I’ve heard of doing the full GAPS diet first and then going to the intro stages after you get used to it so it’s not such a shock. I don’t know if full GAPS can go on indefinitely but I think you’re supposed to be on it for 18 months or longer to complete the healing protocol.

Thanks again, I’ll email you soon.

I did the intro in about a month as well (I did the diet under a naturopath’s supervision) – the worst part is the first five or six days. Day 2-4 or 5 is the healing crisis and it was horrible, although because you’ve done the Whole30 challenge, you might not have such a huge reaction.

The biggest cons for us was the cost and how quickly the weight piled back on when I went off the diet. We typically eat meat only 2-4 times a week, so increasing that to every day increased our spending substantially (we happen to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world which doesn’t help). Even buying regular (not organic or grain fed) produce and meat still made it too costly.

I also never felt satisfied – I was sometimes full-ish, but never satisfied. And I felt like I was eating ALL THE TIME! We played around with more fat, more protein, more of both etc etc, but I was always hungry (and consequently, often cranky).

About 4 months in, I started having fatigue issues again and they didn’t really clear up for a few month when we started reintroducing things like rice…

I guess the thing about the GAPS diet is that it is a healing diet, so you’re not meant to stay on it forever. I probably would have benefited more if I had been able to handle it for a few more months.

I didn’t use Nourishing Traditions much during the diet – there were too many things still that had to be modified.

I think the GAPS diet has its merits, but like a lot of things you have to try it to see if it is a fit for you. We introduced grains back a few months earlier than the naturopath would have liked mostly because my family was suffering because I was so cranky…I know of a few people it works for and my naturopath’s family does the GAPS diet and has been for years and both she and her husband work full time. (I know her sister, so I know that her kids get things like macaroni and cheese and chocolate cake when they’re at Auntie’s, but for the most part they stick to it…even in their packed lunches for school)

My advice if you decide to do it is to ease into the intro – although again, I think that the Whole30 probably has helped in preparing you. I started drinking broth about a week before, but I think I’d almost do a reverse intro to get into it – start by eliminating slowly. And makes sure you have a stock pile of food that’s ready to eat. When you’re in the healing crisis, it’s nice to be able to just open the fridge and grab something or at least grab the pre-cut veggies/meat etc to make a meal with.

If you want to know more, send me an email nannyshanny at gmail and I’m happy to respond. There are some great GAPS friendly recipes for “normal” food out there! I’ve got a spreadsheet somewhere too that lists what you can have at the various stages of the intro diet.

I have been thinking about starting GAPS soon. I have a friend who did the intro stages in under a month, so it is possible to go through it quickly if that makes it more doable. The people who I have talked to that prefer GAPS to Paleo say that GAPS is about healing so that you can eventually eat anything you want, whereas Paleo supporters say you should not try to re-introduce grains, dairy or legumes in your diet (save for “open” meals if you do that).

Sorry I missed this somehow! I recently started having an EC support group at my apartment and found out from another mom that the Little Potty is discontinued. This is the other potty we have, which I really like as I mentioned above.

Oh, BTW, when you freeze filtered water… it’s totally clear… I was amazed…

I can’t wait to read Peter’s guest post!

As for the baby . . . right now I have just been holding him over the toilet or a little bowl (when I nurse him!). But I thought he might be comfortable on a little potty.

Which would you buy?

The little potty is great for young babies. Peter was able to sit on it before he could really sit up alone. It just had the right shape to support him. Now he’s about 25 pounds and 31″ long and he still fits, but it’s getting close to being too small.

The smart potty is more of an oval bowl than round so there is more room. It is also higher off of the ground and doesn’t offer the same sitting support. One thing I love about the smart potty is that the bowl is removable from the base. We often take the bowl with us when we’re going in the car (too cold for him to pee outside right now). It doesn’t take up much space and it’s very easy to rest it in between your legs and have the baby sit on your lap while on the bowl.

At home we currently only use a potty at night so that we don’t have to leave the bedroom. We mostly just take him to the bathroom. The only hard part about taking him to the bathroom is holding all 25 pounds of him! My arms are getting very strong. We are thinking about getting a toilet seat reducer. Have you tried one of those? It might be perfect since you have the 2 year old, they can both use it.

Which potty was small and comfortable? My baby is 6 1/2 months old, and I’m not sure if a regular potty will be too big. But as I also have a 2 year old who is potty training (traditional) (so far we have been using the regular toilet for both kids — just learned about EC last week!), I am hesitant to buy something very small!

That should say, I did the GAPS *DIET* for a while

The nut allergies are very interesting. I also just wrote a post about grains and leaky gut, which I mentioned that one of the symptoms of leaky gut is “apparent” food allergies. If the gut is functioning properly the proteins from nuts that cause allergic reactions should never make it into the blood stream in the first place!

My friends daughter has a severe allergy to all nuts (peanuts & tree nuts) and to coconuts (including coconut oil). Just something to think about when trying to figure out allergies. She had no idea that coconuts would affect her too.

BTW, please tell Peter, ‘Thank You’, in advance for info about his Bento lunches.