Autoimmune Whole30

[angelajl]

I'll be starting an Autoimmune Whole30 tomorrow, Monday, October 27.

 

I completed a standard Whole30 in July 2013. Prior to that, I'd figured out that my body responds poorly to wheat, corn, soy, and dairy, so I was already eating a 90% paleo diet (the other 10% consisted of too many indulgences of potato chips, dark chocolate, and Diet Coke). My main motivation for that Whole30 was to see if I could get rid of my dermatographic urticaria (which I've had since 1998) and rosacea. Sadly, neither of those conditions was helped. And I only lost 2 pounds, which was annoying. 

 

Immediately after finishing the Whole30, I developed two additional forms of urticaria: chronic urticaria (welts/hives 24/7 for 15 months now) and delayed pressure urticaria. This last one, in particular, has had a pretty negative impact on my quality of life. 

 

I worked with a nutritionist May - July 2014 to see if we could get rid of these issues. Despite the very restricted, supervised diet, I saw no improvement. Then a few weeks ago I had food allergy and intolerance testing done through my allergist. According to the results, I have an intolerance to soy, dairy, fish, all nuts, all beans and green beans, and pretty much all herbs and spices (along with many environmental allergies). I'm not sure how accurate/trustworthy these tests are, but I had already begun to suspect nuts as being one of my triggers before I did the blood work, so I wasn't entirely surprised by the findings. 

 

So now I get to further restrict my diet. This is seeming like a pretty daunting task at this point. I think I'm going to follow the Autoimmune Protocol, but I'll tack on a few additional restrictions to eliminate all of the spices that came up positive in my intolerance blood work.

[angelajl]

Day 1 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, parsnip, zucchini, kale, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil
• Raspberries

Lunch:

• Chicken soup with potatoes (forgot potatoes weren't allowed in the AIP), carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf

Dinner: 

• Giant salad with various lettuces and kale, carrot, broccoli, olives, and ham, with balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzled over the top

Other:

• Apple and strawberries

 

Going through caffeine-withdrawal headaches today. Ugh. Other than that, feeling normal. I have probably 6 big welts on my body today.

[angelajl]

Day 2 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, parsnip, zucchini, kale, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil
  
• 1 Zyrtec
  

Lunch:

• Leftover chicken soup 
  

Dinner: 

• Giant salad with various lettuces and kale, carrot, broccoli, olives, and chicken, with balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzled over the top
  

Other:

• Apples, olives
  

 

Woke up this morning with the worst headache I've had in years; actually, I remember waking up several times in the night from the headache. It seems to have tapered off now (9pm).  And I have usual amount of welts. 

[angelajl]

Day 3 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, parsnip, zucchini, kale, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil

Lunch:

• Ground beef, onion, garlic, sweet potato, broccoli slaw (cabbage, broccoli, and carrots) sauteed in coconut oil with olives on top

Dinner: 

• Giant salad with various lettuces and kale, carrot, broccoli slaw, olives, and chicken, with balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzled over the top

Other:

• Apple

 

I had the best night's sleep last night. I fell asleep within about 30 seconds of getting into bed, and I woke up well-rested after 8.5 hours of sleep. This morning, though, I had about 35 welts ranging in size from pencil eraser to silver dollar; this is probably twice my usual "good day" amount of welts, so I don't know if I'm on an upswing or if this is an anomaly. Only time will tell.  

[angelajl]

Day 4 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, parsnip, zucchini, kale, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil
  
• 1 Zyrtec
  

Lunch:

• Ground beef, onion, garlic, sweet potato, broccoli slaw (cabbage, broccoli, and carrots), and olives sauteed in coconut oil
  

Dinner: 

• Giant salad with various lettuces and kale, broccoli slaw, olives, and chicken, with balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzled over the top
  

Other:

• Apples, carrots, kalamata olives
  

 

Due to having lots of leftovers, my diet has been pretty boring the last few days. Tomorrow morning I'm putting a roast in the crockpot, and I picked up some brussel sprouts to try roasting tomorrow night (along with...sweet potato? not sure). I get lots of mixed greens and lots of other produce, but I'm not sure if my variety is broad enough.

