Lenten Whole40: Reintroduction

[TDC]

This is a Reintroduction support thread for those who did a Whole30/Whole35/Whole40 throughout Lent. Because some of us were on different schedules people have started Reintroing at different times but I thought it would be interesting for people to join in as and when they get to this stage.

 

As for me, I started the Reintro protocol last Wednesday, 35 days after starting the WholeLent. The idea with this was I would have sufficient time (10 days) before Easter Sunday to do a full Reintro schedule. Although this is my 3rd Whole30, I had never done a proper Reintro because I didn't approach it strictly enough (i.e. my mindset was once the Whole30 was over, it was over); this time I wanted to do it properly, which is why my mindset was: I'm doing a WholeLent, but in reality I was counting the Reintro timeline as part of my Whole30, if that makes sense.

 

Well, of course, life always gets in the way, and on the day I was supposed to start the Reintro (last Wednesday) my boyfriend's father died (he'd been ill for the past few years and had gone downhill in the past 3 weeks). I deferred my Reintro as I didn't really know where I'd be and what I'd do; I wasn't particularly hungry anyway! I did weigh myself, though, I was a proud loser of almost 3 kg (so in total since September last year when I did my first Whole30 I've lost 7kg). 

 

My major problem is most of my clothes don't fit me anymore: they're too big. It's a problem because I don't really earn enough money to buy a whole new wardrobe. I think I'll treat myself to a new dress next payday but for now I'm having to hitch my trousers up with belts (that I'm going to have to put a new hole in as even that's too big!). A lot of people have commented that I've lost weight -- and understand that for British people this is VERY hard to do, it's not really something you normally say, for fear of people thinking 'that means she thought I was fat before!!' But mostly people are saying 'you look great', and that feels nice.

 

Since then I've Reintro-ed rice (was fine, and planning to keep that in on CrossFit days or days when I cook Asian food. I had rice noodles too, which just made me feel a bit big and heavy, I think because when you order noodles in a restaurant you get a massive plate of noodles with token bits of veg and meat; I'd rather have it skewed the other way!) and dairy (was a bit indifferent to it, definitely prefer my tea black and my coffee with coconut milk. Cheese just made me feel meh. No particularly negative reactions except felt a bit mucus-y in the mouth, but I knew and recognised that from before anyway). Thinking of Reintro-ing wheat on Thursday, as that's when the funeral is and it will be easiest to not be too fussy about food on that day. I'm skipping Reintro-ing legumes as I don't really eat them much anyway -- hummus is the only thing I could imagine myself coming across with relative regularity and since that's not too often I might as well skip it altogether unless absolutely necessary. Oh I suppose tofu is a relatively regular occurrence in Asian food, but again, I know I won't really have it in the house anyway so it'd be an 'on occasion' food anyway.

 

In between my Reintro days, though, I've been sticking to the Whole30 RELATIVELY well -- I mean I haven't been eating all the wrong food, but I have been snacking on nuts more than I did before, and eating out without being too worried about the food (especially sugar) but that's mostly from being up with my boyfriend and his family, making it harder to be in control. I know I have failed to do the Reintro again properly, but then life does happen. And I don't believe I do have major issues with food in terms of allergies (apart from Wheat, but I've been avoiding wheat generally anyway for a few years) so I'm not too worried.

 

My most important achievement is the fact that I have changed my attitude to food. Today I found out my great aunty died, which made me feel very sad and I was standing in line for coffee and thought, well, I could have a pastry, that might make me feel better. But I realised that I could almost feel my stomach seizing up at the thought of the wheat. I settled for a chocolate truffle. Yes it was tasty but I didn't have a whale of a time eating it: I just thought, I don't feel any happier about my great aunty being gone. So although I DID eat a treat as an emotional response, I recognised that it didn't make me feel much different than before. I savoured it, but I didn't need a second, and I finished up my coffee sitting on a bench in the sun and thought how lucky I am to have found a way of life that has finally made me feel happy with my body.

