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Wrapped up my first Whole30 in October and reintroduced legumes on Oct 31st: peanut butter, hummus and black beans — probably 2T of each. I thought it would be an easy first re-intro because I didn’t think these foods bothered me... (haaaa) That day I was super bloated, the next day I had small dry, itchy patches on my ear lobes and a couple bumps around my wrist/forearm area which has turned into a rash that has gotten worse and moved to other areas every day since. It is currently covering my ears, arms, neck and most of my face. It has been 6 days since I reintroduced legumes. I’ve stuck to a Whole30 diet since reintroduction day. I’ve applied tea tree oil with jojoba or coconut oil and Benadryl cream which helps the itching and inflammation but doesn’t make it go away, and taken Benadryl at night which hasn’t lessened the rash. Logging my experience since in case anyone searching for something similar can read — and wondering if anyone else has experienced symptoms lasting this long and getting worse everyday. Starting to worry that something else is going on, with terrible timing! Thanks!

What are some of the negative effects to be mindful of when reintroducing legumes? I was careful to not reintroduce too many today, but wondering what to look out for.

So on day 31 there is a restaurant I'm going to that serves homemade fries. They are made in soybean oil and their chicken is cooked in a combination of oils including corn oil. I was wondering what kind of food group am I reintroducing here? Is it legumes? If I'm eating fries, does that mean I can eat any kind of fries? (say if I had hash browns or heated up some frozen fries for lunch or fast food fries, etc..)

I began whole 30, not for weight loss, but rather because of stomach pain... Before whole 30, I would eat a homemade Ham & Bean soup with no pain... Yesterday, I started reintroducing legumes and had some of said soup... However, by the end of the evening, I wound up with such pain in my stomach and I felt so sick! The only difference to the recipe -- I used dried beans instead of canned. Even though the beans were soaked overnight, and were cooking for hours and hours, the beans never really softened. Could this be the reason I had the stomach pain? Perhaps my stomach couldn't digest the beans because they were not soft enough??? Any thoughts? Thanks in advance! ~ Sheri

Hi everyone, I couldn't find this in the book or in other posts. I know that I'm supposed to only add one food group per day and to not eat legumes again when I test grains, for instance. But should I keep my meals template compliant on the reintroduction days? For instance, I'm thinking of using chana masala (this recipe, one of my favourite dishes) for dinner on my legumes reintroduction day, though without rice, obviously. I'm not sure how much protein the chickpeas contain, but it is undoubtably less than a palm sized piece of meat. So should I eat more protein on the side? (Usually I wouldn't do so when eating this dish.) And should I still pay attention that my meals contain enough fat as well?

Hi Whole30 friends! I took 9 total days to reintroduce several different legumes (peanuts, soy, black beans) and had NO problems. I have now started reintroducing non-gluten grains. I ate white rice yesterday. So today is a clean eating day and there is a soup in the cafe I want to try...lemon ginger split-pea soup. All the ingredients are compliant, obviously the split peas are a legume. So my question is two fold - first, if I had no trouble with the three legumes I already reintroduced, do I really need a separate day for split peas or is it fair to assume all legumes are fine? and second...how important is it to eat 100% whole30 clean between reintroduction days? Is it okay to eat whole30 clean plus foods that you have found to be not a problem for you?

Today is my first day of reintroduction. I started by adding cannellini beans to my breakfast and hummus to my lunch. I’ve noticed a little gassiness but wonder, doesn’t everyone experience that with beans? If it’s mild, is that normal or a reaction?

R1D31 from my Lenten Whole30 and I started the reintroduction with legumes: hummus included with breakfast... didn’t have any negative effects YES! I miss hummus and chickpeas in general peanut butter (Kraft Crunchy my regular) included with lunch... oh oh... within 30 minutes severe diarrhoea, stomach cramps and a strange reaction (to me anyway) of intense muscle pain in my right upper shoulder radiating up into my neck to behind my ear. Not pleasant definitely not worth it! peas included with dinner... within 30 minutes some stomach twinges, return of the shoulder/neck pain, a brief headache and 3 hours after eating, I was ravenous and started snacking without control! I have a couple of questions... 1. Is it possible to not have a reaction to a specific legume while having various levels of reactions to others? After the reintroduction phase, I would definitely like to include chickpeas as a part of my weekly meals as a vegetarian alternative. 2. Would it be wise to do a redo reintroduction of plain peanuts to make sure it wasn’t the added ingredients that cause my reactions? i would do this as a slow roll following the fast track outline. 3. Is the muscle pain reaction normal? Thanks for any insights

Has anyone reintroduced legumes and had insomnia as a side effect? Yesterday was my first reintroduction day, and then I woke up at 3:30 with anxiety and a panic attack. That's not atypical for me, but it hasn't happened in a couple months. Yesterday, I ate: Pre/post workout: apple and peanut butter Breakfast: two eggs and sweet potato hash cooked in olive oil Lunch: three hardboiled eggs and sweet potato hash (I ran out of veggies) Snack: apple Dinner: Chipotle bowl: black beans, barbacoa, peppers/onions, tomato and hot salsas, guac, and lettuce. I know not all the chipotle ingredients are not whole30 compliant (e.g., barbacoa and peppers and onions are cooked in rice bran oil), but from what I've read about reintroduction, it seems okay not to adhere to the super-strict rules. I welcome your thoughts!

