How to Have the Best Poop of Your Life

These eight simple habits can help you go from argh to ahhh

Denise Maher,

AARP

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Published February 05, 2026

colorful illustration in a board-game style showing people running and walking along a toilet-paper path toward a central toilet. The path features a kiwi, a bean, and a barbell, representing habits like high-fiber foods and exercise for better digestion

Liam Eisenberg

Whether you call it the runs or the trots, being backed up or bunged up, irregular bowel movements are no joke. There’s no silver lining to pooping too much or too little, and no bright side to the symptoms that irregularity can cause. Cramping, nausea and an urgent need to go tend to occur with diarrhea, while bloating, abdominal pain and gas come with constipation.

You may become a little more sedentary with age, but your colon doesn’t suddenly retire, says Dr. Trisha Pasricha, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “However, as they get older, people develop more and more conditions and start to go on more medications,” she says. Common prescription medications that treat high blood pressure and other midlife issues may trigger diarrhea or constipation.

Schedule shifts cramp regularity

Routines and cooking habits often change in midlife as households shrink due to an empty nest, divorce or other life changes, says registered dietitian nutritionist Angel Planells, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

There are at least 2.5 million doctor visits for constipation in the United States each year, according to the American College of Gastroenterology. Most episodes of acute diarrhea in this country are uncomplicated and self-limited, usually resolved with a quick fix. The good news: In most cases, you can improve irregular bowel movements with lifestyle tweaks and new habits.

Want easy, smooth, reliable, poops? We’ve collected eight steps that will keep your digestive system humming, your gut healthy and your poop A-OK.

1. Identify, then avoid, the common culprits

Caffeine, alcohol, fried foods and sugar-free gum and mints, as well as food sensitivities to dairy or gluten, may loosen stools. Combine ultra-processed foods (hello Cheesy Gordita Crunch) with low (or no) fiber and you’ll really clog things up.

2. Find more fiber in kiwifruit, peas and whole grains

“Fiber, fiber, fiber,” says Timothy Michael Vavra, an internist at Loyola University Medical Center. “Keep the fiber up and you’ll keep the bowels moving,” he tells patients.

Most of us think we eat enough fiber to meet the 25-to-30-grams daily dietary recommendation, says Dr. Brijen Shah, professor of medicine and gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Yet, in truth, the average American gets only about half that much.

Take a close look at your day-to-day diet and you’ll find room for improvements. For example, you may know that legumes like beans pack a powerful fiber punch; don’t forget about lentils and chickpeas. One half cup of cooked lentils or chickpeas delivers 7.8 or 6.2 grams, respectively. Swap green beans for cooked peas and you’ll double the grams of fiber you’re getting. Or swap in pearl barley (6 grams per cup) for brown rice (3.5 grams per cup).Dates and prunes get props, but they can cause bloating, which kiwifruit won’t do, according to Pasricha, who is also author of the forthcoming You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong: How to Make Your Bowel Movements a Joy. In fact, eating two green kiwifruit a day can take care of constipation and abdominal discomfort, according to a study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Pasricha also recommends snacking on nuts such as almonds and cashews. Increase fiber intake slowly, and make sure to hydrate, she warns, or you’ll experience GI distress.

More fiber is a win for your whole body. Besides relieving constipation, a high-fiber diet helps lower cholesterol and reduces the risk for heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer.

3. Walk more, lift more

Irregularity often stems from lifestyle issues, such as a lack of physical activity, according to Dr. Tanvi Dhere, associate professor in the department of digestive diseases at Emory University Medical School. Whether you walk, run or play pickleball, aim to move your body every day.

“If you're always active, things will move so much better because you're stimulating everything,” says Vavra.

It makes sense that cardio helps boost your body’s systems and digestive function, but some emerging data about conditioning is intriguing. Research suggests that strength training may boost good bacteria and change the microbiome in positive ways, potentially leading to better gut health. What’s more, the researchers note, these intestinal improvements were particularly seen in sedentary people who got stronger during the course of the study.

4. Prioritize sleep

If you want to be regular in your bathroom habits, stick to good sleeping habits. “The regularity of our GI system is very much connected to our circadian rhythm, or sleep-wake cycle,” says Shah.

“Our sleep schedule is very important for keeping the body regular,” Planells concurs.

5. Stay in tune with your body and stick to a schedule

Don’t suppress the urge to move your bowels, says Planells. If you have to go, but you don’t, you teach your body to ignore its signals and hold it in, which will contribute to constipation.

By the same token, if you eat at the same times every day, you will likely have bowel movements at the same time, partially because you’ve conditioned yourself to do so.

6. Use gentle help when needed

While it is usually better to get fiber directly from food, it is not always possible. Psyllium husk supplements (sold over the counter as Benefiber, Fiberall and Metamucil) are mild, slow-acting, natural laxatives that can both bulk up loose stools and soften hard ones.

“Stick to the over-the-counter psyllium-based products,” says Vavra, explaining that misuse of some laxative stimulants may lead to long-term digestive problems.

7. Manage stress

Everyone is a little different, but stress plays a big role in both diarrhea and constipation, says Pasricha.

Changes in your stress level can give you an immediate urge to go, or they can slow down your digestion for months. “Studies show that both daily meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy are good for your gut,” says Pasricha. “Done consistently, they can help normalize people's bowel habits over time.”

And, of course, exercise is wonderful for stress, she says, because it releases neurotransmitters, endocannabinoids and endorphins, all of which support your gut health.

8. Change your position

For those who are constipated, some find relief using a Squatty Potty, also called a defecation posture modification device, or a similar product. One study published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology found that 90 percent of those in the study strained less and 71 percent had faster bowel movements. (The company provided the products but did not design the study or fund the research.) The 52 subjects in the study were medical residents, so not an older population, and they self-reported their results, but it may be worth trying one of the products or placing your feet on a low stool while using the toilet.

When to Talk to Your Doctor

Some symptoms should be addressed by a medical professional.

See one if you have…

Dramatic changes in the stool
Blood in stool
Unintentional weight loss
Diarrhea in the middle of the night
Chronic diarrhea or chronic constipation
Difficulty moving your bowels without a laxative

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Denise Maher is a reporter, writer and editor who covers integrative medicine, reproductive health, chronic pain, autoimmune disease and other consumer health topics. Her work has been published in Everyday Health, HealthCentral, Reader’s Digest, Men’s Health, Self and more.