What if it goes well? Any reason to limit it?

[TriGirlD]

Not sure why this is posting funny but here's my question:

Reintro of legumes went poorly. Immediately I felt gassy and bloated. But yesterday, I added dairy back in and still felt great all day. No stomach issues, full energy, no cravings, no bloating. Is there a symptom I may have missed? Could it affect me in a way I can't feel?

What now? If I add dairy back in on a regular basis, will that negatively affect my weight loss or anything else?

I knew what to do when things made me feel gross but not sure what to do now that it didn't.

All feedback helpful! Thanks!

[Brewer5]

I would recommend going back and reading the entire chapter about dairy in the book, so you can make this decision with that info fresh in your mind.

 

My next thought is that the effect of dairy is cumulative.  We may "do fine" with some here and there, but adding it back in on a daily basis may cause problems that you don't even realize, because it happens slowly over time.

 

Long before Whole 30, I learned all about the dangers of dairy -- and I learned back then that it takes ~21 days to get it fully out of your system.  

 

I've had my own lightbulb moment lately where I realized I am even sensitive to ghee.  So you can bet that the dairy is making its way back OUT of our house.  For me, it's just not worth it.  But this is one of those "highly individual" decisions we have to make post-Whole 30.

[Tom Denham]

I usually have no discomfort from consuming dairy, but my sleep quality gets worse. I did not notice this for several years until I decided to eat yogurt to include more probiotics in my diet. I started waking up at night more than I had. After a month I started wondering if it might be the dairy. I stopped eating yogurt and soon began sleeping better than I had for a month. 

 

I refuse to learn my lessons. For reasons I won't explain, I have been consuming dairy over the past week. My sleep went from 8 hours per night to maybe 6.5. I am afraid it is the dairy and not stress. 

[praxisproject]

Dairy is a sneaky one for me, often I have it and I feel just fine, but a week or two later, not so much.

 

It *always* makes me feel less well, but I really only notice when I get rid of it, rather than when I add it in.

For me, it seems to mess with hormones, weight, immunity and general feeling of wellness.

 

Robb Wolf mentions the purpose of cows milk is to grow a big strong mammal.

I'm grown already, I really don't need to be a bigger mammal  

[kirkor]

http://whole9life.com/2013/03/the-dairy-manifesto/

[Kimberly22]

Finished my first Whole30 on Dec. 2nd and finished reintroductions, except wheat/gluten, because I may be allergic and seeing an allergist next month. Anyway, in my opinion dairy is sneaky...as it does not have an immediate affect on how I feel and it does not affect my tummy. In the past I've had horrible problems with sinus infections and typically would have 3-4 a year without having a cold first. My doctors blamed the autoimmune disease that I have, which probably contributes but I havent had a sinus infection since June. I beleive it's becuase after my last infection, I cut down on dairy. Then did Whole30, obviously no dairy and now my nose feels the best it has in years! I seem to do okay with a small amount of cheese, but when I consume it I know I need to eat clean for several days.

[missmunchie]

Here's a great article from the Whole9 blog about how to decide if something should be off-road: http://whole9life.com/2009/10/that-covert-yogurt-when-food-gets-sneaky/

 

For me, the knowledge of things doing/not doing bad things to me are more to help decide if something is "worth it" or not. Generally I prefer to eat Whole30, but if I'm stuck on a plane it's good to know if I should do the peanuts or pretzels for a snack (assuming I HAD to eat one or the other, of course).

 

If you don't notice immediate side effects from the dairy, by all means enjoy a splash of cream in your coffee or cheese on your burger or whatever floats your dairy boat when you're not on a Whole30. But do be mindful that things tend to sneak back into your diet, especially if you do better abstaining than moderating. And you may not notice cumulative, long-term effects right away, like with allergies or skin issues. It's your life, it's your program, and your choices are yours to cultivate your own life happiness and decide what's "worth it". Best of luck on your off-loading!