Week 8 on Autoimmune Protocol (AIP): What to eat to support your autoimmune disease! {What I ate}

I’ve made it to week 8 on the Autoimmune Protocol. It's been so long, but I've got so much more healing to do and so much more to learn. A question I get asked a lot is, “How do you give up {fill in the blank}?” It’s always followed up with, “I just couldn’t do it.” No matter what the inflammatory food is my answer is still the same. I reply, “It is easy. If this makes the pain go away, then it is worth it.” When you have an autoimmune disease that flares its ugly head making normal living difficult, changing what you eat doesn’t seem too hard. Although, it isn’t easy to switch to the AIP or other anti-inflammatory diets. There are so many things you have to keep out of your diet, it can seem overwhelming!

When I was looking to start AIP, I really just wanted to see how people were managing daily meals. Information about what people were eating day in and day out was slim. I found a few bloggers talking about a week or 2 here and there, but I really wanted to see more people talking about how to keep it up and what they were actually eating each day. I decided when I jumped in, I would share what I was eating here, so folks could get some idea of what it looked like for me and ideas for where to find good recipes. My hope is these weekly recaps are providing you with lots of ideas!

Day 49

How I am feeling:  Today I did a dance cardio routine. My right thumb is a bit achy and the lymph node on my right side is swollen. It is fairly hard to keep my grasp of things or lift even relatively light things.

What I ate on AIP elimination phase day 49: 

Breakfast:

“Chocolate” Cherry Coconut “Oatmeal” from Nourish: The Paleo Healing Cookbook 

Lunch: 

Pumpkin Chili from The Healing Kitchen

Strawberries

Snack:

That’s It Mango Apple Bar

A few AIP Carob "Chocolate" Chips from Sonora in Bold

Steak Strips

Dinner:

Balsamic-Glazed Salmon from Fifty Shades of Avocado

Scalloped Potatoes-For these, I just sliced some white sweet potatoes pretty thin added some garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, salt, and parsley and baked on 350 about 45 minutes in a covered glass baking dish.

Cinnamon Mashed Carrots from The Healing Kitchen

Dessert:

Apple with Chocolate Sauce from Our Sweetly Spiced Life

Creating Balance: 

I made the bed and opened the curtains. I went out for a walk, enjoying some of the trees that still had leaves. I worked on a puzzle with Li. Relaxation practice.

Gratitude: 

Today, I’m thankful for feeling like I’m getting caught up.

Day  50

How I am feeling:  My hands are pretty sore and I’m having some pretty bad thumb pain. I’m having to adjust how I’m holding things to keep a tight grip of them. I’m gassy today. For today’s exercise, I did weight lifting.

What I ate on AIP elimination phase day 50:

Breakfast:

Fall Harvest Hash from Sonara in Bold

Lunch: 

Crunchy Tuna Wraps from Heal Me Delicious

Apple

Blackberries

Snack:

AiPeazy Muesli

Dried strawberries

Dinner:

Meatloaf (my recipe, coming soon)

Roasted Asparagus and Veggies (my recipe, coming soon)

Baked Sweet Potatoes-Wash and scrub. Fork prick and put into baking dish. Bake on 425 for 45 minutes.

Creating Balance: 

I made the bed and opened the curtains. I took a walk outside. We had beautiful weather today. I swung on swing. Relaxation practice.

Gratitude: 

Today, I’m thankful for crunchy leaves.

Day 51

How I am feeling: I finally slept really well last night. I woke up today with hardly any pain in my thumbs, wrists or elbows. Exercise for today was dance cardio.

What I ate on AIP elimination phase day 51 :

Breakfast:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from Heal me Delicious

Lunch: 

Crunchy Tuna from Heal Me Delicious over mixed salad greens

Snack:

Sweet potato

Apple

Apple and Mango That’s It Bar 

Dinner:

Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes-Wash and scrub. Fork prick and put into baking dish. Bake on 425 for 45 minutes. Serve with BBQ sauce, cheese sauce (mine was from Meatified), and shredded chicken leftover from Roast Chicken.

Creating Balance: 

I made the bed and opened the curtains. I took a sweat bath in Epsom salt, aluminum free baking soda, and my herbal bath mix. Completed my weekly self-care routine: dry brush, ayate cloth body exfoliation, charcoal face mask, pumice foot soak and scrub, and body moisturizing with oils and body butter (using all non-toxic or low-tox products). I worked on a puzzle. We had a family movie night and watched Heidi. Relaxation practice.

