guess what! this is the LAST whole30 update of my series.
I'm sorrrrry i know its late, i wanted to post earlier today but i'm still not feeling that hot. i have some more soup on the schedule dinner so hopefully that will help.
but anyway we're talking about my reintroduction today! if you're wondering what reintroduction is or what a whole30 is, i went over the process pretty thoroughly in my updates: week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, the results, and the survival kit! specifically, i'm going to go through what i ate on my reintroduction days and then how i felt aftwerward. let's do this.
(But first, don't forget – today is the last day of my cookbook giveaway. check out that post for a chance to win a copy of nom nom paleo, the whole30 cookbook, it starts with food, or well fed!)
LEGUMES!
B – peanut butter. just kidding – a spoonful of peanut butter + potatoes + sausage
C – a starbucks iced coffee + splash of soy milk
L – lentils + sautéed onions + roasted cauliflower
S – peanut butter chocolate chip larabar
D – beef stir fry w/ soy sauce
reaction: B peanut butterrr. I've always been a peanut butter lover. hard core. which is why I was super upset when I took that first bite and it was exactly as I remembered it… but I just wasn't in awe of it anymore. to be fair I started out with like a lick of a spoon because I just DIDN'T WANT TO. I wanted to continue my good ways with my good food and not break it. and I was scared. honestly. Frankie had to be like “YOU NEED TO EAT A FULL SPOONFUL” and I did and I was okay with it. ate a spoonful and moved on. nothing wrong with my stomach and NO CRAVINGS FOR MORE. C then I got a coffee with a “slash of soy milk” … did you know soy milk is the devil? it tore my stomach apart for two hours. literally. I was bloated (and gassy – wahh) and my stomach would NOT stop making gurgling noises. it was NOT worth it and now soy milk is forever banished from my diet. L so the lentils. I rarely ever have beans or lentils, but I decided to throw some lentils in there just for science purposes. they gave me a slight stomach ache, but not to the point where I was seriously uncomfortable. I'll have them on occasion but like I said, I rarely ever had them before anyway so I won't be missing much. S the peanut butter chocolate chip larabar did not sit well with me. but honestly I think that had a lot to do with the fact that it was the only thing I ate before my run. i'll give it another shot after reintroduction and we'll evaluate from there. D I was SO SCARED for soy sauce. I didn't want another soy milk situation. and I love sushi! luckily I think I'm okay, at least with small amounts. I didn't have a reaction at all to the sauce. i'll keep it to a minimum but enjoy it when it feels right.
the verdict: peanut butter is ok. soy milk is out forever. soy sauce will be an occasional indulgence. and lentils, maybe… maybe not. probably more maybe nots than maybes.
GLUTEN-FREE ALCOHOL!
B – sausage + breakfast potatoes
L – bora bora meatballs + broccoli
D – crackling chicken + roasted cauliflower
D – 3.5(ish) hard ciders
reaction: can I be real with you? I was SO underwhelmed. the first sip I expected magic. you know? sort of like unicorns flying around over rainbows and glitter raining around in my head. what I got… was apple cider. but not even like GOOD apple cider from an orchard where you just want to drink a gallon. the good news is that I LOVE apple cider. I just wasn't like impressed. I tried a few different ones to be sure: angry orchard and a strongbow at a happy hour with my friends from work – and the best part was just chilling there hanging out being a part of the group. that made me feel good. I felt tipsy after those two. BUT magically, I didn't crave anything. there was no incessant NEED for pizza. I went home and bought some apple ginger cider because those are my FAVES and I was like totally expecting to be in love with them. and again it was nice to have and keep that buzz going but like I wasn't overwhelmed with happiness. I made myself some cracklin chicken and roasted cauliflower and went on my merry way of being buzzed without the need to gorge on candy and snacks. THEN DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED? I woke up with a headache and was like CURSE YOU 3.5 CIDERS. I didn't try wine, but if we're being honest I haven't been super into wine in like months. so I figure i'll try it when I decide to and evaluate then.
the verdict: Frankie was right. I didn't love being able to drink again. and honestly I was pretty relieved and happy to know over the next two weeks I'm “not allowed” to.
GLUTEN-FREE GRAINS!
B – quaker instant oatmeal maple & brown sugar + half a banana
L – corn tortilla chips + buffalo chicken + some salsa
D – Sausages + cauliflower.
reaction: B the oatmeal gave me a weird pain. I don't know if I was just thinking about it too much, but I could swear it was right beneath my rib cage and it hurt. no digestive problems, no growling, my stomach was pretty okay. (it was SUPER sugary though. I definitely noticed that and will be switching my oatmeal brand). L The chipssss. I was so scared. I know how to eat a bag of chips guys. like in one sitting. and I was petrified I'd fall into my old ways and lose control. and I was eating them and underwhelmed I had about a serving of the chips and realized – these are doing NOTHING for me. I'm not even really enjoying them – why eat them? so I stopped. and I put them away. and I didn't glance back. I didn't feel the need to introduce anything with dinner so I went back to whole30.
the verdict: maybe every once in a while, but not a necessity in my life!