 

The hardest part so far, though, is that I get *so* hungry between meals. I know snacking is discouraged, but I haven't yet figured out the correct portion size for me. The amount of food I'd need to eat at a meal to ensure that I'm not hungry for another 5-6 hours would make me so miserably full after said meal.  How do I eat enough to stay satisfied for that long without gorging? I don't know how to do that, so I eat as much as I'm comfortable eating at meals, and then I inevitably get hungry 3 hours later, so I snack before my next meal.

 

I had probably 2 dozen welts this morning, including a few really big ones on my calves. And I was really congested all night long. No idea why.

[ShannonM816]

 

The hardest part so far, though, is that I get *so* hungry between meals. I know snacking is discouraged, but I haven't yet figured out the correct portion size for me. The amount of food I'd need to eat at a meal to ensure that I'm not hungry for another 5-6 hours would make me so miserably full after said meal.  How do I eat enough to stay satisfied for that long without gorging? I don't know how to do that, so I eat as much as I'm comfortable eating at meals, and then I inevitably get hungry 3 hours later, so I snack before my next meal.

 

 

 

You don't list a lot of fat in your meals, only what you're using to cook with. Try adding more fat. The fat you cook with only counts if you actually eat it, and with many things, a lot of it ends up staying in the pan. Added fat should help you stay satiated longer.

[angelajl]

Hm. I thought that the copious amounts of olives I was eating would be enough. I'll try adding more fats. Thanks!

[ShannonM816]

Hm. I thought that the copious amounts of olives I was eating would be enough. I'll try adding more fats. Thanks!

 

My bad, somehow I missed the olives. I don't like them, maybe my brain just refused to acknowledge their presence  . But your breakfast might be a bit low on fat, and I know if my breakfast isn't filling enough, I feel hungry the rest of the day. 

[angelajl]

Ha! I love olives! 

 

I'll experiment with more fats in my meals this weekend and report back!

[angelajl]

Day 5 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, parsnip, zucchini, kale, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil
  

Lunch:

• A couple slices of turkey and some fruit. I ran out of food at home (mis-counted leftovers!), and the turkey and fruit were the only things edible at a mandatory work lunch. 
  

Dinner: 

• Grass-fed beef roast, acorn squash, and sauteed brussel sprouts with onion, garlic, and balsamic vinegar, and kalamata olives
  

Other:

• Olives, apple, banana, and a few tiny pieces of dark chocolate (ingredients: organic cocoa, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla, organic cane sugar)
  

 

Yes, this is where I confess to my dark chocolate for Halloween. I realize that this means I won't be able to claim a 100% compliant Whole30, but since I know this will have been my only deviation in these 30 days, I'm OK with that. 

 

I do wonder, though, if I've set myself back by eating green olives with pimentos. It truly didn't occur to me until today that since pimentos are peppers, these particular olives are probably forbidden in the AIP. I've bought new olives that are just plain olives, and I'll be eating those from now on. 

 

I woke up with maybe a dozen small-ish welts, but by day's end I had a few more really big, painful, itchy welts on my backside. I must have leaned against the edge of a table or something at some point today. 