 

So, how's everyone else doing? What have you Reintroed? What have you learnt?

[lujo238]

Great idea, thanks for starting it.  Sorry about your boyfriend's father.  It's hard to control everything in those situations.

 

Do you have any good second hand stores nearby where you can pick up some cheap clothes?  Those are the best option when you are on a budget and losing weight.  Especially if you plan to lose more.  Most people can't afford a whole new wardrobe every 2-3 months.  I've been able to get some "new to me" pants for $2 at times. 

 

So we are hosting our families Easter brunch this Sunday and I have been trying to think of the menu.  I am going to try and find as many Whole30 recipes I can to replace our usual fare.  Wish me luck.

[mcjule]

Hey all!  I've reintro-ed gluten grains and non-gluten grains so far.  On day 34 I did wheat (last Friday) and it wasn't good.  I actually feared it would be really awful and it was just normal awful, not really awful.     I got a headache, stomachache, and was bloated and yucky feeling all day and most of the next day.  I also had some stuffiness and fatigue too but it's hard to say if that was related to the wheat.  At the end of the day it doesn't matter because I know wheat had a negative affect on me, even if I'm not sure if some of the symptoms were wheat-related or caused by the seasonal allergies and travel I was doing.  Yesterday I did non-gluten grains (oats, corn, and rice) and had no noticeable symptoms.  I'm a little stuffy today but again it's allergy season and my whole family is sniffly so hard to say.  I'm actually glad they were okay because I'd like to be able to occasionally eat non-gluten grains.  It was funny though because oatmeal was my breakfast staple so much so that I almost considered not doing the Whole 30 because I would have to give it up.  Having it again yesterday I thought it was fine, but nothing special.

 

Now I'm on a reintro break as we head out on vacation.  I am lactose intolerant but I may try small quantities of cheese or cream in my coffee just to see how those affect me.  I'd like to be able to have the cream occasionally because coconut milk is not everywhere!  Legumes I'm holding off on because I was the one who realized on Day 14 that I had used an olive oil spray with soy lecithin in it a few times so I'm waiting on those.  I used to eat a lot of lentils and occasionally other beans so I'd be curious to try those.

[peahen65]

I like that distinction you made... "normal awful, not really awful" 

[lujo238]

Wow!  I just ate a bowl of gluten free oatmeal and within minutes my head is starting to get stuffy again.  I have been getting better and better over the last few days.  All that was left was a lingering cough really.  Since my oatmeal I have blown my nose three times and I feel like I can feel my ears filling up.  Cross your fingers for me that it doesn't get worse than this again.  I am going to take a decongestant this time.  Last time when I started to stuff up I didn't take anything because I wanted to feel all of my reactions.  This time I just can't afford another missed day of work or to spend 24 hours in bed.

[mcjule]

I caught a stomach bug on Friday and have hardly been able to eat anything. I only had dinner yesterday and it was small and then today I just had lunch. I basically have no appetite so reintro us on hold because everything makes me feel terrible! Hoping I feel better for Easter!

[peahen65]

I'm so sorry!  I hope you feel better soon, mcjule!

 

Reintro-ing a glass of red wine tonight.  Will have compliant food for Easter dinner tomorrow, plus some paleo-ified treats, so I guess I'll be reintro-ing a little bit of sugar - 72% chocolate plus a little maple syrup or honey.  Have a blessed Resurrection Day tomorrow, everybody! 

 

(Monday will be real reintro - beginning with dairy)

[TessTurbo]

Today I went to a wedding shower brunch and ate bacon & swiss quiche. (Dairy, flour.) And salad dressing that contained who-knows-what kind of oil. Plus crème fraîche in the soup. Wouldn't be able to isolate any single offender. So I said heck with it, ate the dessert (sugar), too, and will get back on the wagon Monday. It hasn't been that hard to stick with, when I have control over what I cook at home or order in a restaurant. Had a fantastic citrus Cobb salad on Tuesday night while out. Left off the cheese and it was compliant. Didn't ask about the dressing but it didn't taste sweet, so the worst thing in it was probably non-compliant oil, but we've already established that in some restaurants, that can't be avoided, so just make the best choices you can around it.

