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These are my personal goals for 2026. Share them in case you want to steal them.
You are exhausted.
I know that because I was once too.
You tried the January revisions.
The restrictive detoxes.
The complicated protocols that hijack your agenda and your mental workload.
You tried it all, and nothing stuck.
Here’s what I want you to know: 2026 doesn’t have to be more of the same.
This year can be about simplicity, sustainability and systems that deliver real progress in gut health.
No extremes. No protocols that make you feel like gut healing is a full-time job. Just actionable, consistent practices that really work.
And here’s the best part: I’ll do every gut goal with you, month after month.
[Because I need this, too. My gut healing journey didn’t end when my symptoms improved—it’s ongoing, just like yours.]
You’re safe here. We do this together. And it will feel lighter than anything you’ve tried before.
Overview
To summarize the below, here precisely what I will do in 2026:
- One monthly intestinal experiment
- Three daily gratitudes
- Mobility as fitness
And then a bonus, if you want more >>> Choose your own adventure: optional extra objectives [all of which I have done/still do and have reaped massive benefits from].
So that’s it all, broken down.
Click HERE to save this list for later.
The Monthly Guts Experiment: Your New Favorite Gut Health Practice
This is the centerpiece of my year. Something I alluded to in my weekly newsletter.
In 2026 I will conduct a Gutsy Experiment every month.
These are 1 to 3 day gut health experiments with the main goal of sharing, learning and discovery.
No obligation that overwhelms. No protocol shame spiral.
Every experiment is just that: an experiment. One in which I will collect data about my own body.
Why this works
Your brain needs small victories. This creates consistency.
When you commit to something for 1-3 days instead of 30 or 90 days, it feels safe. Manageable. Like something you can actually do.
And when are you ready? That dopamine hit of achievement makes you want to keep going.
These experiments also encourage tracking, which fits perfectly with the ‘stop guessing’ approach at the heart of everything we do here. A brave girl.
You don’t just do things blindly; you observe, notice and learn.
Moreover, there is community.
When women come together every month and share their experiences and results, momentum builds.
It makes you feel less alone.
Here’s what I’m going to experiment with
Every month I conduct the experiment, give you all the information and share my personal results.
I came up with 18 of them. I’ll do one every month (maybe more, if I’m super excited!)
Here is a list of my top 18 experiments to try [12 of which I’ll do for sure]:
- Eat local, not “safe” (3 days): [January in Vietnam]
- 1L water for any coffee
- Fiber bump challenge: Increase fiber by 5g daily for 3 days (starting at 25g)
- Walk for 15 minutes after each meal
- 3 days of 100% strict Keto
- Test of raw garlic cloves
- Castor oil pack on stomach overnight
- 1 day liquid fasting
- Raw carrot salad daily for 3 days
- What my Lumen tracker told me after 3 days of tracking
- Protein Bump Challenge: Increase protein by 7g per day for 3 days (starting at 96g)
- Chew each bite 20 times for 2 days
- Drink an “Adrenal Cocktail” that I make every day for 3 days upon waking
- 10 minutes of meditation every morning for 3 days
- Probiotic mega dose for 48 hours
- Mouth taping every evening for 3 nights
- Lemon water first thing in the morning + last thing before bed, every day for 3 days
- Jump rope for 10 minutes a day for 3 days
Click HERE to save these ideas for later.
How it all works
Each month I will share the experiment upon completion.
I’ll tell you exactly what I did, why I did it, and what my personal results were with you – the good, the bad, and the “well, that was weird.”
My goal is to share the “during” via Instagram, TikTok and/or YouTube.
I don’t know yet what I’m going to do every month, except for January.
I know Certainly I do more than 3 days> Eat local, not “safe” while in Vietnam. And that’s what I’m going to do prove for you it is like eating while you are on vacation (especially in another country) the only to go away!
Okay, moving on……
Three Daily Gratitudes: The Gut-Brain Reset You’re Skipping
I can hear some of you groaning already. “Gratitude? Really, Sarah?”
Yes. Real.
But not because it’s fluff.
Because nervous system health is just as important as food choices when it comes to gut healing.
Gratitude is not a woo-woo. It is the regulation of the nervous system. It improves vagal tone, which has a direct impact on digestion.
It’s a small, daily way to break the health anxiety cycle that so many of us get stuck in.
When you’re hyper-focused on the symptoms, you train your brain to notice everything that’s wrong.
Gratitude retrains your brain to notice improvements.
And for those of us who have been experiencing symptom fatigue for years, that’s vital.
How to actually do this
Write three expressions of gratitude in your mind per day Gut healing diary. [Or in your phone notes. Or on a sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Whatever works.]
Just in case you want to know precisely how i do this, here you go:
- I bought THIS notebook. [I had a similar one for 2025, in which I documented a year of quotes. So fun to have these now!]