[angelajl]

Day 6 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, zucchini, kale, and 2 chicken apple sausages sauteed in coconut oil
  
• 1 Zyrtec
  

Lunch:

• Leftover grass-fed beef roast, acorn squash, and sauteed brussel sprouts with onion, garlic, and balsamic vinegar, and olives 
  

Dinner: 

• Salad with mixed greens, broccoli slaw (broccoli, carrots, cabbage), olives, and chicken, with balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzled over the top
  

Other:

• Apple, carrots, olives
  

 

All day Saturday I was pondering the purpose of doing a strict Whole30 + AIP when I've already done a strict Whole30 before with no improvement in my conditions. But then I remembered that immediately after that first Whole30, I didn't go through the reintroduction as planned since my purpose for that Whole30 was to see if I could get rid of my dermographism and rosacea, and I saw NO improvement in either of them. So to me, I'd gained nothing from the Whole30, and so I added back in my usual foods without that reintroduction period.  [Note that my usual foods do/did NOT include grains, corn, soy, or dairy. Pretty much the only things I was adding back in were dark chocolate (soy- and dairy-free), potato chips (not cooked in corn or soy oil), and Coke Zero (occasional).]

 

But it was just after finishing that Whole30 that I developed my two additional forms of urticaria: chronic urticaria and delayed pressure urticaria. In a way, I kind of felt like it was the Whole30's fault for making me more sensitive to foods, in that I'd never had either of these two issues before while on my typical diet.  Though I was eating the same foods with no problems before the Whole30, I was clearly worse off after the Whole30. 

 

So now I worry that my post-Whole30 life this time around will have to be even more strict even if I see no improvement in my existing conditions. And I worry that I'll end up with even more unexpected and unexplained conditions after this one.  Basically, I'm scared that it won't work to fix my problems, and it'll cause even more. 

 

I guess we'll find out in 3 weeks. 

[angelajl]

Day 7 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, zucchini, kale, and 2 chicken apple sausages sauteed in coconut oil
  

Lunch:

• Leftover grass-fed beef roast, acorn squash, and broccoli slaw sauteed in coconut oil
  

Dinner: 

• Pork roast with basil, oregano, and thyme, seared in coconut oil
  
• Roasted carrots, parsnips, red onions, and brussel sprouts roasted in olive oil with rosemary and garlic
  

Other:

• Apple, carrots, banana
  
• 1 Zyrtec
  

 

I woke up with the usual welts. By the end of the day, the bottoms of both of my feet were painfully swollen with pressure-induced welts. I don't know why. Perhaps I rested my feet on the rungs of a chair for a moment?

 

Also, after 7+ years of taking 1 Zyrtec every morning to stave off the dermographism head-to-toe itching, for the past couple months I've been fine taking a Zyrtec once every 48 hours.  But tonight, less than 36 hours after the last one, I'm so itchy that I had to take one before bed. No idea why that is. 

[angelajl]

Interesting development: 

 

When I made last night's pork roast, I completely forgot that in addition to the AIP restrictions, I was also going to be cutting out all of the herbs that my blood work showed a sensitivity to. So I rubbed the roast with basil, oregano, and thyme, and seared it well before putting it in the crockpot. 

• Twenty minutes after eating my (delicious!) dinner, I found that I had *so* much congestion in my throat. I kept having to clear my throat and cough, and this lasted for a couple hours.
• Then, by the time I went to bed, I had to take a Zyrtec 12 hours ahead of schedule because I was getting really itchy. 

And I woke up this morning with:

• 94 welts, which is about 3x my usual number
• a swollen lip
• digestive issues

Are the herbs to blame? It couldn't have been the vegetables, since I've been eating those all along. And pork? I somehow doubt it was the pork. I have been eating ham with no problems. So that makes me think it was the herbs. 

 

Since I was planning on having leftovers for lunch today and tomorrow, I've taken the leftover pork out of the fridge and cut off and thrown out the top 1/4" to remove the herbs. Hopefully that'll help, though I don't know how much they would have infused the pork. 

[angelajl]

Day 8 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, zucchini, kale, parsnip, and ham sauteed in coconut oil
  
• Raspberries
  

Lunch:

• Leftover pork roast and roasted vegetables from last night
  

Dinner: 

• Big old salad with ham, various vegetables, olives, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil
  

Other:

• Apple, grapes
  

[angelajl]

Day 9 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, zucchini, kale, parsnip, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil
  

Lunch:

• Leftover pork roast and roasted vegetables
  
• Pineapple
  
• 1 Zyrtec
  

Dinner: 

• Big old salad with ham, various vegetables, olives, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil
  

Other:

• Apple, grapes
  

 

Nothing new to report. I awoke with the usual welts, and my feet are still swollen and painful from Saturday. 

