which is a really popular brand of stools, they have a travel stool. So I'll link those details below, but they allow you to. Pack it super easily and then you can open that up and use it when you're traveling, and that's gonna help release a muscle that helps you more easily release that bowel movement.
Okay, so what are you doing this holiday season to help you with your constipation? First of all, think about which of these things could be contributing for you the most. Maybe you know that your stress has just skyrocketed, and that's the thing that you need to focus on. Maybe for, you you know, that it's more about the food that you're eating or it's about the [00:11:00] routine.
Think about what feels most important from that list and really hone in on that, but also incorporate a little bit of everything. As a reminder, this is just for educational purposes and is not medical advice. If you're having a lot of issues, you can also talk to a medical provider and see what you can do.
But to recap, we mentioned maintaining your routine as much as possible. Getting movement as much as you can when you're doing a lot of traveling, getting slutty for that water and increasing your water intake. Slow sips throughout the day. Bringing or offering to make any foods that you're used to and that you know that your gut likes chewing your food and slowing it down when you eat it, and managing that stress as much as you possibly can so that you can keep it outta your bowel movement.
And that's it. I wish you easy to pass. Well-formed regular bowel movements this holiday [00:12:00] season.
