Back to Routine: Rebuilding Your Gut-Friendly Habits After Summer
Key Takeaways
Getting out of your usual gut-friendly routine over the summer is common, and getting back on track does not require an all-or-nothing reset.
Disruption in habits, including meal timing, sleep schedules, and self-care activities can potentially exacerbate gut symptoms.
Rebuilding a routine works best through small, manageable steps — resetting meal timing, restocking the kitchen, and reconnecting with a practitioner's guidance when needed.
We’re all human, and sometimes, our usual routines change so we can enjoy life. Summer can mean vacations, beach days, BBQs, celebrations, and changing family schedules. Shifts in routine can make it harder to stick to our gut-friendly routines. If your routine looked different this summer, this article outlines tips and tricks to ease back into the habits that work for you.
Why Symptoms May Flare During Summer
Summer can change many of the routines that help us manage small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and other digestive symptoms. Travel, restaurant meals, BBQs, and social gatherings may mean eating at different times, snacking more often, or having less control over ingredients and portion sizes. Long travel days or leisurely days out in the sunshine might disrupt meal times, leading to skipped meals or eating larger meals later in the day.
Other routines can shift too. Bedtimes may get later, exercise may become less consistent, medications or supplements may be harder to remember, and the foods you normally keep at home may not be available when you are traveling. And while summer is supposed to be relaxing, many activities bring along some additional stress.
Given how hectic summer can be, it would not be surprising to experience an increase in digestive symptoms. This just means now is a great time to reset habits or create new routines to help you manage your symptoms.
Why Routines Matter
Establishing routines and habits that promote gut health is an important component of SIBO management. Routines that enable regular meal timing, healthy sleeping habits, physical activity, and avenues for stress relief can benefit both the gut and our overall health and wellbeing.
Meal timing: Between meals, the Migrating Motor Complex (MMC) creates waves of movement that help clear material through the small intestine. Regular breaks between meals give this process time to occur. Eating at fairly consistent times can also make it easier to manage long stretches without food, rather than participating in large meals, frequent grazing, or late-night eating.
Sleep habits: The digestive system follows the body’s internal 24-hour clock, or circadian rhythm. Poor or disrupted sleep can change the composition of the bacteria living in your gut, and an altered gut microbiome may, in turn, affect sleep quality. Similarly, research has linked disruptions in circadian rhythm with gastrointestinal symptoms and changes in gut motility, most notably constipation and IBS-C.
Physical activity: Regular movement can support several aspects of digestive health. Exercise helps support gastrointestinal motility, the movement of food and waste through the digestive tract, and may also influence the gut microbiome and the communication between the gut and brain. Research suggests that regular, moderate activity can be beneficial for gut health, while very intense or prolonged exercise may sometimes contribute to digestive symptoms.
Stress relief: The gut and brain are in constant communication through what is known as the gut–brain axis. This connection works in both directions: what happens in the gut can influence the brain, while stress and other signals from the brain can affect digestive functions such as gut movement and sensitivity. Building regular opportunities for relaxation, movement, or other forms of stress management into your day may support digestive comfort and overall well-being.
Taking Steps Toward Reestablishing Routines
When returning to your gut-friendly routine, give yourself some time to ease back into your usual schedule, rather than trying to change everything at once. Here we share some basic steps that can help get you back on track.
Step 1: Reset Your Daily Meal and Sleep Schedules
If you were snacking more over the summer, start by creating more space between one or two meals each day rather than changing your entire schedule at once. If you got used to late nights, try starting your night routine 30 minutes earlier each evening until you are back on schedule.
Some quick tips for the first week back in routine:
Create a consistent ‘start time’ for your day: Try eating your first meal within about the same 30-minute window each morning. This will help you set, and remember, a consistent schedule for your following meals.
Reset your sleep schedule: Set an alarm for a similar time every morning, including weekends. Waking up around the same time each day will help your body reset to a predictable sleep pattern.
Gradually reduce grazing: If you were snacking more frequently during trips or hot summer days, slowly try to space out your meals again.
