FitMom's Liz Roman (@thepoopqueen) and Becca Chilczenkowski (@thehormonequeen) break down what actually happens to your gut when you travel — and why the thing most people reach for when they're backed up is the wrong tool. The bigger idea underneath it: travel isn't a setback, it's a stress test. If five days away takes you two weeks to recover from, that's not the trip talking. That's your baseline.

Why does travel wreck a gut you finally got working?

00:46Becca Chilczenkowski: This is one of the most common things we see. Once we resolve GI issues with a client, then you stress test — you go travel, and suddenly you're dehydrated, you're flying, you're not eating the same foods. It's an adjustment, and it tells you something.

01:20Liz Roman: I want nothing more for my clients than to go and enjoy themselves and not be worried about making it to the bathroom, or being able to go at all, or bloating up and just being miserable. When we do the work to restore gut function and food tolerance, we get to a place where we feel really good. Then we travel, we eat out, we're exposed to inflammatory foods, seed oils, fructose, sucralose — sugars your gut hasn't seen in a while. There can be a reaction. But the long-term goal, the more you restore and rebalance the microbiome, is that this doesn't wreck you.

01:55Liz Roman: Our gut loves routine. At home we have our sleep schedule, our normal foods, our workouts, our hydration. Then on vacation people are up until 2:00 a.m., haven't been to the gym all week, haven't had water because they've been drinking fun drinks. If the difference from your normal is extreme, know it's probably not going to go well.

Should you switch to the new time zone or stay on your home schedule?

03:13Liz Roman: Our bowels follow a circadian rhythm. Your body clock follows the circadian rhythm. So the best thing you can do is adjust quickly to the new time zone. When you get there, get grounded — shoes off, into the grass — get sunlight on your eyes in the morning, and follow the local time as best you can. Don't say "it's 4:00 in the afternoon and I'm tired, I'll just go to bed," because then you're off for the entire trip.

04:37Becca Chilczenkowski: If I'm only gone a short period — two or three days — I do my very best to actually stay on the time zone I came from. But if I'm going to be there longer than two or three days, I shift myself to the new one. You can do that with a workout, or by shifting your sleep schedule a little. Keeping the routine is what's really helpful.

Why do you get constipated when you travel instead of the opposite?

05:23Becca Chilczenkowski: Constipation is the more likely thing to happen, not loose stools. When you're dehydrated, when you're on an airplane, plus the stress of traveling and different foods — all of that shifts motility. With stress, your sympathetic system is not focused on motility. It's focused on keeping you moving and alert. Vagal tone and digestion are a parasympathetic function — it's rest and digest, that's the whole name of it. So when you're really stressed, motility does not work as well.

06:05Becca Chilczenkowski: This is where I almost over-hydrate when I travel. More electrolytes, more water, because flying alone dehydrates you heavily. And that's why we swell — the air pressure change and the dehydration both affect fluid retention.

Osmotic vs stimulatory: which laxative should you actually use?

06:53Becca Chilczenkowski: There are two things you typically do with constipation: a stimulatory effect or an osmotic effect. Osmotic pulls more water into the bowels to help them pass easier — magnesium citrate is the common one. Stimulatory would be something like Triphala, which causes contraction of the colon and the digestive muscles to stimulate a bowel movement. For some people the osmotic effect isn't enough on its own.

07:18Becca Chilczenkowski: We like to go with more natural options versus a Dulcolax or Miralax — those are harsher, and a lot of times they cause more long-term damage to the digestive system.

What do you actually pack for travel digestion?

07:33Liz Roman: We both take a bile support blend. I've found great benefit from ox bile — and you can take it even if you still have your gallbladder. If I know I'm having a higher-fat meal or a harder-to-digest protein, I'll take a little more than normal. You can titrate these according to how you feel.

08:50Liz Roman: Anytime I travel internationally I'm taking Saccharomyces boulardii and activated charcoal. They basically never leave my suitcase. If someone gets a stomach bug, or you start to get traveler's diarrhea, those are the things that help. Sac-B is also known as Florastor — you can bring it for your kids too, and it works well for antibiotic-associated diarrhea. The charcoal acts like a binder if you're feeling off and you're not sure why.

10:10Liz Roman: Butyrate is the other one. Butyric acid is a postbiotic short-chain fatty acid, and it's very helpful for calming inflammation in the gut — it fuels your colon cells, helps break down different fibers and sugars, and supports GLP-1 signaling. If you're more constipated, start slow and low: one capsule every third day at bedtime, then work up.

