Higs' Re-Intro

[Deb.]

You crazy kids! Rose the second one is easier! I promise! Because you have your shopping, sources and such down to a science. 

I would hate to miss out, so I think I'd be on the Aug 21 bus 

[higs]

Yay Deb! Will you do IODs for us? That made the first one so fun.

[MeadowLily]

Let's start a new 30 together then. Hip hip! I also think the next one will be harder mentally at least. Meadow how many days are you on now - are you counting? So -- Aug 21? Is there anything auspicious about that date? Otherwise we can be Dirty 30 the Sequel. Funny autocorrect just called it "deity 30," which I suppose it could be too.

Day 55.

[MeadowLily]

Yay Deb! Will you do IODs for us? That made the first one so fun.

What is an IOD?    Item Of the Day.    

[Laurie]

Any date is fine with me.  Not sure how my food/schedule will work out the next few months when Steve undergoes the transplant/recovery.  However,  I want to be part of our group since you all feel like "family and home" to me.  I have continued to follow the W30 and may continue on or maybe I'll allow a few things until Aug 21.

[higs]

I'm so glad that so many of the Dirty 30 are joining us for the next round.  MeadowLily, 55 days, wow!  How many are you up to, Laurie?

 

Oh also I have to report that I botched my dairy reintro because I did my first dairy along with brown rice, black beans and a beer.  I haven't missed dairy at all, though, so I'll clean it up again for a few days and do another reintro later.  I saw my naturopath this week, and she recommended spending a little more time on the reintros, e.g. instead of 1 day of reintros and two days clean, she likes two back to back reintro days so you get at least 4 meals of the reintro'ed food.  She thinks it's easier to see impacts that way.  

 

So far, I haven't been able to really tell if any foods bother me except for the duck egg issue I discovered earlier on.  Right now I'm waiting for it to get dark enough to go round up those ducks because tomorrow they have a trip to the feed store and then on to what will come next for them.  I can't pay for all that feed if I don't get the benefit of their eggs.  Adieu, ducks (note: I am keeping the muscovy pair because I can raise their babies for meat).

[MeadowLily]

We'll be seeing you on August 21st...alrighty then.    Your reintro reintro sounds like a good plan.  What was your motivation for starting the WD30?

[higs]

ML, I have lots of motivations for starting the Whole30.  I love to do cleanses and do them annually, but usually just for 10 days or so.  I wanted to try something that would help get me on track with better eating.  My naturopath recommended an anti-inflammatory diet to help manage my tendency to get tendonitis, and so I decided to give the W30 a try.  And, I also needed to lose some weight.

 

After having finished my first W30, I have new motivations:  maintain new energy levels, maintain good sleep patterns, maintain way improved moods!  And shedding the next 10-15 pounds is a motivator too!

 

I am back on full compliant eating this whole weekend.  I'll try my dairy re-intro later this week.

[higs]

Dusting off this ol' thread…  Last summer was my first Whole30 and the best round of reintros I've done.  I've done two Whole30's and a Whole50-something since then, botching proper reintros, and still struggling to find my footing on uneven terrain when I'm not following the plan strictly.  So!  To take this cheesy mountaineering analogy further, I have learned enough these past 9 or so months that I now feel equipped with some pretty good crampons and hiking poles, and I'm learning to use them.  And I'm tied in to some pretty awesome peeps here on this forum to catch me if I slip.  I feel pretty dang lucky.

 

Transitioning to life after Whole30 is my focus now. It will be slow.  It will be thoughtful.  I'm doing a reset this week, then will add something back in for a few days -- long enough to tell the effects properly.  I don't have major reintro symptoms, so I know the effects will be more subtle and might take longer to notice.  What is making the night sweats return, what is causing bloating, what impacts my mood and energy levels?

 

Mostly my focus will be on continuing with an abundance of good, healthy, fresh food and using the meal templates.  I'm continuing to work on getting 8 hours of sleep consistently.  I'm training for a 10k, and I am finally feeling confident in my ability to do it.  My pep talk to myself right now is, "stay the course.  You got this.  Steady on, sister."

[higs]

It is so helpful to read the Whole9 blogs and thoughtful posts here on this forum about transitioning for the long haul.  After 4 Whole30's since June, I think it's time for me to disallow any more Whole30's until, say, this fall -- to give myself a chance to really settle in and adapt the plan to me and my needs.  I am trying to kick myself out of the nest.  When I start feeling panicky about losing the structure of the program, I am reminded that doing resets are A-OK, as in:  jump back in to a strict Whole30 for a few days or a week if things go off kilter.  It doesn't need to be a 30 whole days (and, probably shouldn't be anyway).  I did some poorly orchestrated non-reintros recently, and I am relieved to be three days back in to strict Whole30 -- for now!  This weekend, if I'm back to feeling awesome, I'll try a couple days of legumes and go from there.

