As the last couple of days of our Whole 30 drew closer, I didn’t want it to end. I was scared to stop! I knew that there were going to be some uncomfortable reintroductions, and some things that I didn’t want to reintroduce at all (gluten grains – I already know my limits with those). The Whole30 program suggests reintroducing dairy first, then waiting a couple of days to see how it goes. Next comes non-gluten grains, wait a couple of days, then legumes if you want. The only legume I missed was peanut butter (I’m obsessed). They also state that if you didn’t miss something during the 30 days, then why reintroduce that group? If you are loving your results and feel amazing, why introduce a hormone disrupting, inflammatory, or blood sugar spiking food? Just do away with it!

The day after we finished, I went to a baby shower. I know, smart idea! There were oodles of delicious treats lying around, but also fresh fruit AND Whole30 compliant Aidell’s Chicken Meatballs!!!! Hallelujah! I was thrilled, knowing I could eat those without distress. I loaded up on meatballs and fresh fruit and was fine. Then I tried one of the Aussie bites they sell at Costco – uh oh. I was hooked. I ate four. Or five. I can’t recall . . . but they were GOOD. They have oat flour and oats in them, which I wasn’t going to reintroduce that early, but oh well. That night I was a little bloated, and the next day. So I kept away from everything else for a few days and kept eating Whole30 compliant.

We ended on a Monday and on Thursday my husband and I had our 10 year wedding anniversary. We didn’t do much to celebrate because we had other obligations that day, but I did make him some of my Paleo Fudge Cups with wild orange oil in them. So we had a little treat – sweetened with honey. They were so delicious and so sweet – we each ate one and felt perfectly content. They actually stayed in my fridge for a week, which has never happened before!

On Friday we celebrated my oldest daughter’s birthday by taking our kids and some cousins to a children’s museum and out to eat at a Brazilian restaurant (you know the ones where the servers bring around huge skewers of different meats and grilled pineapple and you eat all that you possibly can?!?). Dinner was good, we were definitely reintroducing the sugars with all of those meats slathered in sauce. The salad bar was fabulous. On the way home, we stopped at In-n-Out for Neapolitan shakes for the girls . . . and my husband and I decided to share one. This was our dairy reintroduction – neither of us had any before this. While we were drinking it, we both kind of stopped and decided that we were only drinking it because it was THERE. It didn’t taste the same as it did before this whole journey. It was just . . . alright.

Within 20 minutes, I was doubled over in our truck driving home. It was almost immediate. OH THE PAIN. I wanted to just curl in a ball and die. I have felt a lot of digestive discomfort in my lifetime, and this was right up there with the worst. It was shocking. I think the combo of the dairy and all of that sugar with it didn’t help.

That night I was in a lot of pain and for a couple of days after that I remained bloated and gassy. I was applying my Digestzen oil all the time and drinking lots and lots of herbal tea. I didn’t want to touch much food, because I was scared it would hurt me.

I decided to try some bread made with natural yeast because I really really wanted it not to hurt me. Good news – it didn’t! I made waffles (with coconut milk instead of regular – I learned a little lesson), then bread, and nothing bothered me at all. That was a huge relief for me. It’s been a huge blessing to be able to make bread and other baked goods that don’t bother my tummy.

That was basically all of the reintroducing that we did. We don’t really eat legumes (besides peas) anyway, so I didn’t feel like I had to suddenly make a pot of beans or anything. I did have peanut butter and it was just as delicious and satisfying to me as I remembered it.

For me, dairy was a huge trigger. With everything going on with gluten upsetting me and having gall bladder issues in the past, I didn’t  ever consider that dairy would be one of the problems I was having. But now I know. And I didn’t miss it, other than using butter, so I will just stay away from it the best I can. Does that mean when I go to Canada this summer that I won’t have my usual Tiger Ice Cream? No. I will probably have it several times, in fact. That is why I love this program – they aren’t asking you to give up everything in your life forever and ever amen. They are asking you to take 30 days, rediscover your relationship with food, figure out what is harming you, and then decide if it’s worth it to you.

In the past if I ate something that wasn’t healthy I would still finish it even if it didn’t taste as good as I had imagined. Now, I think I will be more willing and able to walk away or stop eating if the first bite isn’t drool worthy. Tiger ice cream is drool worthy. Trust me. So there are some foods (everyone has them) that you will still eat or make an occasion for. And that’s okay. The point is to be in charge of your relationship with food. To own it. To know that “Yeah, this might not be the best thing for me to eat, but I know that, and I could stop at any time if I wanted to.” That is what I love about this. It’s not a weight loss program or quick fix diet. It’s a mental shift that will help you your entire life from here on out.

We had a great experience with our first round. We definitely binged on a few things after we finished and didn’t feel that great. I am missing that momentum I felt toward the end though, so before it’s too far gone, we are starting again! Join us. I have several goals and  things I want to do differently that I learned the first time. More on that to come!