I feel pretty good after the quiche and dessert, all things considered. Full, but not foggy, headachey, or overly bloated. No wind, either. Plus my face hasn't flared up. I did notice that the quiche, while good, was quite salty, so if I retain water tomorrow, that's the most likely cause. Tomorrow's brunch won't be any easier, though for dinner, my mom is baking a sweet potato, made sure everything she's putting on her pork loin is something I can have, will dot the broccoli with ghee, and asked me to bring a fruit salad the way I can eat it. (I plan to experiment with dates & Meyer lemon for a glaze...will let you know how that turns out.)

I'm convinced that my worst enemies will turn out to be additives or something under the radar. Maybe just something in Coke Zero. I used to drink far more of that than I should. Eliminating nothing but THAT for 30 days would've probably done wonders for my overall health.

I also learned today that a congenital heart defect runs in my family. Most of the men died at 60; the only one who made it past 60 was recently discovered to have this defect that can only be a fluke or congenital. Thankfully, through some of the volunteer work and teaching I've done, my heart has been ultrasounded dozens of times by med students and physicians, as recently as February. The way the defect was described (imagine more of a bicuspid valve than a tricuspid valve) everyone would've scratched their heads and adjusted their ultrasound screen if that's what they'd seen on mine. But nobody did that, not even the professors of medicine, who aren't there to give free medical advice, but who might take someone aside if they've seen an obvious anomaly in a heart and say, I didn't get a great look, and I'm an internist, not a cardiologist, but you may want to have that looked at.

[TDC]

So many people have asked me how I've lost so much weight and look so great, it's so good that it's noticeable enough, and that people are willing to listen. I haven't got my spiel right though, I'm not very good and giving the elevator pitch!!

[peahen65]

Had red wine last night and... who'd have thought!  IT DISTURBED MY SLEEP!  And I sleep like the dead normally.  Before WholeLent I had a glass before bed almost every night.  I'll no longer be doing that.  I'll only have a glass for special occasions - dinner out or hanging out with husband AND before 8 PM.  Nothing is worth disturbing my sleep!

 

Today I reintro'ed sugar sort of.  And it made me feel queasy.  For breakfast I made ham and coconut cinnamon pancakes (SWYPO paleo pancakes) - but they weren't SWYPO to me - I'd rather have those than a regular pancake any day, as I don't eat wheat usually.  These were eggs, bananas, coconut milk, vanilla, cinnamon, coconut flour... and they were scrumptious!  Tasted like banana bread.  I had coffee after church with coconut milk.  For lunch I had beef roast, carrots, broccoli (with duck fat and salt), and a few slices of red pontiac potatoes that were sauteed in compliant (Pederson's) bacon grease.  This afternoon I made grain free paleo cookies and that's where I got into trouble... they were good so I had too many (4) and I felt sick from the sugar overload (used coconut palm sugar in them) even though they were garnished with salt and had 72% chocolate bits in them, Still too sugary on my stomach. 

 

My conclusion - paleo-ified baked goods are yummy and controllable, as long as they don't have added sugar.  Pancakes, yes; cookies, no.

 

Tomorrow I reintro dairy.