12:40Becca Chilczenkowski: The next piece is the bloating. I bring digestive enzymes and HCL when I travel. The extra stomach acid helps break down food and prevents the immediate bloat some people get right after eating. Enzymes are for the delayed bloat — if I eat too much yogurt it isn't immediate, but an hour or two later it hits, because I don't handle large amounts of lactose well. Those two are the first line of defense.

What is a paraprobiotic, and why use dead bacteria?

16:13Liz Roman: This is actually a dead bacteria. It's not a living organism the way a probiotic is. What's really interesting about these heat-treated beneficial bacteria is that they help calm down immune responses — IL-6, NF-kappa B, the things that leave the immune system overreactive, which is why we feel like we can't tolerate something. So it helps train and modulate the immune system.

17:07Liz Roman: When you're exposed to a new environment — sitting in a car with emissions around you, or in an airport with recycled air — this can help prime the system without adding more live organisms to a gut that's already stressed. It's also helpful for people with histamine issues, as long as it's not a big flare. And if you have a lot of food intolerances, over about six months it can retrain the immune system enough to bring some of those foods back.

Why is movement the most underrated travel tool?

21:22Becca Chilczenkowski: Movement is one of the most underrated tools when you're traveling, and not just for resetting circadian rhythm. If you're trying to reset to a new time zone, one of the best things you can do is get a workout in as soon as you arrive — it stimulates cortisol and helps get you into a different circadian set so you acclimate more easily.

21:55Becca Chilczenkowski: You do not need to find the best gym and get an hour and a half in. Minimum amounts just get blood flow moving. It stimulates the vagus nerve and motility. I love walks when I'm traveling — even just something in your hotel room if the gym isn't great. Walking is so underrated.

How do you decide what food is actually worth it?

24:15Liz Roman: Around the nutrition piece, we always say this: what's truly worth it? We love cinnamon rolls. But that cinnamon roll at a coffee shop that isn't homemade is not speaking to me. That standard donut is not speaking to me. Those are a definite pass. I want to focus on as fresh as I can — or on something that's genuinely a fun food, like the restaurant you're going to because it's at that destination.

25:00Liz Roman: My sister is doing the Route 66 drive right now, and she told me they got a salad the night before because she knew she wanted the treat at the burger place the next day. She's even getting her workout and her walk in before driving. Then eat the way we should for blood sugar always — veggies first, protein for sure, and the more fun foods after.

Why shouldn't you graze all day on a trip?

26:43Becca Chilczenkowski: For the migrating motor complex, you need time in between meals to really stimulate that MMC — the vagal tone and the pushing down of food through the digestive system. That's another reason fasting can help digestion when you're traveling. You don't want to be eating constantly every one to two hours, even if it's small stuff, because you'll limit the ability of the migrating motor complex to happen properly.

27:35Becca Chilczenkowski: If you can, bring snacks. I try not to eat on the airplane. There usually aren't great options — I was looking at the boxes on a flight home recently and the healthiest one was cheese, nuts, and dried fruit, which is going to make someone gassy and is also very calorie dense.

How does cold therapy help you come home uninflamed?

28:16Liz Roman: One thing we didn't say, and I know we both do this, is cold therapy. A cold shower can be so good for inflammation — helping flush toxins and immune debris out. We'd typically say not to do it directly after a strength training session, but I'll do it in the morning. It can help with your vagal tone too, specifically on your face and your neck.

28:57Liz Roman: So if you're in that time zone shift and you're groggy — I always get the ice bucket and put a rag in it, so the next morning that rag is really, really cold. Sometimes the water just isn't cold enough on its own. That's the final tip: it helps with inflammation and helps you not come home super inflamed.

29:38Liz Roman: And before and after, you may want to tailor your dietary strategy to be more disciplined — maybe a little more fasting to bookend a fun trip. If it's a work trip, understand that's part of your lifestyle, and apply as much of your normal routine as you can. Pick and choose the times you actually want to splurge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I get constipated every time I travel?

Because it's a motility problem, not a food problem. On The Health Revival Show, FitMom's Becca Chilczenkowski explains that stress puts you in a sympathetic state, while digestion is a parasympathetic, rest-and-digest function — so motility slows. Add dehydration from cabin air, a disrupted circadian rhythm, and far less fiber than usual, and the bowel stops moving on its normal schedule.

Why do I bloat and swell so much on a plane?

