Single Food Reintroduction Schedule

[Quackycait]

So I looked around on the forum and couldn't find anything like this (maybe I just didn't know what to search for, specifically) So I'm going to post my plan. I hope this helps someone else who's in the same position as me.

I finished my very first Whole30 YESTERDAY! I had an amazing time with this. It wasn't too difficult and I really got a lot out of it. I'm sleeping more soundly, falling asleep faster, and waking up easier (often before my alarm even goes off). My skin has really cleared up. The migraines that I had prescription medication for have completely disappeared. My energy is pretty high despite the fact that I've completely cut out caffeine (Coca Cola was my caffeine of choice, but i would also drink tea and coffee). I don't know about my athletic performance because I gave my body a break from intense activity while I was adjusting to the new lifestyle. When it comes to physical changes, though I know that's not the goal; I did experience some. I lost 4.2 lbs, 1.4% body fat, and a total of 6 inches around my body. Overall this has been a wonderful experience and I'm totally going to keep this a part of my life and maybe even get my husband to try it out!

So I'm finally at the reintroduction stage and I'm trying to get as much out of it as possible. I'm super interested in what specific foods could give me problems, rather than just the food groups. Therefore, I've made a SUPER SLOW ROLL SCHEDULE that I'm going to follow. If I follow this, it will take me another 81 days (minimum: assuming no category REALLY messes me up for more than 2 days) to finish my reintroduction. During this time I will pick a new food (that I previously ate/wouldn't mind eating again if possible) every third day to try. I will eat that food in a lot of different forms and styles throughout the day (unless the morning reintroduction immediately ruins me), while eating everything else Whole30 compliant. Then I'll go back to Whole30 for the next two days/however long it takes for negative symptoms to clear up.

I followed the basic template of: 1. Legumes, 2. Gluten-free grains, 3. Dairy (split into lactose free and normal), 4. Gluten-containing grains, 5. Alcohol

SUPER SLOW ROLL SCHEDULE

1. Black Beans
2. Peanut Butter
3. Soy: Edamame, Miso Soup, Soy Milk
4. Chickpeas
5. Lima Beans
6. Green Peas
7. Corn: Corn Kernels, corn tortilla chips, popcorn, Creamed Corn
8. White Rice
9. Brown Rice
10. Grits
11. Gluten-free Oats
12. Lactaid Milk
13. Skim Milk
14. Halo Top Ice Cream
15. Normal Ice Cream
16. Hard Cheese: Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan
17. Soft Cheese
18. Greek Yogurt
19. Whipping Cream
20. Whole Wheat Bread in various forms
21. Whole Wheat Pasta
22. Biscuits
23. Vodka
24. Whiskey
25. Rum
26. Ciders
27. Wine
 

Before I did the Whole30, I had already cut out almost all dairy (except in baking/ The Cheesecake Factory Strawberry Shortcake- OMGEEE). I drank MAYBE once every couple of months, and then it would be just one drink. And I wasn't a huge grain person except for Grits and breakfast breads. I'm aware that none of the things in my reintroduction list are things that I HAVE to have again. But they are foods that I think could come up naturally in my life, and I want to be able to make the most educated decision possible about if that food will actually be worth it. Therefore, I will introduce them all. Knowledge is power, after all.

I may also extend a bit longer and try out different combinations of these foods to see if that affects me more than just the individual food. For example- what would a bowl of cereal with gluten and dairy, do to me? Does that still happen if I use almond milk, or Lactaid Milk? And then maybe try out different desserts that have a few of the inflammatory ingredients in them.

I know this may seem excessive or too intense. But this would really satisfy the math/science minded + organizational part of my brain. I have no doubt that I'll do another Whole30 again one day. I actually really look forward to it.

I'm welcome to any suggestions/comments. But please keep them constructive- and don't try to talk me out of doing it this way. I'm already going to do it. But if you can think of a way to make it better organized, or if you have done something similar to what I'm about to try to do- I'd love to hear about your experience!

[ladyshanny]

Woohoo, your last few days there should be fun! LOL! 

It's not too intense or excessive at all if it's what you want to do. Just make sure you're watching for emotional symptoms as well (reduced mood, increased cravings etc). Not everything is food related. Lots on the forum find that gluten makes them sad. Which is a weird thing to watch for and often comes "low-grade" at first. If you DID want to shorten your schedule for whatever reason, you could do a couple days of...for example....legumes and then go back to Whole30. If you have all those legumes over two days and have no side effects then you could reasonably expect that legumes were fine. 

The things that people do as a clump and then often have to break out are different types of dairy (eg, whey, lactose, casein all react differently in some folks), soy is often done alone, peanut butter is often done alone. Also remember that things like the Halo Top will have rice & legumes and sugar alcohols on top of the dairy which can all be potentially disruptive. Regular ice cream often has corn, soy and carrageenan so make sure you're checking ingredients.

[Quackycait]

Thanks for the heads up! I'll keep that in mind and look more closely into the ingredients of the things I'm going to reintroduce to make sure I'm only trying one inflammatory thing at a time.

:-)