[lujo238]

Good morning.  I went way too far overboard yesterday.  I started off with good intentions but lost a bit of my control by the end of the day.  Today I am paying for it with bloat, gas, constipation, a small headache, and my ears feel stuffed with cotton.  For our brunch I made a sweet potato hash, which I overcooked so it was more like a mash.  Two egg casseroles, one with ham and parmesan cheese, the other with peppers, onions, and parmesan cheese.  We also had a large fruit salad and my mom made biscuits and sausage gravy, which is traditional in our family.  I skipped the biscuits but did eat the eggs with the peppers and cheese. I put a half ladle scoop of sausage gravy over my eggs.  My plan for the day was to eat some dairy but avoid grains.  I did okay until after the egg hunt when I caved and ate a piece of pineapple orange cake.  Then after everyone left I ate a handful of jelly beans, then a handful of Boston baked beans then a cup cake.  I know not good.  After all that my planned dinner treat of ham, cheese potatoes, and roasted brussell sprouts was just too much.  I did buy a good grass fed cheese from my farm market but after the cheese potatoes I inflated like a balloon.  I could barely sleep last night I was so uncomfortable.  I also probably drank too much coffee yesterday.  I kept topping off my cup until about noon. 

 

So today I am back on the horse.  Breakfast was left over sweet potato hash/mash with two slices of bacon.  Not enough protein I know but I could not look at another egg just yet.  Lunch today will be leftover bean-less chili from Friday night.  I was tasty and compliant with lots of peppers and tomatoes.  I do miss the beans thought so we will reintro this week sometime after my bloating from all the dairy and wheat goes down.  Dinner tonight is spaghetti with meat sauce.  My spaghetti will be French style green beans.  After all the cooking this weekend we wanted something easy for dinner tonight.

 

I hope the rest of you did better than I did and had a lovely Easter.

 

 

[mcjule]

I felt yucky yesterday too but as I'm still getting over a stomach bug I'm not sure what it was. I had no grains and no legumes but I did have dairy and sugar and wine. Oh I did have soy because my mother in law made egg salad with regular mayo. In the afternoon (before the wine) my stomach felt like it was seizing and it still feels off today even though I've just had eggs and coffee with coconut milk. I can't wait to return to regular Whole 30 eating when we get home! Once my stomach straightens out I can test more dairy and legumes.

[peahen65]

Oh Lujo!  I am so sorry for you!  I hope you can sleep better tonight.  And I hope you are all better soon, McJule.

 

Today is my dairy reintro.  I am really not expecting any bad reactions as the only thing I thought it could be doing was making my nose run.  But my nose continued to run without dairy during the WholeLent. Anyway, for breakfast I had broccoli with BUTTER, a little left over beef roast, and a mozzarella cheese stick.  YUM.  No reactions.  And I felt GOOD during strength training and Zumba.  I am having whole cream in my coffee right now.  So far so good.

[peahen65]

More on dairy... for lunch had same that I had for breakfast. Late afternoon snack I had a bite of cottage cheese. And I believe I've reacted to all this dairy... 1) constipated, which is way unusual for me as I don't have a gall bladder and went to potty 6+ times a day during whole46. 2) my nose is running like crazy! I didn't realize how much it had cleared up the last week or so. Tonight I had to stuff a tissue up my left nostril. So I think dairy DOES affect my allergies after all. Plan: no regular dairy consumption but will partake if cheese is in something I'm served. Will go back to coconut milk in my coffee. After I finish all my reintros, I'll reintro each dairy item separately to see if it's the cheese or if butter or cream are as bad.

[mcjule]

Interesting peahen!  I'm curious to see what dairy does to me since I'm lactose intolerant.  I know I can't have a glass of milk but I am still hopeful that I could have some cream or butter.  I'm back on Whole 30 eating for the next few days.  I had too much sugar on Easter and yesterday.  It's so gross, I don't know why I eat it!  

[TessTurbo]

My whole face is itchy & fire-engine red this morning. No clue why. Ate too many weird things Sunday to isolate a single cause. And to be honest, this is a DIFFERENT problem than usual. The normal rash burns & stings, but doesn't itch. This itches & almost looks like hives. Not raised. Just blotchy. But I didn't eat anything unusual MONDAY; I was back to Whole30 with a vengeance, so this is some kind of delayed reaction...

