Easy living on the Good Ship AIP

Apologies for the lack of posts since starting AIP... but you know what? It may be because I no longer feel a desperate sense of urgency on this diet. While doing GAPS I felt like I needed to live, breathe, and (of course) eat GAPS. GAPS filled my brain so full I had to constantly read, or write, about it because I was always thinking about it. That isn't the case anymore.

I'm not sure why this is so. Maybe it's because I'm not restricting a macronutrient. Maybe it's that I was soooooo restrictive during the GAPS intro phase (basically, soup with meat and veg and that's it) that AIP seems positively decadent in it's variety and choice. It's certainly not that intro AIP is any less restrictive than the full GAPS diet that I was eating by the end of my month-long GAPS experiment. Although to be fair, I ate a very generous, loosey goosey version of AIP that first month; after coming off GAPS I simply couldn't face another super restrictive diet. But the fact is, even now on a tighter version of the AIP protocol, I still don't feel that sense of hyper focused attention that I did while on GAPS.

To be honest, this way of eating doesn't seem particularly restrictive to me. The only time I feel the pinch is when I try to eat out. However, I think that says more about how generally unhealthy the standard American diet is than anything about the AIP. What's so damn strange about the foods on AIP, anyway? Meat, fish, veg, fruits, safe starches like sweet potato and tropical starches. How is this SOOOOOOO WEEEEEIIIRD that it's nearly impossible to find in most restaurants so you end up having to cook everything for yourself???

Yes, I miss many of the foods I'm used to eating. I miss rice. I miss curries and spices. I really miss tomatoes and potatoes. BUT, so many of the foods I eat are delicious and totally satisfying. I eat plenty of fat, and I'm not overly restrictive with my carbs. My food is actually well seasoned and delicious. This is NOT a hard way to eat, at least not if you're used to cooking most of your food (which I am).

I will be very happy to expand my diet, especially the spices. This will also make it a lot easier for me to eat with others. This is my biggest complaint about the AIP protocol. But for myself, I find this is not only a deeply nourishing way of eating that minimizes damaging or questionable foods, it's a delicious, satisfying, and quite sustainable way of eating as well.