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Any August AIP Whole30ers out there?


CaseyD

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I've done multiple Whole30's, seen great results, but was finally convinced by a fellow Crossfitter that the AIP might help me over the last hurdles I can't seem to get over. Namely, acne, inflammation in my joints, and (pardon me) gas.

 

Anyone out there also doing it AIP style? I'd love to team up with others who are doing the AIP for extra support. I'm going to be cooking Whole30 for my family, but AIP for me at every meal, so I know I'm going to deal with spice temptations often. Not to mention, there are six tomato plants producing like crazy in my garden. Having that extra boost from others who understand would be great!  :)

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Hi CaseyD!

 

I want to do an AIP Whole30 this month! 

 

But I so need to have a buddy in there with me. I have no self-discipline. I've already started three times and fell off the wagon at one point or another.  :ph34r:

 

I've been eating mostly paleo for almost two years now. But 1) I still have a strong sugar dragon, that shows up when I'm stressed out, —and 2) like you, I still have some issues: digestion still not great, fatigue, dry lips... I'm apparently hypothyroid, so autoimmunity is a suspect.

 

I've already discovered that eggs don't agree with me, so why not add nuts, seeds and nightshades to see what happens?

 

When are you starting? For me, today August 1st is out, because after a tough day at work I had a pie & chardonnay situation.  :rolleyes:  And then this weekend I'll be away from home with limited food options. So I'll be starting on Monday 4th.

 

Good luck and see you around here!  :)

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I was gearing up to start today, but ate some honey in something today so tomorrow is my start date. I would love to buddy up to do this thing!

 

I hear you on the strong sugar dragon. Mine is so sneaky sometimes. I'll be having a normal, happy day and then all of a sudden my brain says, "You should reward yourself with something sweet!" Crazy brain.

 

I'm getting that to pull off AIP, you basically need to always have some kind of food with you. Like, a whole different level than just a regular Whole30. So I get wanting to wait until Monday if you're going to be away this weekend. Definitely, join in with me when you get started. 

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I'll be doing my best from today anyway. It's just not realistic to bet I'm going to eat 100% clean while playing extra in a movie! :D  (My boyfriend is an assistant director and asked me to join him on the set in the countryside as they need people for a scene. Not my first time. I'll be lucky if I get a real meal at all.  :rolleyes: )

 

I see that Sugar Dragon is the same everywhere... I get the same thing, I never know when it's going to lash out. The strange thing is that I feel like crap minutes after I eat anything sugary. My head hurts and gets all foggy, and it lasts for days! It's really not worth the high. And still I give in time and again. Crazy brain, as you say.  :huh:  (Or brain on candida...)

 

So people say AIP is a whole other level? Wow. Let's see how we do.

Now, I'm already egg-free, and while at first I didn't know what to eat for breakfast, I've got used to eating a plate of chicken or burger paty with vegetables and I love it! It really gets me through the morning without any hunger but feeling much better that when I ate eggs.

So that makes it a little easier to avoid snacking on nuts.

 

I hear you on the tomato plant: what a temptation! You're in summer so that means lots of nightshades but also lots of delicious other vegetables and fruit to turn to instead. And maybe at the end of the month when we try tomato again we find that we have no problem at all, but we'd never have known for sure without that elimination.

 

So how's your first day going?

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That sounds like an exciting weekend! What's his movie about?

 

This weekend was unexpectedly chaotic for me, so I will be starting with you tomorrow. You're still good to go for Monday, right? Let's rock this thing!!

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Hi Casey!

 

Weekends are often chaotic, and beginnings too. But you already know it.  ;) Was the chaos any good?

 

Yes, I'm pumped up and ready to go!  :)  Let's do this!

 

My weekend was pretty fun. I had to cheer at some imaginary racing greyhounds, like forty times.  :D  It's a new movie by Pablo Larraín, who made "No", a finalist for the Oscars in the foreign competition, I don't know if you might have heard of it?

