My meal deal diet meant I nearly had my bowel removed at 27. Here’s how I fixed it

Chris Robert, 36, lives in Cambridge with his wife, Lauren. A qualified health coach, he helps people with chronic gut issues get to the root cause of their problems, make sustainable lifestyle changes and start healing for good, as The Gut Coach.

Throughout my teenage years and twenties, my diet was horrifyingly beige, full of sugar and carbohydrates, and highly processed. Like most young men, I didn’t give a second thought to the food I ate. If it was tasty, that was good enough for me.

Most weekends, my friends and I could be found binge drinking pints of beer then hibernating at home the next day, nursing our hangovers with a greasy takeaway. Catching up over a few pints was our preferred pastime.

Besides that, I loved weight-lifting and would often spend my free time pushing my body to its absolute limits in the gym, followed – of course – by a highly-processed and sugary protein shake. I was obsessed with getting “hench” and maximising my protein intake through any and every form it was available in.

Of course, none of this is unusual for a young man. Where food was concerned, convenience was my priority and I didn’t really know how to cook. I began most mornings with a big bowl of sugary cereal, lunch tended to be a meal deal, and dinner was usually a carb-heavy combination of pasta or rice with cheap processed chicken.

From a young age, I struggled with unusual and uncomfortable stomach problems but my doctors always put it down to anxiety and I wasn’t one to question their expertise. As I got older, my stomach problems worsened and – by my late twenties – I struggled with extreme discomfort which sometimes made it impossible to work or exercise.

However, I ploughed on and continued to eat what I wanted, smoke 20 cigarettes a day and drink every weekend. Although I wasn’t doing my body any favours at all, I just didn’t have the motivation to eat healthier or cut down on alcohol.

Then, towards the end of 2016, my friends and I went on a trip to Dublin. We had a great time exploring the city, surviving on burgers and chips, and drinking Guinness to our heart’s content but I think it was those three days of letting loose that finally tipped my stomach problems over the edge.

The warning signs

When we returned and I began to notice blood in my stools, I realised this was more than stress and anxiety. Within a few days, I was struggling with uncontrollable urgency and couldn’t leave the house. I was just 27 at the time but I was constantly rushing to the loo, my stomach pain returned tenfold, and I had crippling fatigue. A small part of me wondered if I had cancer and that’s when I decided to return to my GP and push for an answer.

Still, they didn’t take me very seriously and said my problems were down to a lack of fibre in my diet. I left that appointment armed with fibre sachets and still wracked with anxiety about my stomach problems. I gave the fibre sachets a try and yet my symptoms simply worsened. The blood in my stools grew from a few specks to a pool of red and I was too anxious to leave the house, unable to work and eventually convinced myself I was going to die.

Finally a colonoscopy

Once more, I returned to my GP and they referred me for a colonoscopy. I had the procedure after an anxious six months and was finally diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. While it was incredibly relieving to have a diagnosis, it wasn’t something that I wanted many people to know. My gut condition and bowel habits weren’t exactly topics I was eager to discuss with my mates over a few pints.

My GP referred me to a nutritionist who gave me a low-fibre diet plan which included cornflakes and Rich Tea biscuits and I was prescribed Mesalazine, a medication for IBD. I made some tweaks to my diet, quit smoking, cut down on the drinking and ploughed on. My diet was still heavily processed and I didn’t really cook but for a while everything was fine.

Then three years later, the medication stopped working and the blood in my stools returned more severely. I was completely shocked when my doctor asked if I’d consider surgery to remove part of my bowel and that gave me the motivation I needed to overhaul my diet and lifestyle.

After six months of research and experimentation, I was finally symptom-free and able to come off my medication. It was a massive relief and completely life-changing – especially as I lived without symptoms for the next three years. This journey inspired me to train as a health coach with Health Coaches Academy and I now help others living with IBD and other gut conditions as The Gut Coach.

The term ‘gut health’ meant nothing to me

Until my diagnosis, I never prioritised my diet and the term “gut health” meant very little to me. The same is true for lots of young men who think a diet of chicken nuggets, chips and beer is sufficient. I’ll admit that immersing myself in the world of nutrition and gut health was strange and confusing at first, but everything I’ve learnt has helped me.

