AIP Elimination Diet- Week 4 (halfway done!)

This AIP elimination diet meal plan is what I followed during the fourth week of my elimination diet.

If you haven’t checked out my post on Elimination Diet- Week 1 , then go take a look before you continue to read this post. It will give you an idea of what an elimination diet is, and why I’m trying it out!

Elimination Diet Week 2 Menu here and Elimination Diet Week 3 Meals here!

8 Week Elimination Diet Plan

After reading Dr. Will Cole’s Inflammation Spectrum book and taking the inflammation quiz, it showed I have inflammation in a slew of areas. The top two were in the brain/nervous system and the hormonal (endocrine) system. In order to see if food is at the core of these problems, I’ve decided to follow his 8 week AIP elimination diet plan.

What I’ll be eliminating for 8 weeks

1. grains
2. dairy
3. added sweeteners (all sugar)
4. inflammatory oils (vegetable oils)
5. legumes (lentils, beans, peanuts, soy)
6. nuts and seeds
7. eggs
8. nightshades (tomatoes, tomatillos, sweet and hot peppers, white potatoes, eggplant, goji berries)
9. coffee (sob)
10. alcohol

Week 4 Meals

Below are the meals I ate during week four of the elimination diet.

Morning tea (7:00am)

I start each morning with a large glass of warm lemon water with apple cider vinegar, then a Pique tea. This week I drank their Sencha green tea each morning.

Breakfast (8:30am)

After 3 weeks of the same smoothie, I finally needed to switch things up! =)

This week I had a strawberry and spinach smoothie all week long.

1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 large handful spinach
1 tbsp psyllium husk powder
20g vital proteins collagen
1tbsp coconut oil
1 1/2 cups water
handful of ice

Morning Snack

Kale chips or iced lemon water.

Lunch (between 11:30 and 12:30)

1. Monday– strawberry and chicken salad. Not sick of this yet! =)
2. Tuesday- Baked salmon, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, side salad with cucumber/radish/mixed greens and extra virgin olive oil as dressing.
3. Wednesday- strawberry and chicken salad.
4. Thursday- salad with grilled chicken, broccoli, green cabbage, avocado, cilantro and extra virgin olive oil with sea salt.
5. Friday- grilled chicken, broccoli and baked sweet potato.
6. Saturday- tuna and avocado salad with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
7. Sunday- leftover soup

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Dinner (between 5:30 and 6:00)

1. Monday– spinach avocado chicken burgers, sweet potato fries, asparagus and sauerkraut. Try these burgers! They were delicious!!! I’ll be making them again very soon.
2. Tuesday- ginger soup with bacon. Another terrific recipe. The recipe is from the Inflammation Spectrum book by Dr. Will Cole.
3. Wednesday- leftover soup
4. Thursday- grass fed beef tacos with sweet potato fries and roasted broccoli. Used this cassava and coconut flour tortilla shell recipe for my tortillas.
5. Friday- baked salmon with coconut aminos, roasted zucchini. I was still hungry after this so had another 1/2 baked sweet potato (leftover from lunch).
6. Saturday- homemade chicken and vegetable soup. I’ll have to share a recipe soon because it turned out super good! =)
7. Sunday- whole baked chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli.

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Evening magnesium (7:30)

Every night before bed, I have warm lemon water with magnesium powder to help me sleep.

Other Snacks

1. Avocado with sea salt and pepper.
2. Frozen blueberries
3. strawberry and coconut milk “ice cream” (blend 1 can unsweetened coconut milk with strawberries, freeze for about an hour, enjoy).

How I feel after week 4

(During this time I’ll be tracking energy levels, acne, bloating, cravings and sleep.)

1. Energy- my energy is still low, which is extremely frustrating. I really thought I’d be feeling great by now! I realize this is a journey and things aren’t going to be great right away, but getting my energy back was one of my biggest reasons for starting this process. I want to be an active mom and wife, that feels GREAT and has good energy. I’m really hoping I start seeing changes here very soon!
2. Acne- cystic acne is better, but not gone. Small bumps on my cheeks and forehead are still there… I keep going down the rabbit hole trying to figure out why. I washed my comforter this week thinking maybe it has something to do with having that up to my face each night? Who knows. 😉
3. Bloating– Most days the bloating is so much better. I’m still not having regular BMs (sorry again if TMI) so that could be a reason for bloating on days. I’m taking psyllium husk fiber daily (in smoothies), so I’m going to switch out to acacia fiber and see if it makes a difference. I never had any issues when I drank coffee…:)
4. Cravings- salt and chocolate!
5. Sleep- I’m still having trouble falling asleep at night. It’s taking me about an hour to fall asleep with at least one wake during the night. I’m moving my bedtime to 9pm this next week and will see how it goes.

Overall thoughts after being halfway done…

I’m both excited and a little frustrated with this AIP Elimination Diet. I am the kind of person that wants to see results RIGHT AWAY, so when things aren’t great immediately, I want to know WHY. I’ve come up with a million different reasons why my adult acne hasn’t gone away, and why I’m so tired all the time.

Maybe it just comes down to stress and chasing around toddlers all day?! I get a little stir crazy doing the same things each day, so I’m trying to be better about planning intentional activities with my boys each day. These could be as simple as taking a different walking path, car rides, going to the park, etc.

I AM still very eager to see where these next 4 weeks take me. I feel less bloated and “light” overall, which feels great. I don’t track my weight so I have no idea if I’ve lost weight or not, but between eating this restricted diet and working out about 5 days a week, I’m feeling better about my body.

Next week I’ll be traveling, so wish me luck!!!

Don’t forget to Pin this to your Pinterest board for later!

Comment below your favorite travel snacks. Even better if they are AIP friendly! =)