Vomiting "cheat meals"

[Noob1234]

Hi all, I have been eating paleo since june, about 5.5 weeks. I decided to keep it up indefinitely because I'm still losing weight and feeling healthier than I have in a long time. I want to lose another 40 lbs.

Last week after my 30 days was up I had celebratory pizza, my former favorite food, ate 2 slices and couldn't stomach anymore, and after about 2 hours for the next 4-6 hours or so I was very nauseated and not feeling well.

Decided to get back on the paleo train. Tonight at a work event I treated myself to one slice of pizza (I'm a sucker for pizza) and a handful of potato chips. 2.5 hours later I am suddenly very nauseated, and now I feel better after vomiting everything up.

Thoughts? I haven't officially "reintroduced" anything. This was more like a cheat meal. Why the violent reaction? I don't think I'm sick - no other symptoms. Anyone else have this kind of reaction?

[ShannonM816]

You have reintroduced things, though. Even if you don't follow the schedule suggested, as soon as you have something that isn't Whole30-compliant, you've reintroduced something -- that's just the definition of reintroducing foods.

 

So what you've done is reintroduced pizza -- gluten and dairy at the same time for sure, and possibly other items, depending on toppings and everything. You have no way of knowing which item it is that's making you feel nauseated, or if it's the combo of them. Certainly people who are lactose intolerant often have digestive problems with cheese, some people have problems with gluten. If you're a little sensitive to both of those, the combo could be even worse than either one alone.

 

I would strongly encourage you not to think in terms of "cheat" meals. You're not cheating. You're choosing. You've done your Whole30. We would have encouraged you to do strict reintroductions to help inform your decisions of what is and isn't worth having going forward, but you've now done a reintroduction of sorts and found that pizza makes you feel like crap. Now, as you go forward in your life and decide what to eat and what not to eat, remember your reaction to pizza, and when you're in a situation where pizza is available, try to think if it's worth it to you to have a piece. If it's some homemade pizza, or from a really good restaurant that does really amazing wood-fired pizza, maybe it is. If it's leftovers in the breakroom at work, maybe it's not.

 

I have some articles linked in my signature below about reintroductions and life after Whole30, I'd encourage you to read them. Maybe start with this one.

[Noob1234]

Hi, thank you.  I guess I should try a strict reintroduction later.  It's just that I decided I want to stay paleo, so officially reintroducing wasn't on my radar... but found it surprising that I couldn't "stomach" a non-paleo food. I thought I would eat paleo and have a former favorite food every now and then.   I just called it a "cheat meal" because I didn't know how other to describe it.  So you're right, now that I have had a bad reaction, I should see what it was (I speculate it was the dairy wheat combo, tomato triggering reflux, and the fats not sitting well)

[Tom Denham]

Certain foods irritate your gut. Your gut grows a thick mucosal lining to protect you from the irritation when you eat those foods routinely. When you stop eating foods that irritate your gut for 30 days in a row, your gut sloughs off much of that protective lining. When you reintroduce irritating foods, your gut reacts negatively and you feel it because the thick mucosal lining is not there to protect you. The irritation has always been there when you ate irritating foods, but you did not realize it before. If you keep eating irritating foods, your gut will regrow the thick protection. You will still suffer when you eat those foods, but you won't feel it directly. That's just how it works. 

[Noob1234]

Thank you!