 

For those of you who feel you've done really successful slow lane reintros, how long have they taken?  I really like structure, so I want to give myself a good two or three months to make new habits and settle in to a long-term groove.  I want a gentle, considered, relaxed pace to get there.  I'm trying to shape my own expectations:  what is two months of reintros vs. a year vs. a lifetime?  

[higs]

Reset Day 4.  Feeling sooo much better already.  My head hit the pillow last night and I was out.

 

I took an early morning walk today before sunrise and heard two different owls - a great horned and a barred, I think, and the killdeer are back.  The sunrise right now is backlighting the goat shack.  It's grey and beautiful outside.  I'll be in my garden by the weekend.

 

Now, my favorite breakfast:  bone broth, a compliant sausage, roasted brussels sprouts, and carrots and parsnips, also roasted.  All a very good start to the day.

[MeadowLily]

It is so helpful to read the Whole9 blogs and thoughtful posts here on this forum about transitioning for the long haul.  After 4 Whole30's since June, I think it's time for me to disallow any more Whole30's until, say, this fall -- to give myself a chance to really settle in and adapt the plan to me and my needs.  I am trying to kick myself out of the nest.  When I start feeling panicky about losing the structure of the program, I am reminded that doing resets are A-OK, as in:  jump back in to a strict Whole30 for a few days or a week if things go off kilter.  It doesn't need to be a 30 whole days (and, probably shouldn't be anyway).  I did some poorly orchestrated non-reintros recently, and I am relieved to be three days back in to strict Whole30 -- for now!  This weekend, if I'm back to feeling awesome, I'll try a couple days of legumes and go from there.

 

For those of you who feel you've done really successful slow lane reintros, how long have they taken?  I really like structure, so I want to give myself a good two or three months to make new habits and settle in to a long-term groove.  I want a gentle, considered, relaxed pace to get there.  I'm trying to shape my own expectations:  what is two months of reintros vs. a year vs. a lifetime?  

I planned a Slow Roll Reintro for a month.   I found that grains are now a trigger that I can add to my list of heavy cream.   I don't care for ice cream, it's too sweet.  When I tested grains after over 90 days without them, it stirred up a ravenous monster.  Just having a loaf of Ezekiel sprouted bread in the freezer made me want to toast that entire loaf in one setting.   I did not.  I threw it in the trash and I'm not testing anymore grains.   

 

I don't need any sugar reintros because my pancreas will not handle sugar differently on Day 31 or Day 91 any differently than on Day  "- 1".   I limit my fruits to one aday if I want fruit.  I pick blackberries, blueberries, raspberries over mango and banana due to the natural sugar content.

 

I use Macadamia Nut oil vs. eating handfuls of nuts...over my roasted vege or salad greens.  You taught me how to make balsamic vinegar reductions.  I enjoy those with everything.

 

Lentils and legumes really do not bother me at all.   I can have those without any side effects, they're mainly all carbs with a smidge of protein/fats.   However, they do have fiber.   I eat them rarely.

 

Wild Rice - which is technically a grass, doesn't bother me either.   White/Brown rice ....a whole lotta starch with little fiber.... I don't eat those.

 

Real food carbs - sweet, purple and white potatoes, turnips, rutabagas ....I eat those.  White potatoes...rarely.

 

Dairy - don't like ice cream and heavy cream is an olde BS aka blood sugar lily livered sapsucker trigger.

 

I don't care anymore about lattes or being a coffee fiend.  That took a really long time and thanks to you, I'm a Bone Broth hound.

 

Dried fruits are sugar to my system.  They're really supposed to be used for cooking purposes on the Whole 30...and not eaten everyday as snacking emergencies.  Same with fruit juice - cooking purposes.  Fruit juice is what's used for T1 diabetes emergencies.  Other than that, who needs that sugar juicy juice box without any fiber.

 

A Slow Roll Reintro lets you test the waters.  Every food can be embraced unless you have triggers like many others.

If the triggers are highly engineered to-be-craved industrial foods in the form of salt, sugar and fat...those are the trifecta of the obesity epidemic.   We are better off avoiding cool whip - a topping to top real whipped cream.  A faux-foe.

 

Carefully tuned snack foods lead to a lack of control that inevitably leads to making a mess of everything.  Everyone knows the nutritional difference between an egg and a donut.  Faux-foe paleo snack candy bars are nut rolls with dried fruit binders.  They're not meals but a reward.  We have to choose to cook and prepare meals.  It's the only way out of this instant fix, microwave mentality we live in.  You know your way around the kitchen.

 

Cravings will pass if we resist them.   Hunger comes roaring back if our body needs fuel.  Getting too hungry is a set up for thrill eating.  We should honor our hunger and eat until we're not hungry anymore but not over-stuffed.