Gratitude: 

Today, I’m thankful for evenings to cuddle up.

Day 52

How I am feeling:  I had a restful night’s sleep and slept hard throughout the night. I did weight lifting. My hair has begun falling out by the handful when I shower. This is new. It hasn’t done that in a good many years.

What I ate on AIP elimination phase day 52:

Breakfast:

Butternut Squash Breakfast Sausage from Real Food with Dana 

Lunch: 

BBQ Chicken Breast

Apple 

Snack:

Museli

Snack mix with Lovebird cereal, raisons, tiger nuts, and cranberries

Strawberry with chocolate sauce

Dinner:

Pizza Rolls from Heal Me Delicious

Mixed salad greens with apple 

Creating Balance: 

I made the bed and opened the curtains. Wheel and I played mancala. I worked on a puzzle. Relaxation practice.

Gratitude:  Today, I’m thankful for a cabinet full of fun games to grab.

Day 53

How I am feeling:  I’m a little dizzy this morning. The swelling in the lymph node behind my right ear is going down and I’m having just a little pain in my thumbs, wrist and elbow. Today I did a minimal cues yoga.

What I ate on AIP elimination phase day 53:

Breakfast:

Easy Paleo and AIP Waffle Recipe from Sonora in Bold

Blackberry syrup-1/4 cup blackberries, 4 drops alcohol free stevia, ¼ cup water warmed over stove until syrupy. Stirring frequently.

Snack:

Snack mix- Love Bird cereal, sliced tiger nuts, raisons, cranberries

Lunch: 

Classic Nomato Sauce from Heal me Delicious (Mine never turns out red!)

Cassava pasta

Clementine

Dinner:

Burger 

Mixed Greens

BBQ sauce

Butternut squash

Broccoli

Hot Chocolate (My recipe, in progress)

Creating Balance: 

I made the bed and opened the curtains. We had family night and played Pictionary. Relaxation practice.

Gratitude: 

Today, I’m thankful for laughter.

Day 54

How I am feeling:  My right ankle is really swollen and painful. This isn’t necessarily autoimmune related. I injured it over 20 years ago and it sometimes flares up and gives me some grief. I’m really gassy and bloated today.

What I ate on AIP elimination phase day 54:

Breakfast:

Love Bird cereal, coconut milk, 2 drops stevia, coconut, freeze-dried strawberries, raisons and cranberries

Lunch: 

Leftover Pasta and Classic Nomato Sauce from Heal me Delicious

Apple

Snack:

Museli

Dinner:

BBQ chicken pizza (my recipe, coming soon!)

Creating Balance: 

I made the bed and opened the curtains. Relaxation practice.

Gratitude: 

Today, I’m thankful for old recipes made new.

Day 55

How I am feeling:  My ankle still swollen, but there is significant improvement in my thumbs, wrists. and hands. Today, I did a minimal cues yoga, choosing a new set. My face is breaking out some.

What I ate on AIP elimination phase day 55:

Breakfast:

Dark Chocolate-Cherry Smoothie from The Autoimmune Solution Cookbook

Snack:

Love Bird Cereal

Bare Apple Crisps

Lunch: 

Mixed greens topped with Classic Nomato Sauce from Heal me Delicious leftover from pasta lunch

Dinner:

“Magic” Chili from Autoimmune Wellness

Dessert: 

Strawberry Italian Ice

Snack

That’s It Bar

Tiger nuts

Creating Balance: 

I made the bed and opened the curtains. I worked on a puzzle. Relaxation practice.

Gratitude: 

Today, I’m thankful for warm blankets and a cozy fire.

At the end of this week, I’m still waiting for relief from the pain. I was disappointed to find out that a particular brand of collagen that is designed for those with autoimmune disorders I had been using for my recipes had egg in it. I completely missed this and I’ve been using it off and on the entire time I have been on AIP. I have cut it out of my diet, replacing it with something that is for AIP specifically and recommended by AIP nutritionists. One benefit of realizing this now is that if I start feeling much better, I’ll know egg is something that causes inflammation for me!

Question: What foods cause you to have inflammation?

Disclaimer: The purpose of this post is not to offer medical advice. I am not in the medical field. My purpose is to share what decisions I’ve made in an attempt to improve my health and try to put my autoimmune disease into remission. Remember everyone’s body reacts differently to foods and supplements and you have to make the decisions that are best for you. Consult a trusted practitioner for medical advice. Our resource page details the books, articles, journals, and websites we've researched to put together our autoimmune articles. You can access our Autoimmune Research Resources by clicking.  

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