 

Did I mention I live in Chile? I think it shows on my profile. I'm French, though. I'm 36, mom to two boys age 11 and 8, and I work as ...a sommelier. (Fortunately I work at our store, around closed bottles). My boys are abroad on vacation with their dad at the moment, and my boyfriend is away shooting that movie, so it's just me and my puppy girl for a week (who's a 100% paleo :P ). A good way to start for me as I won't have too many temptations and/or stress.

 

What do you do?

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Hi Tinkerbell!

Glad to hear you're already feeling better.

 

I used to eat a lot of eggs every morning (and then some), and I never suspected they were a problem for me until I eliminated them for a week a couple of months ago. When I reintroduced them, my throat and ears immediately started hurting. I eliminated them again for another week, tried just a single yolk, and bam, sore throat and ears again. I never knew!

 

That's in part what led me to consider doing the AIP. The other is suspected Hashimoto's.

 

What prompted you to try it? Have you done a Whole30 before?

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I have a weird skin problem where I have episodes of lip swelling that aren't directly related to any known cause. I can't pinpoint one food or irritant or anything that causes an immediate reaction, I'll be going about my life fine and then wake up with swollen, cracked, painful lips. Then there will be a few days where it feels like I have no skin on them, then it heals and they're fine again for a while, though they still felt dry and sometimes have slight inflammation that's not really noticeable to other people. Generally it doesn't look as bad as it sounds--they just get red and are slightly swollen, but it's really uncomfortable. Thankfully, my mom is a physician so I have access to oral and topical drugs, though I want to get to the point where I don't need them. I'm still on a daily anti-histamine per doctor orders.

I completed 20 days of a regular whole30 before I had surgery and quit when I shouldn't have. During that time, my problem actually got worse--probably because I was eating 3-6 eggs per day, which I've now linked a sensitivity to. I know the general recommendation is to do a full regular whole30 before the AIP, but since I've linked more underlying inflamation with eggs and nuts too, I figured I'd just do the AIP. So far, so good!

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Wow, that's a mysterious issue, and I imagine it can be quite distressing. I hope you find a solution in this Whole30. I'm told a leaky gut causes increased sensitivity, because particles that normally wouldn't pass into the bloodstream now do. Have you looked into that? I recently read the Gut And Psychology Syndrome by dr Natasha Campbell-McBride and it inspired me to use bone broth and fermented food to try and heal my gut.

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Beli, I've done a lot of research because it definitely is distressing and frustrating, and I think a leaky gut could be a factor.  I know that can manifest in skin issues.  You've reminded me, I need to make some bone broth!  Thankfully, today is the best my condition has been in at least a month and I feel really good!

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I've been doing AIP since an AIP W30 that started 6/9 (my second W30)

I have multiple auto immune issues that I'm working with/on. 

I'm starting another AIP Whole 30 with my W30 group, the Dirty 30, on 8/21.

Feel free to join us!!! 

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Hi,

I also just started AIP 3 days ago. Since I was a vegetarian until 3 days ago I have some stupid questions regarding Bone Broth. I hope you guys can help me: 

I bought a whole chicken yesterday and baked it. Today I tried to get all the bones out of the chicken to start the bone broth. But there is still a lot of meat, sometimes skin etc. around the bones. Is that a problem? I just put everything that looked like a bone to me into the pot but with quite some meat around it. Will that be okay? Also, if people eat the meat off the thighs for example, there is their saliva on the bones. Is that a hygienic problem? Do you wash the bones before cooking them or do anything else with them to clean them?

And also, since the broth is supposed to simmer the whole time, the water gets less and less in the pot. I refilled it until all of the bones were covered in water again, but in the recipe I got from the paleo mom website it did not mention that I was supposed to refill the water. Am I doing something wrong? 

Sorry if this sounds really stupid, but I've got no experience with preparing meat.

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Hi Susann!

You're doing perfect. Some meat, skin etc. left on the bones are actually better. In fact, you can also simmer a whole chicken in water, and you get not only broth but also a delicious meat. Either way is good.

There's no problem with hygiene from people's saliva, since you boil everything.

Some pots close more hermetically than others, that's why some people need to refill with water while others don't. Refill if you find that the bones aren't covered anymore, that's the important part. Otherwise, you can let your broth become more concentrated, or add water to have it more diluted. With practice you'll find what's more to your taste.