Flying dehydrates you heavily, and cabin pressure changes shift how your body holds fluid — which is why FitMom practitioners see swelling and bloat on travel days. Liz Roman and Becca Chilczenkowski deliberately over-hydrate, adding electrolytes and molecular hydrogen tabs before and during a flight rather than drinking plain water alone, which doesn't replace the sodium and potassium you lose.

Should I take Miralax or Dulcolax for constipation on vacation?

FitMom's practitioners advise against reaching for Miralax or Dulcolax by default, because they're harsher and can cause long-term damage to the digestive system. There are two mechanisms: osmotic, which pulls water into the bowel — magnesium citrate is the common example — and stimulatory, like Triphala, which contracts the colon. Start osmotic, and add stimulatory only if osmotic isn't enough.

Should I switch to the new time zone or stay on my home schedule?

It depends on trip length. Becca Chilczenkowski of FitMom stays on her home time zone for trips of two to three days, because a short shift costs more than it returns. For anything longer, shift immediately: get a workout in on arrival to stimulate cortisol, get sunlight in your eyes in the morning, and get grounded outside barefoot.

What supplements should I pack for travel digestion?

FitMom's practitioners pack by function, not by brand. For constipation: magnesium citrate or an osmotic blend. For fat digestion and larger meals: ox bile or a bile-support blend. For bloating: digestive enzymes and betaine HCL with meals. For travel illness: Saccharomyces boulardii and activated charcoal. Then electrolytes, fiber, colostrum, and butyrate to fuel the colon cells.

Does fasting help digestion when you're traveling?

Yes — fasting supports the migrating motor complex, the wave that sweeps food through your digestive tract between meals. FitMom's practitioners point out that grazing every one to two hours, even on small snacks, prevents the MMC from completing properly. Fasting is also one of the most effective ways to calm inflammation after a heavier meal on the road.

What is a paraprobiotic and how is it different from a probiotic?

A paraprobiotic is heat-treated, non-living bacteria — not a live organism the way a probiotic is. Liz Roman explains that these dead bacteria help calm overreactive immune signalling such as IL-6 and NF-kappa B, which trains and modulates the immune system. The advantage while traveling is that it primes immunity without adding more live organisms to an already stressed gut.

Does a cold shower actually help with travel inflammation?

Cold exposure helps two ways, according to FitMom's practitioners. It supports vagal tone — especially applied to the face and neck — which is the parasympathetic input that drives digestion and motility. It also helps flush inflammation and immune debris. Liz Roman's travel trick is a rag left in an ice bucket overnight, because hotel tap water is rarely cold enough.

Key Terms From This Episode

Migrating motor complex (MMC)

The cleansing wave that sweeps leftover food and bacteria through the small intestine between meals. It only runs when you are not eating, which is why constant grazing stalls digestion.

Vagal tone

How well the vagus nerve signals rest-and-digest. Higher vagal tone means better motility. Cold on the face and neck, and walking after meals, both raise it.

Osmotic laxative

Pulls water into the bowel so stool passes more easily. Magnesium citrate is the common functional-medicine example.

Stimulatory laxative

Triggers contraction of the colon and digestive muscles to force a bowel movement. Triphala is a gentler botanical version.

Butyrate (butyric acid)

A postbiotic short-chain fatty acid that fuels colon cells, calms gut inflammation, and supports GLP-1 signaling. Produced when gut bacteria ferment fiber.

Paraprobiotic

Heat-treated, non-living bacteria. Unlike a probiotic it adds no live organisms — it modulates immune signalling (IL-6, NF-kappa B) instead.

Saccharomyces boulardii

A beneficial yeast, sold as Florastor, used for traveler's diarrhea and antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Safe for children.

Betaine HCL

Supplemental stomach acid taken with meals to improve protein breakdown and reduce immediate post-meal bloating.

Molecular hydrogen (H2)

A selective antioxidant taken as a dissolving tablet, used on travel days to blunt oxidative stress.

Sympathetic vs parasympathetic

Two arms of the autonomic nervous system. Sympathetic is fight-or-flight and suppresses digestion; parasympathetic is rest-and-digest and enables it.

Sources & Mentions

• Saccharomyces boulardii (Florastor) for traveler's and antibiotic-associated diarrhea
• Butyrate and short-chain fatty acids in colonic health
• Molecular hydrogen and oxidative stress — clinical study index
• Liz Roman — @thepoopqueen · Becca Chilczenkowski — @thehormonequeen