I just finished my second Whole30 on Tuesday. Last time I did the Whole30 I did not properly follow a reintroduction plan, so this time I'm following the one in the book to a T. The first thing I have reintroduced is legumes. I had peanut butter with my breakfast, hummus with my lunch and black beans with dinner. The next morning I woke up with skin irritation around my mouth, I was itchy and red all day and it has continued to this morning (the second day after I reintroduced the legumes). Since it's not gone today I'm wondering if maybe it could be more because of the external environment (spring allergies). Has anyone else had this reaction? Also I'm wondering if this was caused by all the different types of legumes I ate or if just one is doing it. THANK YOU!

Hi there, I am seriously considering doing a family Whole 30 but I have a burning question which I have not seen answered in It Starts with Food or the Whole 30 book. The premise of the book/method is to find a foundation for health, not weight loss or ....., but health. If I was to mimic a diet of a people group who are the most healthy, you would look in the Blue Zones who have a reputation for long life and a lack of disease. My query is, if I look at these people groups, they all eat foods which are not Whole30 compliant, eg. rice, legumes, grains. True health it seems is not linked to specific foods, but a lifestyle of one which involves movement, sunshine, lack of stress, whole foods made from scratch and community/togetherness. My family does not have any health concerns so if my long term intention is to reintroduce some of these foods into our diet, is a Whole30 worth the planning, expense and rules based lifestyle for a month for other reasons? I am a foodie who loves all things food and the thought of cutting out whole food groups, even for a month seems extreme, but I would do it for a challenge, if nothing else. I get why people would do it as a guided elimination diet, but I don't see it as long term or necessary for good health. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance, Corrie

I have looked for tempeh, but it seems they have grains in them, and at the minimum there is rice. Does anyone know of any tempeh that is simply fermented soy? Where do you get it? Also, as a vegetarian for 20 years, I have tried to avoid soy products like soy milk, edamame, and tofu due to some research linking soy to thyroid issues, increased risk of breast cancer, and messing with menses. Anyone else try avoiding soy? I have heard/read in quite a few places that fermented soy doesn't carry those same risks- like tempeh, soy sauce, and miso...(Is miso on the list to eat?) So putting tofu on my list of options doesn't make me really comfortable. I'll probably have it one time. For protein, I normally eat a lot of beans, (as well as cheese and nuts), but I see in the REAL whole30, beans are not on the list of acceptable food. I know it is an exception for vegetarians, but I want to make sure I get the most out of these thirty days. Should I add beans but try to limit them? Or just not worry about it? What have you done? I do eat eggs, but three meals a day of eggs for thirty days...it just won't cut it. And of course, I'll have kefir and full fat yogurt, but how often? I am kind of rambling in this post...Here are the main points!! 1. Where do you get grainless Tempeh? 2.Anyone else try to avoid soy like edamame and tofu? How do you reconcile this with the Whole30 diet? 2a. Is Miso ok to eat? 3. How acceptable are beans, really? 4. If you've done this before, how did you add variety and balance and get the most out of your Whole30? 5. Even if YOU haven't done the vegetarian version, but you're really familiar with the program, what is the preferential order of the sources of protein on the vegetarian version that I should strive for to make it most like a normal Whole30? Thanks!

I just finished my first Whole30 and have a few questions about how Reintroduction works: How do I reintroduce formerly off-limit food groups while also using the Whole30 meal planning template of palm-sized portion of protein, plate of veggies, and a thumb-sized portion of fat? For instance, I'm supposed to add legumes back into my diet tomorrow. Do beans count as a protein or a fat? Should I replace my usual source of protein with beans that day, or just add a few spoonfuls to my regular source of protein? Some non-W30 food, like alcohol, have effects I am already familiar with. Does this "food group" need it's own stage of reintro? What have you experienced W30ers done in the past that has helped you evaluate the effects of those food groups? How did you go about creating your own guidelines for eating after Whole30? Do any of you know where I can find some postW30 eating guidelines aimed to encourage weight loss?

There was some discussion among the group doing a Whole30 in July regarding the start of a new, reintroduction thread. I'm getting the ball rolling here. Tomorrow, July 31 is my first day of reintroduction. I'll be adding dairy back into my diet for three meals and will report back regarding my reaction. What are everyone else's plans for reintroduction? Anything you're excited to bring back? Or, are there items that will never make their way back into your diet again??

I genuinely enjoy many gluten-free grains and legumes (at least, I remember enjoying them), and my husband is a big fan. I'm curious about the possibility of making these things more digestible with proper preparation. Pre-Whole30, I was very good about soaking/boiling my beans, and I don't think they were an issue for me. I soaked grains for hot cereal overnight a few times, but it wasn't a regular practice. I don't know if it made a difference, but I was thinking about testing this. Have other people experimented with soaking when reintroducing grains and legumes? Did you notice a difference? I'd love to hear about your results!