 

Hi Deb C! Have you seen any improvements to your condition since doing AIP?

 

Tinkerbell: I'm glad you felt better, I hope you're better yet now. How have your issues been?

 

For me, I'm feeling pretty good, but I have the same digestive issues than in my first W30, which is a little frustrating. I guess these have to do with another phenomenon, possibly detoxification pathways, I'm researching on that.

Otherwise, I'm happy to report that eliminating nightshades and nuts hasn't been too challenging. I love nuts, though, so they'll probably be the first item I try and reintroduce when my W30 's over. I hope I find out I can have them!  ;)

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Thanks for your fast reply Beli. Maybe you can also tell me how long I can keep the bone broth in the refrigerator? I placed it in a bowl and put tin foil over the bowl. I don't have any glasses with covers to put it in and nothing to freeze it in yet because I haven't been much of a planned cooker so far and I didn't have the time to read that much about AIP yet. I decided to dive head first into it as soon as I heard about it because of my Autoimmune diseases. I just got the book The Paleo Approach by Sarah Ballantyne. I read already that I shouldn't use plastic containers for storing the food, but I still haven't had the time to figure out how to store stuff instead. How do you guys do that?

Thanks for creating this thread, it is such a help to know a place where I can ask all the questions that come up during the process, especially since I'm from Germany and here AIP is almost unheard of, still.

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@Deb C: I will be finishing my first Whole30 this coming Tuesday 8/19. I plan to start another Whole30 + AIP due to autoimmune thyroid. Could I join your "dirty 30" group?!?!?! You sound empowering!

 

Hi outdorsgrl!! please join us! we'll be rocking and rolling starting Aug 21!! I am the only one in the group doing AIP right now although another member, Miki is doing her own version with no nuts and limiting nightshades. 

 

Or come visit any time - we are living in the reintro section right now. A bunch of our regulars are off on vacay and one of our member's partner's just had a stem cell transplant - so we are supporting her heavily this week  - just in case you dip in and are like whattttt!!

 

Beli I really haven't noticed any specific changes since I started AIP vs regular W30. That said, when I've slipped and eaten cocoa nibs, or chips cooked in canola oil, I can tell immediately, I don't feel good at all. I definitely know I do better without sugar and that includes fructose. So, as little fruit as possible for me. 

 

Susann I went to Costco (do you have them in Germany? feel like they are everywhere) a big discount store and bought a big set of glass storage containers with snap on lids. So helpful and not expensive either  - like $25. You can freeze your bone broth as well, it freezes very well. If you only have plastic then that's the best you can do right now. Here's a great article about broth from one of its original promoters:

 

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/broth-is-beautiful/

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Susann, I think your bowl with tin foil cover is certainly ok.

 

For me, I'm working on substituting my plastic food containers for glass ones, but I'll admit I'm not done yet. Have your read it's that bad?

 

My glass containers are simple jars with screw-on tin covers I recycled. I also find them new at most supermarkets and home supplies stores. I also have some rectangular ones from Pyrex. I can bake things in them, and they come with a —plastic— lid.

 

I have kept broth in the fridge for up to about five days. I don't think you have to treat it differently than any other cooked food.

 

I'm from Chile! AIP (or Paleo for that matter) are pretty much unknown here!

 

This forum is a great place to ask questions and share concerns and experience! And the moderators are awesome.

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Hi Beli and Deb,

thanks so much for your replies. And it's so good to hear that I'm not the only one doing AIP in a country where it's almost unheard of. Luckily, I've found the first Paleo online shop as I haven't seen things like coconut aminos in any store here, yet. Though I could still test out some Asian stores. Luckily, I live in Berlin, so there are way more things available than elsewhere. Nevertheless, there are  things like grass fed meat that is just really difficult to get here. It's so easy with Whole Foods in the US where they tell you if the animal was grass-fed, but here they just say "organic" which could mean anything regarding the pasture, it just means more space and less antibiotics for the animals and usually no genetically modified food. 

Reharding the plastic containers, I read that on an AIP Blog and Sarah Ballantyne mentions in her book (I haven't read all of it yet so she might get more into detail) that plastic containers can contain hormones which could effect the immune system.