DAIRY!
B – plain greek yogurt + strawberries
L – a little before lunch i had a coffee + half & half
D – ice cream after dinner!
reaction: i expected dairy to be the complete worst. so you'd imagine my surprise when i coasted through the day. i didn't reintroduce cheese or straight up milk, i only reintroduced things i'd really see myself having on a semi normal basis. i felt… fine. until the next day when my digestive system was ANGRY. i had a pretty big stomach ache the next day and i was tired and unhappy. and pretty surprised that my reaction was so delayed, i expected it to be almost instantaneous. a few notes about what i ate: PLAIN greek yogurt was really my only option (the only one without sugar) and it was not my favorite at all. frankie hated it. i'd probably be more on board with some honey or something. cream in my coffee – i'm not sure if that was enough to give me a reaction at all. i've started taking my coffee close to black with just a splash of almond milk/creamer so there probably wasn't enough now that i think about it. ice cream! i enjoyed this – which is surprising because you know, i'm known for being able to just have one bite and put the container back.
the verdict: the reaction i had the next day was enough to put me off to having a ton of dairy, but i suppose in moderation i could deal with it.
GRAINS (with gluten)!
B – Half an everything bagel
L – Balsamic chicken + broccoli + red onion + grapes + saltine crackers
D – normal whole30 dinner + a couple sips of an IPA
I started out the morning feeling good. I left early to stop at a hot and crusty and pick up a bagel in Grand Central. I got into work ready to start my day. GOOD TO GO. I was actually scared to take my first bite. what if it was amazing and I “fell off the wagon.” Frankie joked about finding me curled up in a ball with a loaf of bread a few nights before… and all joking aside I was scared it would be WONDERFUL and I'd want it all the time. because lets not forget, I put the D in Diva when it comes to bread. so I take my first bite and think… this is underwhelming. I MADE myself eat half of it for the purpose of seeing how I reacted. I think this is the first time in my life I've ever THROWN OUT half a bagel. and I didn't look back. Then lunch came along. I was as happy as a clam. ate a handful of saltines with my lunch and went on my way. about oh I don't know an hour or so later? gluten betrayed me. IT BETRAYED ME MY FRIENDS. my stomach LOST IT. it was incredibly uncomfortable and I thought I was dying. All my life I thought my digestion problems were SOLELY from dairy (which I do still think it plays a part) but… what if the main culprit was gluten? and I never knew? I was VERY sad about my recent revelation and tried to nurse my stomach back to health with water… at dinner i braved a couple sips of an IPA and hated it/didn't want it at all so i made frankie finish it.
the verdict: …. wahhhhhh. i don't wanna say this. UGH. i SHOULD probably stay away. my body CLEARLY does not like gluten. but i lovely bread and all things gluten-y and carb-y. i might start trying out the gluten-free bread options and see how they work, but all in all. i'm trying to keep it to a minimum. it's not worth the literal pain to me. (ugh.)
what's next.
I know the question burning on all of your minds is: what's next? how do you move on from here? what will I eat? what won't I eat? am I going paleo? will I try and eat whole30 forever?
it's sort of bittersweet. not to say that I hate being off the whole30, it's just harder. in the week following my reintroduction my stomach was a mess. I felt really out of control and sad that all of these foods that I know and love were making me sick. it seems like anytime I eat ANY gluten my stomach spirals out of control and I get severe stomach aches. everything else seems like moderation might be key, if I want it. which I'm not really sure if I do.
I'm trying to approach this in a way that works for me (and Frankie). we both REALLY liked how our bodies felt when we ate whole30. we liked the food and we liked the energy, the routine, the organization. I'd like to continue eating this way when I'm home – at least 90% of the time. I'm hesitant to say that weekdays are my “healthy meal times” and weekends are “whatever I want days” because when you tell yourself you can splurge on the weekend that usually leads to over splurging. I'm toying around with the idea of what I'm calling “part-time paleo.” I'd like to keep up being primarily paleo/whole30 all week long but on the weekends if I see something I like/want and I've evaluated how I think it'll make me feel and it still seems worth it, i'll have it. that's not to say if I want something during the week I won't have it, but the idea is to really stay true to what my body needs during the week – that's when I need to be on my A-game.
I'm not going to beat myself up when special circumstances come up (visitors, vacation, holidays). i'll make the best choices I can with the tools that I have and live with them. Frankie wants to do another whole30 so he can really say he did it (he had to drop out for Disney) and I'd be good with doing it again – I just would want to wait a little while. I'm also not against a whole 7, 9, 14, etc. to tune up after the special circumstances I talked about.
The scariest part for me is going to be when I'm traveling. I don't know if I could do this/be paleo when traveling. we're always going to new places so I I'm not familiar with ANY of the towns, we go to the smallest towns/weirdest places, and we pretty much do most of our meals together… which definitely throws off my flow. I think I just have to resign to doing my best and approaching these situations as they come.
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