Reintro and its just not worth it

[healthyAbby]

I've finished my whole 30 and started re-introducing foods, and I've decided that I'm going to stop. I'm going to stop reintroducing foods because the foods that I have reintroduced already have my stomach tied up in a knot and I just feel crappy. And just last wednesday I FELT AWESOME! I had no stomach pains and everything was just dandy, and I was happy.

 

Dairy Re-intro: (For meal 1 I had 2 frittata "muffins" and some cantalope, and a cup of coffee, I've been drinking black coffee for the past year, so putting cream in it just isn't appetizing anymore)

 

I tried cheese on a burger for my meal 2, and I didn't really realize that I had any negative effects, although I was feeling slightly nauseous, but  I just drank more water throughout the day to counteract that.

 

It wasn't until meal 3 that I had a small glass of milk, and some veggies with a pesto sauce (had parmesan) that I was running to the bathroom 20 minutes after eating My doctor had said that I could be lactose intolerant prior to my decision to start the W30, and I was having trouble staying away from it in the form of ice cream.

 

So I guess no dairy... although I'd like to do another dairy reintro with ice cream when I'm feeling better.

 

Gluten Reintro: I know that with the reintroductions, you're supposed to introduce the ingredient with each meal, but I just didn't have the patience to do that and I had more of the frittatas for breakfast. Then for meal 2 I had leftovers from the night before, really wasn't feeling reintroducing gluten yet.

 

Meal 3 I went out to dinner with my sister. We both had an avocado BLT that was on a wheat sourdough bread. I enjoyed it very much, but I felt a lot more bloated from eating it than from eating other meals. I just didn't feel as light after eating as I do when I eat W30 approved meals. And after this meal I had quite the sweet-tooth. But I counteracted that with some fruit salad with coconut milk The next day I felt like I had a hangover, and despite my great night sleep I didn't feel refreshed. I felt bloated and sick.

 

Well I am happy to be free of the unhappiness that I experienced before, and that I now have the tools to feel good all the time.

[GFChris]

Hmm ... sounds like the reintro experiment worked.  You confirmed that at least some dairy and gluten are not your friends.  Now there's no question in your mind how those foods affect you.  I have to believe that's more powerful than skipping reintro and being surprised, down the road, how those foods make you feel.

[healthyAbby]

I am very pleased with the experiment, I just wish I didn't feel this awful. But I now know that when I eat either of those foods I'm not going to enjoy how I feel, and I'm now trying to get rid of the inflammation/stomach upset that eating those foods caused last week. Its coming a bit slower now. Well I think I'll continue reintros for the rest of the month, and see how legumes/soy/sugar affect me, and then start a new W30, but this time incorporating more exercise. With my past W30 I found that I needed to let my body rest and heal before pushing it too hard in the gym.

[GFChris]

And the good news is, you won't have to reintro again in your next W30 ... did you not do a reintro in your past W30?

[healthyAbby]

I'm in the process of my reintros. But I feel like I need possibly a week to get my digestive tract back to what it was. But I did find kombucha today, and I found it extremely tasty and am looking forward to having it the next few days to help get some good enzymes and bacteria into my gut to promote even more healing. I honestly wish I had tried it when I was not feeling well during my whole 30, I've found that I think coconut water is way too sweet, and I drank it for the extra electrolytes (since I was dehydrated and didn't really eat much for 3 days when I had terrible diarrhea).

 

I have a few family gatherings in the end of august, and think that if I am not on W30 even though I know certain foods isn't going to sit well, I won't make a huge deal about eating them. Now that I know these sensitivities, I feel like I should discuss some testing with my Dr, to see if I have IBS or some medical reason for my discomfort when eating those foods.

 

And then September 1st I will start my second whole 30, and incorporate exercise more (so long as I don't turn to the SAD too much in the meantime) but I will have to make some choices on what foods to eat at certain gatherings, and I hope that I can make the best choices so I am not in a hungover state without the drinks.

[Ravin]

With dairy, I would start with yogurt, and see how that goes. Then try butter, or raw milk, aged cheese, or sour cream. Not all dairy is created equal. Some are fine when you do not have lactase persistence, mostly because the microorganisms involved in making them digest it for you, or the enzymes are in it ( clean raw milk) as they have for most of the history of human consumption of dairy.

You also don't necessarily have to throw the baby out with the bathwater on grain, either. Avoiding products made with hard winter wheat (high gluten containing, including most processed breads) may be sufficient.