Episode 387: Starting AIP on a Budget
 

Welcome back to The Paleo View! (0:40)
Stacy is so excited; life is great.
Matt and Stacy went through some hard times in life for a while, and she is in awe to be going through a really great season in life right now.
Sarah's family made two resolutions together as a family.
The first is to do an outdoor activity together as a family every weekend.
The second is that they would do meditations together as a family, and they are using the app Headspace for this.
They are doing them before bed, and for five minutes.
Stacy is excited to help Barbara this week.
A reader question came in that inspired this week's episode and is a unique challenge for both Stacy and Sarah to answer.
Sarah loves the idea of getting back to basics and talking about what it is like to start AIP for someone who is new.
 
Listener Question
Barabara is 75 years old and is on social security.
She wants to do the autoimmune protocol, and her question is:
How can I do the AIP diet? Where do I begin?
Sarah thinks it is awesome to take a step back and to talk about where it is best to put that initial effort at first.
One of the things that most resonated with Stacy when starting her AIP journey, was to think about what she is adding in versus what she is taking out.
The thought process is that we're adding in nutrient density.
As a reminder, nutrient density is that for every calorie you are eating you are maximizing the amount of nutrients you can get for that food.
That the food is high in fiber, or other minerals and vitamins, different kinds of things that are adding value to your health.
We are adding in nutrient density to nourish and heal our bodies so that we can feel our best.
 
The Starting Point
As someone who is just starting and where to begin, we are just trying to nourish the body to feel it's best and taking away the things that cause the inflammation and the auto-immune systems.
A diet is not healthy or unhealthy based on what you avoid.
So Sarah likes to talk about any diet from the standpoint of what we eat, versus what we avoid.
Sarah thinks that as we go through the steps on where to start with AIP, it is very helpful to adopt a positive focus on what we do get to eat.
It is a subtle shift in mindset, but it can make all the difference.
We need to not just think about the autoimmune protocol, but the mindset around food in general.
This sets us up for a journey, as opposed to a dietary intervention that is going to be on for a while and then off.
Working to find a maintenance diet that is going to work for you as an individual is key.
AIP is designed as a thorough template to get to that point.
 
Lists & Labels
Sarah feels that the next step is food lists. (12:12)
It is necessary information to know what to eat and what to avoid.
There are free lists on Sarah's site, and in this eBook there are very thorough lists as well.
Sarah created that eBook to be very comprehensive to expedite the application of AIP.
From there, Sarah thinks developing the skillset of reading food labels is important.
Using the food lists to inform you, and then reading labels to build awareness.
Go through the pantry, and put anything to the side that is Paleo but not AIP.
Even those who aren't necessarily new to AIP will find it very helpful to revisit ingredient lists and check the prep details with restaurants.
Stacy likes to think of AIP as an elimination diet to see what works and what doesn't work for your body.
The goal is for it be for a set amount of time to help your body to heal.
It doesn't have to be a forever thing.
 
Meal Planning & Prep
Sarah likes to put her AIP lecture series students through an exercise to help with this process.
The students look at the meals they already eat that are very close to AIP, and look for the little swaps they can make to adapt the recipe to be fully AIP.
Look at what you are already cooking and love and look at where you can make a small change.
You can build from there once y