SUPER overwhelmed w/ reintro

[_kiragreer]

Hi! Can't believe I made it this far... last week of Whole30! I'm stressing a bit about reintro's. I've come this far and I want to figure out what's bothering my stomach (extreme bloating/gas prior to this diet). The problem is, Day 25 here and I am still experiencing some bloat/gas. I mean not NEARLY as bad as before, but it's a bit frustrating. I think I can attribute it to the veggies I'm eating, which I guess is inevitable? (I eat a salad everyday.. same with sweet potatoes..other high fiber foods) I also notice lots of gas after I eat tuna? I think I may cut it out after Whole30. It makes me feel very full & I'm not a fan of the Primal Kitchen mayo, tbh.

Anyways.. I'm going on vacay 1.5 weeks after I'm done. (Two in a row actually, so I won't be home /eating normal until July 16!) Thus, I won't have time to re-intro all the groups in that period, which is fine.. I think I can hold off on a few. This is my rough plan/outline.. suggestions..? Am I eating enough of each group that would allow me to feel a difference? - Assuming I go back to being Whole 30 compliant the next 1-2 days.

Note* I will not be re-introducing dairy, as I haven't eaten in over 2 years. I think reintroducing alcohol will be tough.. as again it's vacation.

Finally, what about sugar alcohols? Is there a way to even reintroduce ? That’s what I think is causing my issues.. b/c I think it's what I ate most of. I ate very very similar to Whole30, prior to starting this. Really the only difference this is that I haven't consumed sugar alcohols or the soy yogurt I ate each day. The fake sugars in the Luna bars I ate.. the occasional Lenny and Larry protein cookies...the Halo Top.. the fake stuff in my "low fat mayo" or other 'diet' condiments. I plan on cutting out fake coffee sweetener + crystal light for good though. Okay so here's my rough draft: 

Sorry this was a bit all over the place- I really appreciate any input/suggestions.. thank you! 

Group 1: Gluten grains, 6/23

• Whole wheat bread in morn w/ breakfast
• Beer at night? I mean technically gluten right?  (And I only wrote this b/c I'll be celebrating an anniversary w/ my bf that day, and since I've gone 30 days with no alcohol, we were planning on celebrating lol)

Group 2: Soy, 6/26 *I am most confident that soy is upsetting my stomach, considering I ate a soy yogurt just about everyday before Whole30, and I remember how bloated I would feel. Would just reintroducing 1 of these allow me to figure out if soy is the culprit? That and maybe a splash of soy milk in my coffee?

• Soy yogurt for break
• Soy milk in coffee? What else???

Group 3: Legumes 6/29, or maybe wait til after vacay? Could probably last without legumes for 2 more weeks. Peanut butter was the only thing I ate on a reg. basis before this and I'd be surprised if it was causing issues?

• Peanut butter w/ banana at break
• Peanut butter cookie Lara bar, for snack 
• Ssoy sauce w/ salmon at din 

Group 4: Non gluten grains; wait til after vacay.. I think these can easily be avoided.

• Quaker instant oatmeal at break
• Popcorn for snack 
• Rice w/ my dinner??

 

[_kiragreer]

Hi there.. I have a few more re-intro questions (can you tell I'm dressing about it lol)

Thanks!
 

How do I reintroduce things that have more than 1 “problem” group?? Examples..

• Luna bars (have soy and wouldn’t it also be consider a non gluten grain?)
• Lenny and Larry protein cookies (gluten? fake sugars and other ingredients i cant pronounce?)
•  

And what about foods with ingredients I don’t even know what they are lol.. Halo top ice cream? I ate this in moderation anyways.. I suppose I really shouldn't be eating foods I can't pronounce ingredients, but I need a sweet once in a while!

What about Hemp/chia seeds? is it even worth re-introducing those, or do they just cause more harm for digestive health/ bloating than good?

[ShannonM816]

I've merged your two reintroduction topics, so all your reintroduction stuff is all in one place -- it seems like that should make it easier to find if you need to reference it again in the future.

A thing that stands out to me that has nothing to do with reintroduction, but which you might look at should you do another Whole30 in the future -- you mention still being bloated, and one of your questions is about sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols (which cause digestive issues in lots of people) are classified as polyols, which is what the P in FODMAPS stands for -- FODMAPS are certain kinds of carbohydrates that some people have trouble digesting, which could cause bloating and gas and other issues. If you figure out that the sugar alcohols are an issue for you, you might look into FODMAPS and see if reducing them reduces the bloating and gas issues even more than just the Whole30 did. Obviously, you don't have to, and some people find it overwhelming, but it's something you might want to read up on at some point. Here's a pretty good explanation to get you started:  https://www.thepaleomom.com/modifying-Paleo-for-fodmap-intolerance/ 

When you do reintroductions, it's best to have some of the item at each of your meals -- so for instance you mention toast at breakfast and beer at dinner, but you'd want to have something at lunch as well. The exception would be, if you reintroduce something and notice an effect immediately, you don't have to continue to reintroduce it -- there's no point making yourself feel worse unless you just really want whatever it is regardless of how it makes you feel. (Beer does have gluten. It also has alcohol. You will be reintroducing alcohol if you have beer, and it would be better to reintroduce each type of food on its own day.)

For your soy yogurt, did it have anything else in it? Like artificial sweeteners? Be sure that what you try for reintroductions doesn't have anything else that's not Whole30 other than the soy, so you know for sure that's what you're reacting to. If you have some at breakfast and immediately feel gassy and bloated, it's safe to say it doesn't agree with you and you don't have to do more soy reintroductions. 

For foods with multiple non-Whole30 ingredients -- save those until after you've reintroduced each type of food individually and know how you react to it. Once you know how you react to the stuff in those foods, decide whether they're worth it to you. If you know you react badly to soy, you may decide Luna bars aren't really worth it, since they've got soy flour and soybeans and soy lecithin in the ingredients. If you do decide they're worth at least trying, then give them their own reintroduction day and see how you feel. (You probably don't need three of them in one day, unless you would ever actually eat three of them in one day.) Do the same with other foods -- read the ingredients, determine if those particular ingredients are worth it to you.

For things that you don't know what they are, you can google them and read about them and make your own decisions about whether they're something you want to continue having going forward. Some things with long, scary-sounding names are not really that bad. The Common Additives Cheat Sheet and the Sneaky Sugars List that you can download here: https://whole30.com/pdf-downloads/ are a place to start. 

Hemp seeds and chia seeds (and any other seed or nut, other than peanuts, which are legumes) are actually allowed on Whole30. However, any of them can cause digestive problems, especially if you eat very many at once. 

I think I've addressed all your questions, but if I missed something, or something doesn't make sense, definitely ask. Reintroduction and life after Whole30 are definitely harder in some ways than the black and white rules of doing a Whole30, but you don't need to be super stressed out by it. 

[_kiragreer]

Thank you so much! That was all super helpful (: Attached are the ingredients of the soy yogurt, would it be okay to use to re-introduce?

 

[ShannonM816]

Yes, this should be fine.