T2Andrew

I had some itching issues during my W30 that I was able to identify by eliminating suspect (W30 compliant) sources and the symptoms took several days to subside. I've been doing a slow roll re-intro over the past 8+ weeks because I feel that a single day of re-intro eating followed by two days of observation isn't enough time for (my) system to exhibit symptoms to problem foods. For me, it has taken several days to a week or more of accumulation before definitive reactions are realized. I feel there is a fault in the W30 re-intro template, as just one day of eating would yield noticeable symptoms to only those with significant sensitivities to a certain food, before moving on to the next. That short of a span could cause some to miss the opportunity to identify the potential issue that they are doing the program for in the first place. Take your time with reintroduction. Don't let the program think you can do it quicker than you need to.

Are you looking to do a Half 30, or a Whole 23, etc..., and / or a fast re-intro, to accommodate a weekend of partying? That's up to you, if the party is that important. However, in the context of the W30 thirty day philosophy, anything less would give potentially less than accurate results. That said, from my experience, I feel that the W30 10 day & 14 day re-intro templates are bound to offer misleading results as well. The W30 reintroduction plan assumes that one will notice adverese reactions of a general food group in just one day. This may be true for some and may be true for many, but I do not believe for all. By this ideal, the W30 program would have me believing that I have no problems with any of the food groups tested, and that is not my reality! In my reintroduction (I'm 56 days beyond my W30 trial), I've realized that I can tolerate, without adverse symptoms, any of the food groups, even the one's that I have issues with. I don't get symptoms that send me reeling in one day, but rather manifest gradually after several days or a week of consumption. If you do not want to lose what you've invested thus far, you'll find a way to enjoy the party and be compliant with the program. If the party is priority, restart the program after the big weekend.

My own six-week re-intro plan has turned into an open-ended plan. Instead of testing 'a food group', I am testing individual variables of that group, ie; different rices and different grains rather than a one day grain re-intro. I am also testing over multiple days versus just one day. My thought is - what if one day of testing yields no adverse effects, yet effects accumulate over time (inflamed joints). My recovery intervals are longer than suggested - by choice. Over the holidays, I indulged in different things outside of the plan, noted their effect, recalibrate, resume. No need for a round two for me.

Carbs -morning v. evening FODMAP - high v. low Increase good fats consumption Pre/post workout choices Fueling for high activities In my opinion, the bullet ideas of the original post could be considered an extension of the re-intro phase of a post W30. The purpose of reintroducing certain foods / food groups is to discover what works for one's own Food Freedom plan, and that process may include testing other variables as well. If you did well on your original W30, and did not revert to bad eating habits, just keep going with a re-intro mindset and test your new ideas one at a time to see how they improve your condition. Making a lot of changes at once for a round two will not tell you what worked the best if results are different. I have not experimented with FODMAP, morning/evening carbs, but do know that increasing my healthy fats intake worked great for me. While egg has some fat, avocado has more. My go-to fats include avocado, almonds, flaked coconut... every day.

Good plan!

Watch out for teas with chamomile, as that is related to ragweed as well.

My recipe for unsweetened flaked coconut, is that it is great on salads, fruit, and anything else!

W30 doesn't have to be as complicated / expensive as pinterest & cookbooks make it seem. I did great with basic, simple cooking and even spent LESS in those thirty days than the previous as I didn't succumb to mindless eating and snack purchases. I remember being that age - some 40 years ago, and my body could tolerate eating crap and not healthy much better than I can now.

Welcome to the club! A perspective about cooking so much that many seem to tire from, is that for (at least) 30 days, you have an opportunity to look at cooking as how it directly affects your health rather than as a tiresome chore! Good luck!

In the spirit of W30 elimination / re-intro, sometime in the future, you need to replicate the circumstances to determine if its the soy or the inlaws that affected you that way! Jus sayin'...

Possibly. I'm allergic to soy and have been avoiding it for so long, I forget how I react to it. What's the difference between inlaws and outlaws?... Outlaws are wanted!

I had an interesting allergic response on my recent W30. For a couple of months prior, I was getting severe itching on my ankles, shins and thighs. Research suggested that is possible for diabetics with high blood sugar levels, but my levels have been fine. A few days after starting W30, I started getting skin irritation and itching on my shoulders, chest and back. I read about it being caused by toxins of former crap foods being released from the body. And I got this before adding coconut oil and avacado to my meals, plus they haven't tested positive on my last allergy test. Research put me on to the idea of a food allergy, but what? I first eliminated avocado and coconut for a few days, then reintroduced them one at a time - nothing changed. Previous allergy boards indicated a low sensitivity to eggs, so I stopped them for a few days - no change. By now, I had crazy-bad itching all over my body! Eventually, I started looking closer at my high sensitivities to long & short ragweed. Then I found articles linking melons and other foods to ragweed allergies, so I stopped eating it. Within two days the itching stopped. Melons are out, bummer, as I really liked them and never had problems with them before. They never even showed up on my past allergies report. After that discovery, I found that teas with chamomile would trigger itching on my arms and chamomile is related to ragweed as well, so that's out too. All of this happened in the first two weeks of my W30, and took well past day 30 for my skin to heal from the scarring. Even my foot itching has disappeared! In the spring, I plan to do another trial with these trigger foods to see if there is a seasonal variable involved, as ragweed in prevalent in the late fall. Dig in to your allergy report and look at what each item is related to. Google 'food allergies and cross-reactivity'. Good luck!

Put the cookbooks back on the shelf. Embrace your own creativity! Discover the pleasure of simple cooking. This time around, use veggies and things that you were turned off by before.

Or, what I use... "I can have xyz anytime I want - just not today!"

In my opinion, you could use more healthy fats in your meals, not just from the cooking oils. What worked for me as my system transitioned from grain carbs to fats for fuel energy, was introducing more fats into my meals. It helped to give me more energy thru out the day, curbed my between meal snacking desire, and alleviated my mid morning sugar lows. In addition to my meals, I have a half avocado for two of three meals and unsweetened coconut flakes with chopped almonds on top of two of three meals. Two cooked eggs with breakfast and a hardboiled egg at some other meal in the day.