Reintroduction Redo

[WRice23]

I completed a Whole30 in January of 2020 and really enjoyed how I felt until reintroduction. I introduced each group as outlined in the Whole30 book (except dairy since I avoid dairy all the time) without symptoms, but once I had all of the foods back in my diet, I started feeling as bad as I did before my Whole30. 

I'm currently on day 28 of the September Whole30 and reintroduction is set to start this Wednesday (10/14). I'd really like to pinpoint what went wrong last time so I can get the most information out of this reintroduction period. I really did the Whole30 to reset my system and discover which food groups I should avoid to feel my best.

Any advice is much appreciated! Thank you.

[ultrarunnergirl]

If you've read It Starts With Food, you know that the reason the Whole30 came to exist was to eliminate foods that could make you feel bad - physically (inflammation, hormone changes, etc) and/or psychologically. 

When you reintroduce, be sure to follow the fast track and reintroduce one food at a time on that day, then back to Whole30 eating for 2 whole days before reintroducing the next food.

You may well find that some of the foods you ate before were not doing you any favors - and now that you have given your body time to heal the damage they inflicted, you will notice the effects more clearly when you eat them. Some foods you may feel fine after - but only if you eat them occasionally, and/or in small amounts. For instance, even if you find you don't feel poorly after eating corn chips, it still wouldn't give you your best results if you ate a half a bag every day.

 

 

[BabyBear]

I used the NSV inventory list I did at the end of my whole 30 to also gauge my symptoms if any during reintro.  I journaled everything which was tedious, moods, sniffle, a sneeze, cravings, energy. I didn’t assume anything as coincidence for the next few days. I then paid attention after reintro if I was having two or more of the off plan foods together.  I found that sugar and gluten together was dangerous for my mood, cravings, and energy, also upsets my digestive tract.  Sugar and dairy together absolutely wrecked havoc on my intestines.  Journal everything and pay attention to everything.  You may even try reintro the one item over 2 days and then eat on plan for 3-5 days.  I have son with severe allergies and intolerances and I have learned from trying to identify his issues years ago that some foods may not present issues until 3 days after introduced to the system.  I hope you are having a positive experience with reintro.

[JoeyC7474]

I started late September and finished late October.  I tried to go out for lunch and I felt awful after.  I had “naked” chicken that was loaded with crap.  I held 2 pounds of water.  The next day I canceled all reintroduction.  At this point I’m just going to stay on Whole30 for life.