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Is it difficult to find grass-fed meat in Germany? I'm surprised, I thought it was like France. I'm originally from France, and there, all meat you find at your local butcher's is grass-fed. Only cheap meat from the supermarket is factory-farmed. Have you tried and quizzed your butcher? True you were a vegetarian till not long ago, so maybe you don't have one yet. I'd suggest you find one, and a poultry seller, and a fishmonger. Chat with them, ask for origins, cooking techniques... Good artisans take pride in their products and readily talk about them. Search until you find someone you trust.

 

By the way, I commend you for beginning to eat meat. I know it can be very difficult. But I trust you will find yourself better for that. I used to be, not a vegetarian, but I really ate very very little meat, like maybe once a week. I ended up with chronic fatigue and a host other ailments. It's been a year and a half since I started eating some meat at every meal, and I feel so much better! I'll never go back to my old ways.

 

What drove you to doing this AIP Whole30?

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Well I think I mainly felt good with eating just vegetarian foods, but on the other hand I have IBS since 2009 and this year two autoimmune diseases (both related to the skin, one scleroderma circumscripta, the other one lichen sclerosus) appeared. They are still in the first stage but when my doctors told me that they didn't have many ideas what to do except for giving me cortisone and pimecromilus and the next step would mainly be systemic immunsupressors with tons of side effects and no certainty to keep on working in the long run I knew I had to look for something else. Rather through coincidence and my boyfriend who knew paleo I came across AIP and was sold right away as I read about the explanations and all the testimonials. I heard of AIP on saturday night and started monday evening. Since then I'm also trying to read up on things (Blogs, the Paleo Approach book etc.). 

I'm also quite proud that I've already managed to cook and eat bone broth, ground beef, chicken and wild boar within this first week :D (luckily salmon isn't a big deal for me as I've always liked it), but I know it's still a long way to go. I'm especially afraid of starting to eat offal, but I know I should start doing so asap. I'm also kind of lucky that I don't feel too bad about animals being killed for us (though I think the amount of meat I eat for AIP wouldn't be sustainable if everybody ate that much), I just hate factory farming, so eating organic and wild meat is okay to me though I preferred not eating it. I never missed the taste or anything. But so far I've luckily discovered that I like the taste of the meats I've tried so far.

Regarding the butchers and fishmongers, I'm not too convinced I'll find any good ones. I feel like most organic butcheries belong to retail chains of organic supermarkets and even some advice I found on paleo websites for Germany just mentioned chains that try to grass feed their animals at least part of the year, but usually not in winter and often not a few weeks before getting slaughtered. But I'll just try to eat the best meat I can find and will try to include as much wild game as possible. I hope I'll also like deer and things like that.

Another topic I was wondering about: How do you make sure to get enough carbohydrates? I got a migraine on day 3 of AIP because in the evening I only had about 17g of Carbohydrated. I didn't know that at the time though, but luckily my bf figured it out and gave me bananas to eat :D Since then I try to have sweet potatoes with every meal and at least some kind of fruit after every meal (though I'm a bit worried that I might be fructose intolerant. but how could I ever get enough carbohydrates without fruits?), but I worry that it's maybe too single sided to have them (sweet potatoes) 3 times a day?

Are you generally a paleo eater Beli? And do you just want to eat AIP for 30 days and then go back to Paleo crossing out some food sensitivities on the way?

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Oh one thing I wanted to mention about your 'vegetarian comment' was that I read on a blog of a girl who was vegan before starting with AIP that she doesn't think she got all the issues because of being vegan rather because of eating a typical western diet with too many grains, legumes, too much sugar etc. so I guess I feel the same way. I never noticed any feeling bad related to eating vegetarian and I believe I would have gotten my problems even if I had eaten more meat all the time because I still would have eaten too much gluten, dairy, sugar, legumes and so on. But maybe my view will change as time goes by. And anyways, bodies are so different, so if you notice such a difference between eating meat and not eating meat then that's definitely an important finding for your health. just don't feel bad because of eating too little meat beforehand because i think it's important that we care about animals and their well-being. 

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