This is the last post in my five-part series chronicling my journey through the GAPS Intro Diet.

So I am officially done with GAPS Intro! I have been for about a week or so, but I haven’t gotten time to sit down and gather my thoughts about the whole thing. I have actually sat down to write this post a bunch of times and just can’t get into it. I think it’s because I had a tiny breakdown about GAPS, and then I relaxed a little about Stages 5 & 6. Let me explain.

I wrote a little about my episode here, but basically what happened was that I had my first reaction to a newly introduced food and I got discouraged. I thought I would have to be stuck at Stage 4 forever if I couldn’t eat every single food on the list. Then I realized that I am the one in charge of this plan, and that I could make the executive decision to move onto the next stage and try that food again later when I felt ready. That really took the pressure off and allowed me to start trying more new foods and eat more like a normal person (not that people on GAPS Intro aren’t normal.. well, maybe we aren’t, but you get what I mean).

Let me be clear, though- I didn’t cheat or go off the diet, I just moved on and skipped some of the raw vegetables, which I plan on reintroducing eventually.

What did I eat on Stage 5 & 6?

With Stage 5 came raw veggies, applesauce, honey and fruit for juicing. Stage 6 adds whole fruits.

• Scrambled Eggs in Ghee with Avocado and Sauerkraut (my typical breakfast.)
• Eggs with Ham and Asparagus
• Sausage Patties
• Pulled Pork with GAPS Barbecue Sauce (I skipped ahead again and added spices to the barbecue sauce.)
• Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
• Squash and Almond Flour Bread (Yellow Squash and Zucchini)
• New Cooked Vegetables- spaghetti squash, tomatoes, green peppers
• Raw Cucumber, Carrot, Celery
• Homemade applesauce (pictured above, small batch recipe here)
• Fresh Juice in lots of different combinations
• Crispy Nuts
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Lots of Bone Broth and Tallow and Salt and Garlic and Sauerkraut and Olive Oil
• Other things I can’t remember because I stopped writing my meals down in such detail!

Did I see any changes or patterns in my symptoms?

I had some trouble with introducing raw cucumber and butter lettuce at the beginning of Stage 5 (that was the problem food from my episode). Then I remembered that raw vegetables have often been a problem food for me, and like I said- I stopped freaking out about it. I have seen a few symptoms come back here or there, but nothing like the pain I used to experience. Plus, my supplements are really helping to reduce pain.

Any practical advice from Stage 5 & 6?

Don’t go crazy with the whole fruits and honey and baked goods- it can send you into a downward spiral really fast! Take advantage of juicing as a way to get in some tasty fruits (with your veggies, too, of course). Also, watch it with the nuts. It can be tempting to eat them for every snack and with every meal in your baked goods/bread; but they shouldn’t be the main part of your diet- that should still be meat and vegetables.

Also- keep up the broth and soup, don’t quit!!

Any encouragement for people in Stage 5 & 6?

Let the bumps in the road be okay. Let the little mistakes be okay. I’m not giving you carte blanche to start cheating (GAPS is not a diet you want to cheat on, since you would have to start from the beginning again to get your desired results), but do give yourself some grace. This is a hard journey and you’ve almost made it to the full diet. Keep up the good work and take your healing seriously- you are worth it.