What Your Poop Can Tell You About Digestion (and Why It Matters for Weight Loss, Bloating, and Energy)

Let’s be real: talking about poop isn’t exactly glamorous. But if you’re dealing with chronic bloating, low energy, or frustrating weight loss plateaus, your stool might be holding the answers your bloodwork missed.

When it comes to gut health, your digestive system is constantly sending signals—and the GI MAP test is one of the most powerful tools I use with clients to decode them. It gives us real, detailed insight into how well your body is breaking down and absorbing food—something no food journal or elimination diet can show.

So what can your poop tell us about digestion?

1. Are You Producing Enough Digestive Enzymes?

One of the key digestive markers on the GI MAP is Elastase-1, which tells us how well your pancreas is producing digestive enzymes. These enzymes help break down proteins, fats, and carbs. When this marker is low, it’s a sign that your body isn’t digesting food properly—which can lead to bloating, nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, and even weight loss resistance.

Optimally, I want all clients to be >500!

Why it matters: Without enough enzymes, food can sit in your gut and ferment, creating gas and inflammation. Plus, your body misses out on the nutrients it needs to fuel your metabolism, hormones, and energy levels.

Ways to support enzyme production:

• Eat bitter foods before meals (arugula, dandelion, radicchio)

• Drink apple cider vinegar or lemon water 10–15 minutes before eating

• Chew thoroughly and eat slowly to activate digestive signals

• Make sure you're eating enough protein—the pancreas needs amino acids to make enzymes

• Manage stress (high cortisol can suppress digestive function)

• Balance blood sugar—swings in blood sugar can impair enzyme output

• Address underlying infections seen on the GI MAP (like H. pylori, which can suppress stomach acid and disrupt enzyme activity)

2. Are You Breaking Down and Absorbing Fats?

Another critical digestive marker on the GI MAP is Steatocrit, which shows if you’re excreting undigested fat in your stool. High steatocrit can indicate that you’re not breaking down fats properly—usually due to sluggish bile flow or poor pancreatic enzyme output.

*We want to see steatocrit at 0 (this client is showing 8% of her stool is made up of fat)

Why it matters: Healthy fat digestion is essential for absorbing vitamins A, D, E, and K, supporting hormone production, fueling your brain, and keeping energy stable. Poor fat absorption can leave you bloated, tired, and hormonally imbalanced.

Ways to support bile flow and fat digestion:

• Eat bitter foods like beets, artichokes, and mustard greens

• Add healthy fats in moderation (avocado, olive oil, coconut oil)

• Use herbs like milk thistle, dandelion root, and ginger to stimulate bile

• Stay hydrated (bile needs fluid to flow properly)

• Support liver health—your liver produces bile, so reducing alcohol, toxins, and processed foods can help

• Address pathogens or dysbiosis found on the GI MAP (some bacteria can impair bile flow)

• Optimize your meal timing and posture—rushing through meals or eating under stress can shut down bile secretion

Bottom line: If you’re bloated, fatigued, and feel like your metabolism has stalled, your symptoms could be linked to poor digestion—not a lack of willpower or the wrong workout.

The GI MAP gives us a window into what your body is actually doing with the food you eat. And when digestion improves? So does energy, bloat, and your ability to lose weight.

This is exactly what I help clients uncover and correct using GI MAP testing and personalized gut protocols.

Want to learn more about how the GI Map works and how it can help you? Check out my in-depth blog post on the GI Map test here!

If you are looking for professional support to dive deeper into your specific health needs (metabolism, gut health, chronic inflammation), I'm here to help! Fill out my application here!