Reintroduction during PMS - How early is TOO early to reintroduce?

[ChristieLeigh]

I am on day 11 of my Whole30.  I am feeling great and notice so much bloating that has gone away, especially in my arms that are looking very toned despite the fact I haven't been working out as hard as I usually do.  At this point (and it could maybe/hopefully change in the weeks to come) I know I miss dairy and grains and will want to reintroduce when the time is right.  I don't miss gluten products or legumes so I will most likely not worry about reintroducing those.  I am loving this lifestyle and am planning on sticking with a mostly Whole30 diet, but am really curious about how things are affecting me and know it will help me stick with the program longer when I know what to avoid or what to expect of certain foods.

 

In the past I have had very severe cramping and even digestive issues that go along with my monthly PMS symptoms.  When I looked at my calendar I noticed that my reintroduction is scheduled to fall during this same week.  I'm worried that I won't be able to distinguish the symptoms - I suspect that I might have dairy sensitivites and those symptoms might be similar to what I normally experience with PMS.

 

I was wondering if I started my reintroduction 5 days earlier if it would throw it off too much?  I thought about waiting until after my period to start reintroducing foods but I am in a wedding that weekend and don't want to experience any bloating during reintrodcution since I'll already be in a not-so-flattering bridesmaid dress!  So if I start reintroduction at day 26, will I still be able to see the affects of those foods, or is it too early in the cleanse?

[MeadowLily]

The Whole 30 is not a Cleanse but a Food Reset.   You need 30 days as written to have an authentic Whole 30 for an authentic Reintroduction Phase.   Some folks are more sensitive than others to all of the phases of the month but it sounds like you want to stop early because of the wedding.  That would be your choice.   Some do not follow through with the Reintro Phase and immediately return to their normal life on Day 31.   Then, they restart another Whole 30 immediately and some follow through with the Reintro Phase after that 30 days.

 

There would be no authentic Reintro Phase  if you stop short...but you could quit now.... Start another Whole 30 and then conduct  a proper reintro phase.  You choose.   I think you want to enjoy the wedding which is understandable since you're in the wedding party.  

[Physibeth]

My advice would be to not worry about it now. You might find that your cycle gets thrown off a little by Whole30 and you might find that you are not as symptomatic as you were before either. It is hard to predict this though. I would just concern yourself with a day at a time and when you get to day 30 evaluate where you are and how you feel. You may be fine to start reintro. You might decide to extend your Whole30 and wait to reintro. The wedding might throw things off and you will need to do a couple of clean days to reset. Hard to tell this early in the game. For now...just focus on getting to the end of Day 30.

[Munkers]

The Whole30 is, essentially, an elimination/provocation diet. To have a good, clear indication of whether or not you're actually sensitive to a certain food, you need to completely eliminate it from your diet for a minimum of 30 days and some folks will recommend a minimum of 6 weeks. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide what you're going to eat, but yes, you'll be cheating yourself by starting reintroductions after only 26 days.

[ChristieLeigh]

Thanks all for your replies.  To be clear - I am not wanting to "cheat" or indulge at the wedding, I just don't want to have any bloating symtoms in a dress that I'm already fits me in an unflattering way.   The wedding would be after my reintroduction anyway unless I postpone reintroducing foods until after my period.

 

My main issue was not wanting to have my period during rentiroduction so that I knew if any ailments I experienced were due to adding things back in or if they are PMS as I have digestive issues along with cramps during that time.  If the full 30 days is necessary for the reset to completely take place, I will wait until then.  Just wasn't sure since the timeline says "Tiger Blood" can start as early as day 16, and to me I thought that meant most of the junk must be out of your body.  That made me think day 25 would be ok to reintroduce to test

[Physibeth]

The timeline isn't going to ring true to everyone though it is fairly typical of most people's journey. The reason "Tiger Blood" stage usually starts around day 16 is because that is generally how long it takes people's bodies to become fat adapted. The decrease in energy and athletic output in the first two weeks is because most of us are sugar burners and when you deny the body that fast fuel it doesn't know what to do. Usually takes about 2 weeks to release it has abundant energy sources to tap into (fat) already. I completely understand where you are coming from. You will have the best test and results if you finish the full 30 days and then decide whether to extend past your period or just reintroduce. If you don't want to "cheat" or indulge at the wedding but are concerned with how a reintroduction food will affect how the dress fits then I would suggest just extending your Whole30 through the wedding and reintroduce after that.