- Every day I write THREE things I am grateful for noted during that day. Not things from a year ago. And not the things I hope for. Things that were And Are in the here and now.
I encourage at least one gut-specific gratitude daily.
Things like:
- “I had lunch without pain.”
- “I wasn’t bloated when I woke up.”
- “I had normal bowel movements today.”
- “My skin looks brighter this week.”
These are not small things.
They are proof that your body is healing.
And writing them down creates a record of progress that you can look back on during the tougher weeks.
These can then be converted into yours personal gut healing mantras.
Mobility as fitness: the movement that your intestines actually need
If you’re still doing high-intensity workouts when your gut is inflamed and your cortisol is through the roof, I want you to stop.
Serious. THIS is why your workouts keep you bloated and miserable.
I stopped, and everything improved drastically.
So I got mine training cadence to a ‘T.’
But now? Now I want to grow and evolve with general mobility.
Mobility for me [+ always strength!!!] is fitness in 2026.
It’s a low-stress, high-benefit movement that supports digestion, lymphatic flow, and vagal tone.
It’s perfect for the woman who’s exhausted, inflamed, and pressed for time – which is most of us.
Why this is important for gut healing
Mobility supports mobility.
[source]
And yes, I will be writing about this concept in 2026.
Mobility reduces inflammation.
It improves blood flow to your digestive organs.
It helps regulate cortisol.
And it improves breathing mechanisms, which affects your breathing vagus nervewhich affects digestion.
You don’t have to run marathons or take boot camp classes to be healthy.
You need movement that supports your body’s healing, not movement that further stresses it.
Integrate mobility
Honestly?
I do some research and create a routine for myself.
The goal is to start with just 5-10 minutes in the morning and evening and during/around workouts.
And build from there.
While you can do this without equipment [and I will do a lot of bodyweight things]I’ll probably plan mine to also use foam rollers, massage balls, lacrosse balls, resistance bands, etc.
Choose your own adventure: optional additional objectives
These are completely optional.
You don’t have to do them all.
You don’t even have to do them.
But if someone speaks to you, lean into them.
[All of the below are ones I have done and/or still do to this day for optimal gut health. Sharing so that you know they are tried, tested, and true.]
Gut basics for 2026
If you want a simple foundation to build on, focus on these:
- Hydration plus minerals [electrolytes]
- Blood sugar basics: eat protein and fat with carbs, don’t spike and crash all day
- Morning sunlight [or Red Light Therapy] within 30 minutes of waking up
- Meal spacing– don’t graze all day, which gives your tractor engine complex time to do its work.
These are my functional foundations. They’re not sexy. Or hip. But they work.
Monthly tracking system
This is the “stop guessing, start following” bit that I keep coming back to.
Track foods. Inflated patterns. Changes in stool (yes, really). Hormone symptoms. Stress and sleep.
The Gut healing diary makes this easy because it’s mine proven system that is already ready for you, but you can also use a simple note-taking app or a spreadsheet.
The size doesn’t matter, the consistency does.
Foods You’ll Be Leaning To in 2026
Think about the categories you want to focus on:
- High fiber foods
- Egg white
- Low-FODMAP-friendly staples
- Probiotic rich choices
- Pantry essentials that make gut-friendly eating easier
Because me live These things give me a lot of resources to help you if you want to focus on any of these things.
Lifestyle components
There are 3 pillars for ultimate intestinal healing: diagnosis, diet and lifestyle.
Lifestyle is the one you work on for the rest of your life.
It is simple and complete not simple.
But focusing on it changed my healing journey dramatically.
Ideas to consider:
Test and basic data
For my high-achieving women who want to know their numbers heading into the year:
Consider obtaining basic data.
You don’t have to do all this. But having objective data can be incredibly helpful, especially if you’ve been guessing for years.
[I run labs on myself regularly, and I always learn something new. It’s not about perfection—it’s about information.]
You don’t need a major overhaul
You need micro-habits practiced consistently, with a community that understands you.
By the end of 2026, women who follow this example will move the needle.
From symptomatic to supported.
From overwhelmed to control.
That’s the goal.
Follow along.
Start your easiest, most lasting gut-healing year yet.
You don’t have to do this alone. And you don’t have to do it perfectly.
You just have to start.
If you liked this article, you might also like:
- 36 New Year’s Resolutions That Have Nothing to Do with Weight Loss
- New Year’s Journal Prompts [getting clear on your healing journey]
- 11 Gut Healing New Year Goals to Set
XXX,
S.K.H
ps Do you want more structure and support? The 21-day rapid intestinal detox gives you a complete meal plan, gut healing protocols, and personal access to me for questions. And I just dropped the price from $97 > $49.
💃ʜᴇᴀʟ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢᴜᴛ. ʜᴇᴀʟ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟɪfe.
🫶🏻 Founder gutbyome.com
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