Step 2: Restock Your Kitchen with Confidence
Getting back into a routine is easier when the foods you rely on are already available. Before the week begins, think of a few meals and snacks that you know you tolerate well, then build your grocery list around them. If you need some inspiration, check out these GoodLFE recipes.
You do not need to plan every meal, but having a few dependable options on hand can make a big difference on busy days.
Consider restocking a few basics such as:
proteins you tolerate well, including eggs, chicken, fish, or tofu;
easy-to-prepare carbohydrates or grains that work for you, such as rice, potatoes, oats, or sourdough bread;
fruits and vegetables that you know you tolerate;
simple flavorings, sauces, or condiments without ingredients that tend to trigger your symptoms;
one or two freezer or pantry meals for nights when you do not have time to cook.
Restocking your cabinet may also be a good time to check labels for ingredients that can be harder to digest or more readily fermented, including certain sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, xylitol, and mannitol, as well as added inulin. If you want a more in-depth refresher, refer back to our Reading the Label article where we detail tips for grocery shopping with a SIBO diagnosis.
Step 3: Restart a Movement Routine
Integrating physical activity into your day can support your gut by reducing stress and stimulating gastrointestinal motility. It can be hard to prioritize exercise when schedules get busy or are interrupted by travel and for some of us, the idea of a long run after a long day is not at all appealing. However, a commitment to movement does not need to involve hours at the gym or a treadmill.
Returning to regular movement through simple activities such as walking or regular stretch breaks at work can help rebuild a daily rhythm that supports digestive health. Scientists have found that even light physical activity incorporated throughout the day can have an important impact on physical health. Tips to starting a movement routine include:
Choose a movement you enjoy. Not everyone loves a 5 mile run, prioritize an activity that you like as you are more likely to do it.
Aim for consistency over duration. Dedicating 10 or 15 minutes every day to physical activity may make it easier to build a consistent routine.
Keep it moderate. More intense does not necessarily mean better for your gut. Moderate activities such as walking, cycling, or yoga can support digestive health, while strenuous or prolonged exercise may trigger gastrointestinal symptoms in some people.
Step 4: Reconnect with Your Practitioner’s Guidance
Summer is a busy time, and that can mean forgetting to pack your prescriptions, getting out of the habit of taking medications, or forgoing activities that you know help you manage digestive symptoms.
It is important to give yourself grace and take whatever time you can to ensure you are adequately caring for yourself. If your SIBO symptoms have returned, changed, or become difficult to manage, reconnect with your healthcare provider rather than assuming that you simply need to be “stricter” with your routine.
You’re Not Starting Over – You’re Picking Back Up
Summer may have changed when you ate, what you ate, how you slept, and how much time you had to care for yourself. Getting back into a routine does not mean fixing all of those things at once. Start with the habits that have helped you feel your best in the past and add them back gradually.
You are not rebuilding from nothing – you are returning to habits your gut already recognizes, one step at a time.
Key References
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Mayer, E. A., Nance, K., & Chen, S. (2022). The gut–brain axis. Annual Review of Medicine, 73, 439–453. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-042320-014032
Patel, A., Hasak, S., Cassell, B., Ciorba, M. A., Vivio, E. E., Kumar, M., Gyawali, C. P., & Sayuk, G. S. (2016). Effects of disturbed sleep on gastrointestinal and somatic pain symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 44(3), 246–258. https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.13677
Pimentel, M., & Rezaie, A. (2024). The microbiome connection: Your guide to IBS, SIBO, and low-fermentation eating. Agate.
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Severo, J. S., da Silva, A. C. A., dos Santos, B. L. B., Reinaldo, T. S., de Oliveira, A. M., Lima, R. S. P., Torres-Leal, F. L., dos Santos, A. A., & da Silva, M. T. B. (2025). Physical exercise as a therapeutic approach in gastrointestinal diseases. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(5), 1708. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14051708
SIBO Awareness. (2026, July 29). Reading the label: Understanding which ingredients to avoid with SIBO and why. https://www.siboawareness.org/resources/reading-the-label-understanding-which-ingredients-to-avoid-with-sibo-and-why