[TDC]

I felt pretty rubbish after Easter too, a lot of sugar, some dairy and quite a bit of wheat. As expected, I'm not really sure which it is that made me feel the crappiest! Anyway, I'm happy to avoid them all for the most part in my life. I don't enjoy sugary chocolate much at all, it just makes me feel a bit sick -- all I can taste is sugar. I was sure I'd put on weight too but I hadn't...well, not much to worry about anyway. I'm going back on the Whole30 properly from next week (as in, I'm not doing a Whole30 but I'm back to mostly following the principles on an everyday basis) and this week I'm keeping my eating fairly tight. I think I'm in a place now where I understand where my limits are and how to go back to eating correctly.

 

In other news I started my period yesterday, and it's the first painful one I've had since coming off the Pill in January. The last two I've had (i.e. the two post-Pill) were pain-free and I was starting to wonder whether eating Whole30 style was the reason which pleased me a lot. And then this last period comes straight after a week of not eating at all well. I don't think it's a coincidence but it'll certainly be interesting to see what the next one is like if I try and stick strictly to the Whole30 principles.

 

I hope things get back on track well for me. I seem to have no problems sticking to the Whole30 strictly but as soon as I come off it things kind of get a bit too lax, especially on the sugar front. I need to stay low on sugar since I really don't want to put on weight! Plus I've been reading so much about how bad sugar is I really don't want it to become a habit.

[peahen65]

I do think reactions can delay, Tess. I was happily eating dairy all day Monday then it wasn't until evening that I began noticing things going on, then YESTERDAY (the day after dairy reintro) I felt like total crap.  I mean absolutely horrible... emotional, mad, stomach upset, fuzzy headed, potty troubles, exhausted... the works.  The only time I felt anywhere near decent was when I was doing Zumba very energetically (taught two classes yesterday - noon and 6 pm).  I wondered how I was going to make it, then during class I was great (if forgetful - plenty improvisation) but as soon as the hour was over, I just would go downhill.  Weird, yes.  My conclusion is that dairy does really mess me up, as today I feel fine and my nose running has stopped as well. 

 

Tomorrow is my non-gluten grain reintro.  I will have oats and Mary's Gone crackers and some rice.  I am ambivalent about corn.  I wonder if I should reintro that separately.  It's all GMO these days and a major food allergy for my 15 year old son Zeke.

 

So far, sugar hasn't been calling out to me.  The overindulgence Sunday of paleo cookies made me (hopefully) aware of my limits.  I do have a small square of (soy-free) 72% chocolate every now and then, and it is plenty sweet tasting.  I'll probably go up to 80%. That dark, a little goes a long way. 

[lujo238]

Good morning.  I went back to Zumba finally yesterday.  It felt so good.  Of course it was stupid hard as I have let myself get way out of shape but it was a major accomplishment as I have been avoiding the gym.  At first I was so stiff and didn't think I was going to make it.  I pushed through the first bit though and the buzz kicked in.  You know when your muscles get warmer and looser and your heart rate settles better at the higher rate so your not fighting for every step?  That's a nice good for you buzz I had almost forgotten about.  Of course by the end my knees were cursing me but that's from the weight I put back on.  I still have a long way to go to get back where I was 2 years ago but the first step is taken.  Yay!

 

As well as Zumba I reintro'd legumes yesterday.  It went well for everything but the peanut butter.  Maybe it is God's way of telling me peanut butter is too much of a temptation and I should just avoid it. 

 

peahen - Dairy definitely affected my allergies too.  It didn't so much cause them as make them worse.  Sounds like that is a common reaction.  Good luck with your non-gluten tomorrow.

 

mcjule - I'm glad your feeling better.  The sugar monster is a tough one to slay.

 

TessTurbo - Ouch!  I hope your rash cleared up.  It could be a delayed reaction.

 

TDC -  I bet the Whole30 did help with your period.  Mine kind of snuck up on me as I did not have the immediately preceeding symptoms before it came. I was still emotional but it was more under control.

