Yay! Whole30 is done, now what? It is time for Whole30 reintroduction. The key to getting the most bang for your buck or just making sure that all your hard work from the last 30 days amounts to something is to spend the next 10-30 days slowly reintroducing the foods you have been missing. One of the biggest positive outcomes that comes from doing a Whole30 is understanding how foods affect you personally. What we really want to know is how the food we eat affects your energy, sleep, mood, cravings, digestion, allergies, headaches, physical ailments. We’ve spent the last 30 days without sugar, dairy, and grains, now the experiment continues as we see how we react when they are reintroduced. Now we really get to the good stuff!
Food Freedom
Food freedom is the goal here. Once we know how sugar, dairy, and grains affect us personally, then we can set up our diet and meals accordingly. Do not rush reintroduction or go straight to pizza and ice cream. That would be a major waste of the last 30 days. Whole30 programming recommends reintroducing one food group at a time, then doing Whole30 for 2 days before introducing another food group. It might seem slow and tedious, but this is the best way to gauge the true reaction from your body in regards to these foods.
Food Groups to Reintroduce
- Added sugar
- Gluten-free alcohol
- Legumes
- Non-gluten grains (corn, quinoa, oatmeal, brown rice)
- Dairy
- Gluten grains (whole wheat bread, pasta, cereal, wraps, beer)
Slow and Steady
The next 10-30 days are all about the experiment. Continue to plan your Whole30 compliant meals and then add the food you want to introduce on the side. It may be a good idea to keep a food journal or jot down when and what you ate. Then over the next 2 days keep on the lookout for any noticeable symptoms and basically recurring symptoms that you were having prior to Whole30. Look for things like digestion, energy, mood, sleep, cravings, focus, skin, allergies, headaches, pain, and inflammation. If symptoms or issues do arise, then you know that food affects your negatively and it may be in your best interest to continue to avoid. If you have no noticeable issues during a certain reintroduction. Try it a couple times in a couple different ways. Then you may be in the clear for that food group.
Wow, what a month it has been. If you have been following along, I would love to hear your Whole30 wisdom!
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