I can't give out too much information about my particular protocol but I can give you some kind of clue as to what my version of AIP looked like for a few months of starting my protocol.
First, my decision to seek out a functional medicine doctor was the best choice I made. I had come to a point in my life that seemed to be hopeless (how I felt mentally and physically). It also came at the loss of a job that I truly loved. At the time I couldn't pin point what was happening. I felt stupid. I was reading but couldn't grasp anything that I had just read. I would read a number thinking it was right but one little thing was off. I was devastated. I thought I was making great food choices because we were eating deli every day and I would eat paleo. I mean how bad can lunch meat, mayo and vegetables be?! Well, the deli meat is what destroyed my brain and my physical well being. January was rough. I was out of a job, I had horrible brain fog and felt ill daily. I would start the day off feeling okay and would just progressively get worse as the day went.
Don't be sad though! I look at everything in life as a place were I need to be at that particular moment. Everything happens for a reason. A series of events whether they are good or bad always lead us to where we are suppose to be. Life is a journey and we need to pay attention at the series laid out before us.
So, I seemed out 2 functional medicine doctors. I met with them both and chose Dr. Brett Allen. Not only was he more reasonable, but I also didn't have to drive 45 minutes away to sit in a office. My appointments were in the comfort of my own home via Skype. How convenient and comforting that when your appointment was scheduled it was kept!
After my initial phone conversation with him, I scheduled the remaining blood tests I needed - which wasn't much for me since I had ordered a bunch of tests in January. I also received a food allergy panel. For this the phlebotomist came to my home. The rest of the labs I went down the street from my house to Quest. So convenient! Are you seeing a pattern here?! Great care and it was easy!
I should mention that while I was waiting for my results and speaking to him again I jumped into AIP - textbook style. I eliminated everything except for coffee.
My results came back and I had a severe candida overgrowth, leaky gut etc. The first four weeks of the protocol were of course strict, but then each week I was able to introduce new foods. I have to mention the food intolerances since they are not true allergies. Eggs, dairy, bananas are the top 3 I want to mention. My scores were 1 & 2. Since they still scored it is advised that I keep them in my rotation but only eat them a maximum of 3 times per week. I have mentioned before that when I do go over board that my face breaks out. I don't have a problem with nuts, BUT that being said that if I do eat them more than 3 times per week my face shows it. It's the only thing that I try to do once per week and sometimes twice since I am baking and recipe testing and everything has almonds in them.
Now I am quite comfortable as to where my breaking points with certain foods are, so to speak. Right now I'm staying clear of fruits - but mostly bananas. I could eat them everyday! Zero dairy now too. Which reminds me, I came across cauliflower cheese and OMG what a life changer! I have omitted the nutritional yeast and garlic from the recipe but it is awesome! It shreds and melts. Awesome!!
Here is a few meals I have put together recently.
I made mention to my friend Kari that my food is not very pretty, so I will be working on that. But this was the cauliflower cheese on the side with ground turkey and a mix of cauliflower and spinach topped with a fried egg and hot sauce. Not AIP for all, but my own reintroductions.
Tonight I made cassava flour tortilla's from Urban Poser. I need to work on these more. I ended up combining dough balls so I could make larger tortillas. So I got 4 large and 2 small tortillas. I ate one of the small ones plain to test it out - so good! I would have hoped to get them thinner but they kept ripping on me. A work in progress. On this tortilla I had lime cauliflower rice, shredded purple cabbage and carrots and hiding under that is a piece of salmon. I was so filled from this meal. It was nice. I ate better today then what I have been. Usually at work I am doing so much I don't feel like it much so I typically will have a bar. They usually have nuts so I try to avoid them, but they are easy when I am busy. But when I get home I eat all night since I feel so hungry.
So there it is so far. Always a work in progress and always try to define what works best for me. Everyone is different and my AIP is not everyone else's AIP.
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