 

Our body is bent on survival.  Hunger for food is built into our genes.  When stress mounts up, trying to get perspective on true hunger vs. cravings can be a slippery sucker.

 

If weight is too artificially low due to stress or over-restricting....there is a great appetite reckoning to face in the future.  The body is too hungry and will fight back.  Over-restriction makes it difficult to dodge thrill eating or binge eating that results from being hungry.  It creates a pattern over a lifetime that takes much longer than 30 days to repair.

 

When an individual is young, they may be able to out-exercise thrill eating...but there is a point in time when that no longer works either.  Another day of reckoning where the rubber meets the road.

 

All we have to do is put in consistent effort with a gentle approach for the BIG WIN.  It will take us out of the yo-yo cycle of diet h.e.l.l.  AND swing the mountain of momentum the other way.

 

We have to address the head games we play with ourself.  We need to find activities we love to do and do them on our own terms. 

 

There is no finish line.   

 

The old approach to eating will no longer serve us.   I avoid my triggers and meal by meal...mile by mile and day by day - my mind obeys.   It no longer clashes with my desires.   My mind no longer holds me back from my fitness goals and a creating a good relationship with food.

 

[higs]

All we have to do is put in consistent effort with a gentle approach for the BIG WIN.  It will take us out of the yo-yo cycle of diet h.e.l.l.  AND swing the mountain of momentum the other way.

 

We have to address the head games we play with ourself.  We need to find activities we love to do and do them on our own terms. 

 

There is no finish line.   

 

The old approach to eating will no longer serve us.   I avoid my triggers and meal by meal...mile by mile and day by day - my mind obeys.   It no longer clashes with my desires.   My mind no longer holds me back from my fitness goals and a creating a good relationship with food.

 

 

Meadow, yes, yes and yes!  I love hearing about your whole experience all in one place.  It is super helpful to me right now.  Thank you!  

[evaq]

Oh my gosh higs, I'm late to the party but *thank you so much* for adding a 2015 post on your re-intro or else I wouldn't have seen this! I loved reading every step of your journey. You truly are an embodiment of "embracing the good". I laughed and cheered alongside you all (including the dirty 30 gang).

[higs]

Hi evaq!  Welcome to my humble little thread, and yes please, DO join the party - the more the merrier!  I have sooo been enjoying your smart and thoughtful posts.  I don't think I'm quite yet the embodiment of embracing the good, but I sure as hell am trying.  

[higs]

Reset day 6:  I've been feeling GOOD, energized, mood improved, sleeping like a rock.  I had a gorgeous walk at dawn this morning, clouds all pink at sunrise, woodpeckers and pheasants looking for mates, a killdeer leading me away from its nest.  Happiness.

 

On my walk I planned my first reintro, which will be legumes (but not soy, which I mistrust).  Came up with some meal ideas:  I want some black eyed peas with collard greens and andouille sausage - I suppose I can make dirty cauliflower rice with that?  and for another meal, a curried lentil kale dish that I haven't eaten in ages.  And I want to make something with peanut sauce, which I miss.  It might end up being several days of legumes.  Report to come!

[higs]

Started legume reintros yesterday (except soy).  I've had white beans, lentils, peanut butter and black eyed peas.  No ill effects so far, although I feel quite full after a not overly large breakfast this morning.  I have legume dishes prepped that will last several days, so it is going to be legume-central around here...

 

…which is actually unfortunate as I've been re-reading up on what makes legumes less than desirable as a regular dietary stable.  Here is my super down and dirty cliff notes version:

 

1. Legumes contain phytic acid, which keeps the body from absorbing the nutrients in the beans.  Small amounts of phytic acid can be OK and perhaps even beneficial, but those small amounts should come from occasional seeds or nuts.

2. They contain lectins, which for some people contributes to gut permeability and digestive issues.  These can be controlled in most beans by proper cooking or fermenting.

3. They are high in carbs and, if eaten as a staple, provide more carbs than needed.

4. Their protein content isn't that high.  High quality meat is a much better source.

5. They are FODMAPs.  Not an issue for me personally, but there is that.

6. Peanuts contain aflatoxins, a mold that grows on peanuts.  Long term consumption can lead to cancers or hep B.

 

A good legume article since I've loaned out my copy of ISWF:

 

http://paleoleap.com/beans-and-legumes/

 

So, for me, it looks like legumes will be an occasional treat but not a staple.

[higs]

Addendum:  peanut butter turns out to be food without breaks.  Just caught myself eating it from the jar by the teaspoonful well after I had finished the 1/2 apple I was eating it with.

[lgt2013]

Addendum:  peanut butter turns out to be food without breaks.  Just caught myself eating it from the jar by the teaspoonful well after I had finished the 1/2 apple I was eating it with.