If my story resonates with you, and you are keen to improve your gut health but don’t know where to start, this is everything that I did:

My seven tips to improve your gut health if you’re an unhealthy man

1. Learn how cook

Preparing my meals from scratch is one of the best things I learnt to do for my gut health. Until my late twenties, I relied on a diet of meal deals, protein shakes, fast food and chicken goujons. All of these foods contain artificial ingredients that didn’t agree with me and worsened my symptoms. Even if you don’t have a gut condition, we know that ultra-processed foods aren’t healthy or good for us.

By learning to prepare and cook my meals from scratch, I identified the whole foods and ingredients that nourish my gut and help me to feel good. It’s not a skill that I mastered overnight but through trial and error I now have a wide selection of recipes and meals that I know are beneficial.

2. Buy fruit and vegetables

As mentioned, my diet used to be incredibly beige and I didn’t tend to eat fruit or vegetables unless they were included in a meal deal sandwich or blended into a protein shake.

Over the years, I’ve started incorporating fruit and vegetables into my diet. Interestingly, some of them actually aggravated or worsened my symptoms – particularly raw vegetables which are high in fibre. Now, I eat blueberries because they’re rich in antioxidants to fight inflammation, carrots because they’re great for immune and gut support, courgette because it’s gentle and easy to digest, and papaya because it’s packed with digestive enzymes. If you’re not used to eating fruit and vegetables, you could start by blitzing them into pasta sauces, smoothies or soups.

3. Stop buying meal deals

While preparing all my food from scratch was daunting initially, I realised over time that it didn’t need to be complicated. Nowadays I tend to fast in the morning as it helps my gut to rest and recover. This means my first meal tends to be around lunchtime and, if my wife, Lauren, has been kind enough to bake some sourdough, I’ll usually have avocado or scrambled eggs on toast.

Sourdough contains prebiotic fibres that nourish the beneficial bacteria in the gut and is much better for me than a meal deal sandwich or pasta pot. Avocado and eggs are both good sources of healthy fats which can help to reduce inflammation in the gut.

4. Swap cheap chicken for organic meat

When planning for the week ahead, I used to rely on chicken goujons, sausages and packets of ham for quick and convenient lunches and dinners. However I’ve realised the importance of investing in high-quality, organic protein sources such as grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chicken for my gut health.

Cheap processed meats are more likely to contain pesticide residues and other harmful chemicals which can disrupt the gut microbiome. The same is true with cheaper fruits and vegetables. While I appreciate it’s a luxury to shop organic, I prioritise high-quality protein sources to protect my gut and preserve the balance of beneficial gut bacteria.

5. Ditch the seed oils

For a while, I cooked with vegetable and seed oils without a second thought. They were the obvious choice, cheap and convenient.

However, from my research, I’ve found these are highly processed and loaded with omega-6 fats that can aggravate inflammation. They can damage the gut lining over time which may contribute to chronic issues. Rather than relying on vegetable oil, I switched this for coconut oil, grass-fed butter and ghee. These are far more stable and I find them to be much more supportive of gut healing. I use olive oil as a dressing rather than cooking with it.

6. Ease off the weight-lifting

I used to prioritise weight-lifting above all else – to the point where it became an unhealthy obsession. No matter how I felt, I would go to the gym every morning and always pushed myself to the extreme. Although I believed this was making me healthier, actually it put a huge amount of strain on my body and worsened my fatigue.

Exercise is still a priority for me but now I focus on moving for enjoyment and getting healthier rather than trying to build strength and muscle. My wife and I love spending time outside whether we’re running, walking or hiking. At home, I have a TRX suspension training set and use it for bodyweight workouts involving push-ups and pull-ups. In the past, my exercise objectives revolved around increasing my weights and becoming more hench but I’ve realised that the gym isn’t the be-all and end-all.

7. Embrace meditation and breathwork

In my twenties, my friend and I went travelling. When we arrived in Thailand, we realised we both had very different agendas. I couldn’t wait to explore the local party scene while he was there to visit monasteries and improve his meditation practice – a world I’d never really been immersed in.

Fast-forward to now and I’ve finally embraced the powers of meditation and breathwork for stress relief and improving my mindset. I know people are still very sceptical of these practices but I’d urge you to give them a try. Studies show a link between stress management and a reduction in IBD symptoms. There’s nothing better than starting each day with a quick meditation session to ease anxiety, sharpen your focus and learn to embrace a positive mindset.