[Emma]

What a process!

Reacting to herbs really does seem like a low blow doesn't it!

It's also so easy to forget that they can be issues.  I wonder how many of those seemingly innocuous things are triggers for my daughter.  I know garlic is no good, but I've been suspecting there might be something else.

 

Gadz - wouldn't it be nice if we could retrain our bodies to accept and benefit from certain things?!  I'm allergic to almost all raw fruits and vegetables.  It's obnoxious, but I am a lot less reactive once I've been eating clean for a good chunk of time.

 

Urticaria sounds pretty dang miserable and annoying.  Any chance the parsnips aggravate things?  I can't eat them at all and I think I remember that some people do react to them.  Congrats on being on Day 8.  I hope things start looking up or at least you find a somewhat improved normal. 

[angelajl]

Thanks for the words of encouragement! This is a long, annoying process, and I can't believe today is only Day 9! It seems like I've been doing this forever.

 

Sorry to hear about your allergies; they sound very limiting!

 

I hadn't ever heard that about parsnips. I sure hope that's not the case, since I love them. But I'll keep that in mind.

[angelajl]

Day 10 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, zucchini, kale, parsnip, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil
  

Lunch:

• Grass-fed ground beef sauteed with onion, garlic, carrots, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower in coconut oil with rosemary and balsamic vinegar
  
• Banana
  

Very late dinner: 

• Sweet potato, onion, sausage in coconut oil (just like breakfast)
  
• Apple
  

 

Woke up with a swollen lip again. 

[angelajl]

Woke up with 80 welts and lots of sneezing. I have an allergist appointment today to go over my latest blood work which is testing to see which environmental allergies I currently have. Should be interesting.

[angelajl]

Day 11 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, zucchini, kale, parsnip, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil
  

Lunch:

• Grass-fed ground beef sauteed with onion, garlic, carrots, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower in coconut oil with rosemary and balsamic vinegar
  
• Apple
  

Very late dinner: 

• Chicken breast, sweet potato, zucchini (all plain, all from a restaurant)
  
• Pineapple
  

 

Lots of welts. Saw my allergist and told him about my reaction to the roast a few days ago, and he strongly suspects the oregano. Interesting. He also suggested that I start adding foods back in now one at a time to see what sort of reaction I get (he doesn't think I need to wait the 30 days). 

[Emma]

Interesting about the oregano.  Isn't that one of the essential oils that lots of people like using for illnesses?  And if it's a good one for many, makes sense it could be a reactive one for others.

 

Are you going to add foods back?

[angelajl]

I think I might add some in after a few more days. I've been having a pretty high number of welts lately, and I'd like it to go back to "normal" before I start experimenting. I guess I feel like the excess of welts means I'm already reacting to something, even if it's just residual from a few days ago.

[angelajl]

Day 12 Food Log: 

 

Breakfast: 

• Sweet potato, zucchini, parsnip, and chicken apple sausage sauteed in coconut oil
  

Lunch:

• Ham, various greens, carrots, and olives with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
  

Very late dinner: 

• Grass-fed ground beef sauteed with onion, garlic, carrots, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower in coconut oil with rosemary and balsamic vinegar
  

 

Woke up with 80+ welts again, but my feet have finally stopped hurting and my lips weren't swollen, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

 

I also ate a few non-Whole30 compliant snacks today, but they were all items that are still "safe" from the perspective of an autoimmune elimination diet. No ill effects yet! 

[angelajl]

Ok, since I'm clearly deviating from the Whole30 Autoimmune plan and reintroducing things that aren't Whole30 compliant, I'm going to take this food log offline. If I discover anything earth-shattering, I'll post my results here.