This is what I'm worried about. I just bought an entire jar of peanut butter for my re-intro -- I was hoping to get one of those single serve packets but they all had something else in it. I'll have to bring it to work or something.

[higs]

Wrapping up my legumes trial:  I did 4 days of legumes.  Overall, I had no bad reactions aside from some not unexpected fartiness one day.  And last night I didn't sleep well -- I was having stress dreams about work and woke up at 2:00 a.m. all sweaty.  (My night sweats go away when I'm W30'ing.)  I don't think that was from the beans, though.  My best guess is that I ate too much at dinner, and ate too late.  

 

The other thing I noticed about Legume Fest is that I ate far fewer veggies over the last 4 days than I've been doing.  It's like the beans pushed them off the plate.  They made me really full, and I feel sort of starched out.

 

Conclusion:  legumes aren't horrible for me, but they're not great either.  I'll probably eat some once in a while if I really want them for some reason.  Otherwise, meh.

 

Tomorrow I'll start a reset for a few days, and next up will be…  maybe non gluten grains.  Rice sounds good.

[higs]

I'm back!  Here I am back midway through my fifth Whole30 because I have not yet stuck the landing (as MeadowLily would say) and have not yet successfully completed reintros  While I've been eating relatively well between W30's, I haven't managed to thoroughly and comprehensively test what foods make me bloated, irritable and less energetic.  I suspect gluten, and definitely sugar.  I'm unsure about non-gluten grains or dairy.  What I do know is that I just feel so much significantly better when I'm sticking with a Whole30 plan, I keep coming back for more!

 

It's just over a year since I started my first Whole30 and I have learned so much.  I am significantly healthier and more fit than I was back then.  My body image is so much better, I am so much stronger, and I have so much more confidence in my body's ability to do things.  Before then, I was hamstrung with injury after injury, resulting from a way too sedentary lifestyle and then overuse when I tried getting into shape.

 

Now I'm running 15 miles a week and getting ready to start training for my first 1/2 marathon!  And it's feeling so good, and I'm so inspired, suddenly for the first time I feel like a full marathon isn't out of reach.  I'm excited to take my Whole30 to a new level so I've been perusing the Whole30 for athletes forum - because I feel like a bonafide athlete now!  I've come a long way, baby.

[higs]

Day 21 of Whole30 #5 and feeling awesome.  I ran for just over an hour this morning, and felt awesome knowing I could keep on running for another mile or two.  It is actually hard to hold myself back and not overdo it -- I need constant reminders to myself to push, but not push too hard.

 

The invincible, motivated, energized me is back.  I am eager to hit the trail.  I have camping and backpacking trips planned, day hikes in the works, a trail running class starting next week and a 1/2 marathon in October.  I have a ton of desire to try new things and get out and live life.  I've been running 10k's and living a more active lifestyle than I have in years.  I love this surging energy!

 

I think this must be the Tiger's Blood.  :-)

 

I really get it why people don't want to stop the Whole30.  This is my fifth, and I just keep coming back to it because I just feel so. much. better. when I eat this cleanly.  I haven't found the same mojo when I'm not on the plan.  I know how steep the slippery slope is when I stray off course.  The Whole30 provides some really comfy training wheels that are hard to let go of.  So here I am, again, trying to work out what the long term looks like for me.  I think many, many of us struggle with this.  I invite anyone who wants to join me in this conversation - "Beyond the Reintro" - to work it through together.  I want to learn how to hang on to this level of energy and feeling of invincibility when the W30 is in the rearview mirror.  I just haven't figured out what that looks like yet.

[higs]

What a World Cup!!

 

[higs]

Day 21 here on Whole30 # whatever... I have lost count!  I think I did two W30's in 2016 but STILL have not quite gotten things dialed in.  Every Whole30 I learn a bit more about how to have a successful W30 -- but I haven't yet managed how to make the changes I want to keep sustainable.  

So, Day 21 and I'm thinking again about my reintro plan.  I want to do it sloowwwwwwly.  I have been considering this Whole30 as an intro, a kickoff to a longer more sustained process.  So, rather than finishing up in 9 days, I'm trying to turn my attention to gearing up for a start of a new focus.  My slow roll plan involves basically staying on a Whole30, but start adding some very minimal dairy, which is the only thing I'm missing right now.  I want to try a sprinkle of cheese in my salad and see how that goes.  Somewhere along the way I became suspicious that dairy makes me sad, so I want to test that theory.

After a few weeks I'll reassess and perhaps try to add in something else if I'm missing it.  Rice, maybe.

In the meantime we are socked in with snow and ice and my car is stuck.  Luckily a friend with a 4 Runner was able to take me to work last week and I got to hit up the grocery store, too - I was nervous I'd run out of meat and veggies.  Today I'm making elk stew for the week ahead.