So...two days ago I ate an English Muffin.  I ate an honest-to-goodness, Thomas' English Muffin.  I put butter on it.  I had memories of how delicious it would taste.  The soft warm bread, with the crunchy, toasty outside.  Dripping with creamy, salty butter.  I literally put the plate under my nose, inhaled, and sighed a really contented sigh. Then I took a bite.  And another.  And another.  After a few more bites, the first half of my English Muffin was history.  And so were my fond memories.  It did NOT taste as good as I remember.  I mean, there are somethings that I gave up, and having eaten them after, I have said to myself, "Boy, was that delicious!"  This English Muffin was not one of them.  But I WAS hungry, and so I finished it. About two hours later, I was sound asleep.  It was a "sugar crash" of the highest order, I believe.  So, I avoided gluten the rest of the day.  I had some aches in my back, but just sort of brushed that off as ... eh...gettin' old. I went back to my pre-gluten reintroduction.  I have responded MOSTLY fine to all reintroductions.  Even the gluten, didn't seem to be TERRIBLE...just exhausting (pun completely intended!). Then yesterday, I went about my day, made some Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken.  I let everyone else eat first and then I ate.  Now, I haven't eaten this in forty days.  Unlike the English Muffin, THIS WAS AMAZING!!! I attribute it to the crispy "fried" bite-sized pieces of chicken more than the deliciously sweet and tangy orange sauce.  And I went ahead and finished it off once the family finished eating.  I ate quite a bit of it.  Well guess what.  THAT was a mistake.  And I don't believe it was psychosomatic because I didn't have pain after the English Muffin. I couldn't stretch my arms over my head to get dressed for bed - the pain and stiffness in my shoulders was so pronounced.  Removing my pants, was suddenly challenging because my knees hurt.  (Please note, up until this point, I have only considered my knees when talking about joint pain - never my shoulders or elbows!)  This had to be the result of the delicious, gluten-full, crispy coating on the chicken. So Lessons Learned:

• I have a similar response to chickpeas and turkey.
• Certain dairy products definitely affect my belly - but this was true before Whole30.
• Gluten definitely has an effect on my joints, and my energy levels.

What my plans are going forward?

• I am already planning for my next Whole30.
• I will reduce my dairy intake, but not eliminate it.
• I will mostly avoid gluten.  When I am out, I will make choices depending on what I am doing, and I expect that as I continue to try different things, that I will be able to start to determine which gluten items are worth it and which aren't.

Lastly, my interest in nutrition has grown by leaps and bounds.  I will continue to read and learn.  Perhaps help others in the future with their nutritional journeys.