AIP DIET SERIES – Week 10 Overview – Reintroduction Phase

September 1, 2024 /

Discloser: I am not a trained health professional. All articles are based on my own experience and opinions. Please consult with a health professional before making lifestyle changes.

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<< Back to Week 9

Update

This was the week of the dreaded work trip, and spoiler – it didn’t go great.

As the trip approached I got more and more stressed about my food options. I initially had a plan to stay with AIP. However the complexity of high histamine threw that off course. After a couple of mental breakdowns I decide the best thing for me was to just make nut butter sandwiches, get some coconut yogurt for breakfast, and just do my best.

I introduced almonds last week with a poor reaction but I decided that if I supplemented with my meals that I could pull through for a few days and then recover when I got back, even if it meant going back to strict AIP for a week or so.

The bread I chose doesn’t have potato starch (a know issue with me) but did have corn (another known issue). But I cut my losses and just told myself that this trip would be a success if I didn’t get glutened.

I had the worst luck at whole foods and target (the only stores close enough to my hotel to walk to) and I get nervous ordering delivery from places I don’t have experience with. Plus, the find me gluten free app showed lots of places, but they all had oddly low safety ratings for such a large city. I couldn’t risk getting glutened so I stuck to my almond butter sandwiches, coconut yogurt, fruit, and I got a couple of Kevin’s microwavable meals that are certified gluten free and honestly were as AIP compliant as I could get.

The trip was short but took a lot out of me. Eating so much processed food, traveling, being stressed out, and not really eating proper full meals really added up. I cried at the airport coming back because I was in so much pain where it was difficult to walk, the only food options were forever away, and I was alone. This was the first time I’ve been without my husband and I quickly realized how much easier navigating a chronic illness is with a partner who cares. I cried on the phone with him until I gathered the courage to walk to a fried chicken place that was naturally gluten free. It was delicious, however full of corn and I fully sent it and got fries too. Pretty quickly I was extremely bloated and the brain fog from the pain was so intense. But I managed to get home and spent the next two days entirely in bed, sleeping a crazy amount, but after those 2 days I honestly felt back to normal – if not better than I was before the trip!

I was impressed with my recovery time. Not even a few months ago a trip like that would’ve taken at least a week if not more to feel like I could be up and about again. So from here I’ll be taking it back to the basics plus what I’ve reintroduced but because I am feeling better I will continue to reintroduce rice. Rice is huge in my preferred eating style so I’m hoping I can bring that in regularly.

What I Reintroduced This Week

Obviously I couldn’t eat great this week so I had a lot of unintentional reintroductions. But there were two that I specifically tried this week. I have decided to reintroduce everything with my digestive bitters and enzymes, just because I know I had an underlying stomach acid issue.

Black Pepper: Ahead of my work trip I wanted to make sure this wasn’t an issue. We made steak a few days before I left and put just salt and pepper on it. That went well without any issues!

Rice: After I got back from my trip I reintroduced rice with just plain water (I usually cook it in bone broth). Honestly, I had mixed results. My first bite with 15 minutes waiting went fine, so I continued to portion. However after eating my salmon bowl I did get a pretty bad headache and a round of crazy intense hiccups. I need to try it again to see if it was the rice that caused that reaction or something else.

Menu For the Week

In the reintroduction phase I’ll be eating recipes from my master AIP menu plus anything successfully reintroduced.

View my full AIP Diet Meal Plan / Menu here!


Symptom Check In

  • Swelling/Inflammation: (Start – 8), (Week 2 – 7), (Week 3- 6), (Week 4 -5), (Week 5 -4): (Week 6 -4) (Week 7 -6), (Week 8 -3), (Week 9 -4): 6 – after my trip I was feeling extremely bloated and inflamed. I couldn’t walk well, and slight touch was painful. After two full days of rest I did feel dramatically better – which is an improved recovery timeline.
  • Hip pain: (Start -7), (Week 2 -5), (Week 3 – 7), (Week 4 -5), (Week 5 -4), (Week 6 -5), (Week 7 -6), (Week 8 -4), (Week 9 -4): 6 – I overdid it on my trip. I thought the three block walk to whole foods and back was doble, but man travel just messes with my body. I could hardly move when I got back from the store. But I had to power through it during a whole work convention. I felt awful but made it happen, which of course led to two whole days in bed when I got home.
  • Sleep Quality: (Start -3), (Week 2 -3), (Week 3 -4), (Week 4 -4), (Week 5-3), (Week 6-3), (Week 7 -3), (Week 8 -4), (Week 9 -4): 2 – I slept ok on my work trip but had stressed fueled nightmares and had a hard time waking up.
  • Acid reflux: (Start -5), (Week 2 -0), (Week 3 -0), (Week 4 -0), (week 5 -0), (Week 6-0), (Week 7 -2), (Week 8 -1), (Week 9 -1): 1 – acid reflux has been much better. I did have a weird amount of hiccups after eating the rice.
  • Psoriasis: (Start -8), (Week 2 -6), (Week 3 -5), (Week 4 -5), (week 5 -4), (Week 6-3), (Week 7 -2), (Week 8 -2), (Week 9 -2): 2 – still the same
  • Hormonal acne: (Start -6), (Week 2 -4), (Week 3 -3), (Week 4 -3), (Week 5 -4), (Week 6-3), (Week 7 -4), (Week 8 -2), (Week 9 -3): 2 – I started my period this week AND traveled and barely had any breakouts. I did have a few baby ones but they disappeared really quickly.
  • PMS: (Start -8), (Week 2 -6), (Week 5 -3), (week 6-2), (Week 8 -0), (Week 9 -0): 1- my period came and went with barely any symptoms. Maybe some slight mood changes, energy dips, but nothing like the hell it’s been before.
  • 28-day menstrual cycle: (Start -33 days), (second cycle – 30 days), (third cycle – 27 days) – right on target! Even came a day early. It really is clear that something with my inflammation or digestion in general affects my hormones.
  • Recognizing myself in the mirror:(Start -2), (Week 2 -4), (Week 3 -5), (Week 4 -6), (Week 5 -8), (week 6-9), (Week 7 -7), (Week 8 -8), (Week 9 -8): 5 – big tank to my self esteem this week. I can feel a huge difference when I’m eating well vs not in how I mentally feel about my self and my body. It’s a night and day difference. I thought I was so ugly on my work trip, but after I recovered my confidence came right back!

Supplements I’m Taking

These supplements support my gut and overall health during AIP. They are in no way required but people are often curious, so here’s what I’m currently taking:

Continue to Week 11 >>

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