almost at the end, a few reintro questions

[Avalanche]

Hi everyone,

So I'm on day 29 and looking at the reintro schedule in the book. It mentions the protocol for dairy, gluten, non-gluten grains and legumes. But it doesn't say anything about the other items we eliminated like sugar, alcohol, additives etc. Should I also plan a reintro day for each of those? Sugar is kind of hard to isolate -- unless you just eat a heaping teaspoon . Also, do I have to do it in that order, or can I do reintro in whatever order I want, as long as i'm following the other guidelines?

I also understand that we aren't supposed to combine banned foods on re-entry, but keep them as "pure" as possible. So something like sushi, for example, which would have some sugar, soy, gluten elements, is out during reintro. But I could have some plain rice, or oatmeal, or a glass of milk.

I've really enjoyed this experience, but I am looking forward just a little bit to loosening up and not being 100% strict. I went to the farmers market on Saturday to buy some grass-fed dairy for day 31, and I won't lie, I am looking forward to enjoying a little yogurt and milk. Dairy has been the one food during this experience that I miss. No cravings, or out of control feelings or anything like that. But I'd like to be able to have it occasionally. Most of everything else I can live without. I'm a huge sushi fan, so that will make an eventual appearance in my life. And I'll probably be less worried about trace amounts of sugar in things like bacon, or certain types of lox. I don't have a sugar dragon (never did), so this is not a big issue for me. And the occasional glass of wine. but I'm planning to be compliant on a daily basis and allow for these other items on a truly occasional basis - when it's actually worth it.

[JJB]

You can reintro in whatever order you want, on whatever schedule you want. The key is to keep things separate as much as you can, and monitor yourself really closely. This means physical and mental/emotional symptoms.

I think additives would be hard to gauge...unless you could get a really large dose, and who wants that anyway? It would probably just effect you over time.

Sugar can be easily separated out, unless you hate candy (jelly beans and gummy candies come to mind). You could also reintro dairy and see if there are any problems with that, then try ice cream later on to test sugar.

[Avalanche]

Yeah, with sugar I was thinking that it usually comes along with other ingredients - either in the form of baked goods, or with a bunch of other random stuff in the form of candy. I don't hate candy - but if I'm gonna have sugar I'd lean towards chocolate, or a chai latte - which both have dairy. But you are right, that once I have tested for dairy and I know the effect, I can have something that has both.

With addititves it's hard to gauge - and I'm not looking to reincorporate those into my life, I was just thinking from a "science-y" standpoint of testing. The almond milk I used to drink was pretty clean, except it had carrageenan.

[madtownjules]

I'm glad you asked this question, I started re-introduction yesterday and had similar questions.

For me, I am not worrying too much about the "little" additives- like I just had some regular Mayo with some soybean oil in it. Not the end of the world for me. But I wouldn't just add soy sauce. Same with Sugar- I'm not worried if a Salad dressing has a little sugar, and nothing else bad- it's a small dose of sugar. But I'll introduce candy on it's own (m and m's for breakfast anyone? OK I'm totally kidding)

I hope this is a reasonable approach.

I do have a question though, is the re-introduction schedule a cumulative thing? Like if I introduce grains with gluten first, and do ok- then add in dairy. Do I keep the gluten in my diet while doing dairy? Or just go back to whole 30 diet without the gluten, and only dairy as a new thing.

Meaning, do I add things back in isolation, or in combination with things I've already tested "ok" to.

Thanks, Julie

[Avalanche]

Julie - my understanding is that you are supposed to isolate each item as much as possible. So you keep W30 compliant and add dairy. Then you go fully compliant for 2 days. Then you add gluten, while staying otherwise compliant - meaning, no dairy, even if you've already tested it and found you don't have issues. This is pretty simple for the big 4 they outline in the reintro schedule - Dairy, gluten-grains, other grains, and legumes. It's a little more complicated with things like sugar, since, as I mentioned before, it often comes with other ingredients. Although I guess you could also just sprinkle some sugar on an otherwise compliant food like fruit, or use a recipe that is otherwise clean, but sugar is called for. Additives are much harder, and there isn't much guidance on those.

[JJB]

That is my understanding too. You may not notice an immediate issue with a particular food, but if you were to continue eating it for a week or two it could add up (it might start disrupting your sleep for example). You don't want that muddying the waters when you're trying to test a different food.

[Susan W]

Here is my feeling on sugar. I know what it does. It makes me want more. It doesn't have the same negative side effects as dairy and gluten grains. I didn't bother doing a reintro of it.

Sushi would be a non gluten grain test for me because I would take my own coconut aminos. Not sure why there would be sugar in sushi. On my fifth W whatever so at this point, if I impulsively am out for sushi, I will use soy if I don't have my CA with me.

As far as additives go, I simply always want to avoid them and I have no curiosity about which additive causes me to have a reaction or not. I eat clean enough in real life that if an additive happens to sneak in, I don't worry about it.

Yes, you go back to W30 eating between reintroductions.

Enjoy your reintro days.

[Avalanche]

Thanks Susan!

Sugar is often used in the recipe for sushi rice.

[Susan W]

Oh you are right!! Totally forgot about that. No wonder sushi leads to cravings of more sushi.

[1Maryann]

And don't forget the sugar in the pickled ginger, if you eat that. And wasabi has corn flour in it.

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Does anyone know what the best cheese to reintroduce first would be?

[Xandra]

Does anyone know what the best cheese to reintroduce first would be?

Velveeta. (I kid )

I'm guessing it would be whatever cheese you want to eat on a regular basis.

[martihana60]

Great thread, folks. Thanks. I'm preparing reintro (beginning Saturday?) after my first W30-turned-W60. Interestingly, my digestive system has never entirely calmed down during my W60. So I'll be extra careful with reintros.

Good to know the order of reintroduced items is not so important. For instance, I really have no desire to EVER reintroduce gluten-containing grains: I just expect that to happen sort of accidentally somewhere down the road. And frankly I'm in no hurry to introduce other grains, either. A few black beans in my salad, and a little hummus once in awhile would be nice. Greek yogurt and heavy cream in my coffee would be nice (though frankly, bulletproof coffee has really grown on me). And maybe on rare occasions, I might like a Red Bliss potato with lots of ghee.

And the one place I really miss sweetener is in my coffee. Using dates occasionally has helped, but it's not the same.

Still, overall I find I'm a little scared to start reintroducing foods! Do not want to awaken any sleeping monsters.

[Avalanche]

Martihana - I see reintroduction as a. testing to see what I can/can't tolerate, and b. giving me training wheels while transitioning from a strict W30 protocol to a less strict Paleo diet. It will help me figure out exactly what non-compliant foods are worth it, which ones give me more trouble than others, and letting me dip my toes in off-plan eating in a nicely controlled way. This way, when I'm confronted with a situation where I have to, or want to, eat something non-compliant, I have a resonable expectation for how that will make me feel physically, and prepare me mentally.

I also have foods I'm not so keen on ever having (like beans), but there may be a time when I need/want to eat them, so I might as well test them out now.