 

 

[mcjule]

I'm realizing that I really need to get on the reintros.  I can see little things creeping back into my diet.  Like last night I had a little dark chocolate.  Nothing terrible, but I want to finish the reintros soon.  I guess I'm just scared because I hate feeling bad and I feel safe when I'm eating basically Whole 30.  So for dairy I'm going to do butter, heavy cream, and some cheeses.  For legumes I'm sticking to what I eat more often, lentils, peanuts, and chick peas (hummus).  I will also have some soy sauce because even though I plan to avoid soy, it's in everything so no doubt I'll have some accidentally at some point.  I should have planned to reintro something today but I'm at work and only have my Whole 30 compliant food with me!  I guess I could add something to dinner tonight.

[mcjule]

Also . . . my allergies have been terrible lately and I'm thinking maybe it was the dairy I had last week.  I normally do have bad allergies but I'm wondering if the dairy made them worse.

[peahen65]

Rolled oats this morning - SO GOOD.  I hope I don't start feeling bad from them.  Read the box of Mary's Gone crackers before I ate any - organic, gluten free, rice crackers... with wheat-free TAMARI (aka SOY!)  ACK - soy is everywhere.  So I went to the store after Piloxing class and got some "ancient grain" crackers with no wheat no gluten and finally NO SOY (or dairy).  Made from rice and amaranth and quinoa.

[peahen65]

Rice with supper.  Non-gluten grains seem to not be a problem for me.  The only thing I noticed was a food baby... I looked pregnant when I took my clothes off trying on a dress at a store today!  But I very rarely eat these anyway, so it's good to know that if they happen upon me, I'll be okay (if a little round in the belly).

[TDC]

peahen65: Many paleo advocates are fine with tamari. Tamari is a type of soya sauce gnerally made without the wheat and many believe that the fermentation process it goes through gets rid of the phytates that makes soy bad for you. This is true of most soya sauces too, but tamari is usually wheat/gluten-free. It's not Whole30 I think perhaps because they put blanket bans on things that might have a remote chance of being troublesome (e.g. white potatoes -- they say that it's arbitrary but the reason is it is so easy to eat a lot of potatoes in one sitting and it's addictive without being particularly nutrient-dense. Likewise you can make legumes and beans safe by sprouting and soaking but why bother taking the time? why not just see what you're like WITHOUT them completely for 30 days and then see whether or not they affect you?). Obviously you're trying to do the Reintro strict so fair enough for not wanting soy in your crackers but generally speaking I think Tamari is fine, especially in the tiny amounts you would actually find in each cracker. I like coconut aminos and am happy to use it while on the Whole30 but it's so frikkin' expensive I'm happy to use a high quality tamari, or even just normal soya sauce once in a while because I don't use it that often (I've weaned myself off cooking with soya sauce much)

 

Here are some articles I read before writing this:

http://paleomagazine.com/is-tamari-sauce-paleo

http://thepaleolist.com/2013/07/31/is-tamari-paleo/

Plus had a browse through MDA forum

[mcjule]

TDC, thanks for the info.  As I've mentioned I'm not a fan of soy because of all the potential negative health issues associated with it, but I do enjoy Asian food and soy sauce so I was hoping to find a way to have that occasionally.  Tamari sounds like a good option.  At home I'm cooking with coconut aminos for now.

 

So I tried chick peas (hummus) and peanuts (peanut butter) yesterday.  I got a slight stomachache right after eating the hummus, but it didn't linger.  I didn't notice any negative effects from the peanut butter but like all nut butters that can be food without brakes for me unless I'm carefully portioning it out.  While I've always loved peanut butter I also love other nut butters so I'll probably have those rather than peanut butter most of the time.  Eating hummus used to be something I did almost daily but after the stomachache I'll probably limit it.  I like baba ganoush as much, if not more, than hummus, it's just harder to find in the store (I know I should be making my own!).  So I'll probably stick with baba ganoush for now.  I will try lentils eventually but I have to soak and cook them and I haven't had time.