Reintroduction Observations - Whole30
Cheese on cheese with a side of cheese - reintroduction - whole30 - danachirps
I survived the reintroduction phase! Whoo hoo! I'm a free woman! I thought it might be interesting to share what observations I made when I began to reintroduce certain foods back into my diet.
Legumes:
Ate: Chickpea pasta and soy sauce (in cauliflower rice).
Results: I'd consider this category to be neutral. It didn't make me feel bad at all, and I also didn't feel like Wonder Woman. I don't typically go out of my way to eat legumes (except if we are going out for sushi - edamame and soy sauce!), so I feel fine with this result. I don't intend on making any changes to my legume eating habits.
Gluten-Free Grains:
Ate: GF Quinoa flakes (similar to oatmeal), and brown rice cakes.
Results: I already knew I had a serious corn and popcorn sensitivity, so I did not feel the need to test that out (note: corn byproducts seem to be ok... probably because it's not really corn at that point). After eating a serving of quinoa flakes, I felt fine, but a little too full/bloated. I was pretty surprised because I wasn't expecting a noticeable difference. I certainly didn't feel "bad" eating them, but I think this is a category of food that I'm going to be mindful of consuming in the future.
Dairy:
Ate: Cheese wrapped in prosciutto, and whole milk.
Results: Let me just say I seriously PRAYED for no issues on this one. I.love.cheese. Back when I lived in Richmond, I even used to attend a monthly cheese class. My mom and I LOVE to make charcuterie boards with a massive variety of cheeses. Blue cheese, brie cheese, goat cheese cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese... I love it all. So thank-you-sweet-baby-Jesus, my prayers were answered... cheese didn't give me any issues after eating it. However, I didn't feel like a million bucks either. In the future, I know I need to eat limited (rather than excessive) amounts of cheese. What I found to be interesting is that although cheese played nice... milk was a whole other story. I had a glass of whole milk and it wasn't long after that when my stomach began to do those apocalyptical gurgles, and I felt nauseous. It's worth mentioning that prior to Whole30 I rarely drank regular milk (and instead consumed almond, cashew or coconut milk). I also recalled how before Whole30 whenever I ordered a latte or a cappuccino that my stomach would get very upset - I now know why. After Whole30, I certainly plan to continue to drink alternative milks, and will limit how much regular milk I drink. I think in small amounts, I'd probably be ok. But ideally, I'd like to avoid it.
Gluten Grains
Ate: Bread, and whole wheat pasta.
Results: So this one was a BIG surprise to me. I thought I'd have zero issues with gluten. Shortly after I ate it (and similar to gluten-free grains) I didn't feel "bad," but did not feel as lean as I do when I eat meat and veggies. I also felt a little sluggish afterwards. Then the next day (within 12 hours of consumption) my stomach was in knots. This is another food type I'm going to be quite mindful of in the future.
So, now that reintroduction is over, now what? Well, I personally have enjoyed eating Whole30 foods. I have benefitted in so many ways from this program, and I'd hate to stop feeling as fantastic as I do. So my goal is to maintain as close to Whole30 as possible. I'll loosen the reigns a little with added sugar to give myself some more options. And when I go "out of bounds" my goal is to make those choices deliberate. Meaning, if I'm going to indulge in a decadent dessert, it's going to be worth it.
