Medical Disclaimer: This page is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, lifestyle, or supplements. Read my full Disclosure & Medical Disclaimer.

“Strict” AIP is NOT a Life-Sentence

The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is meant to be approached in stages — transition, elimination, maintenance, and reintroduction.

Many people get stuck: either they stay too long in strict elimination because they’re feeling great and are intimidated by reactions, or they get impatient and add foods back too quickly, or without thoughtful tracking, making all their hard work futile.

By now, you should have a good understanding of the AIP and its stages. If not, go back to Start Here #1 to get fully grounded.

To re-cap a little, however:

Transition Stage: A Gentle, Sustainable Start

Here’s the exciting update: Mickey Trescott’s New Autoimmune Protocol now includes a transition stage.

Before, you had a choice — cold turkey or slow and steady. Now, slow and steady is strongly promoted because it’s more sustainable, reduces overwhelm, and sets you up for success in both elimination and reintroduction. Think of it as easing into the AIP rather than jumping off a cliff. Your body and your sanity will thank you.

Reintroductions Are Mandatory (Not Optional!)

Let’s be clear: reintroductions are not a “maybe” — they’re essential.

This is where the real food trials happen:

You’ve removed the most commonly reactive foods.
Now you’ll add them back slowly, one at a time, starting with the most nutrient-dense foods first — or a favorite food first, if that brings you more joy, because the AIP isn’t about restriction.
Skipping reintroductions keeps your AIP efforts incomplete — you may never know which foods are safe or triggers for YOUR body.
Prolonged elimination deprives your body of exceptionally healthy, nutrient-dense foods.

This stage is where the magic really starts: you’ll regain variety, flexibility, and confidence in your food choices, while gathering personal data on what works for YOU.

Timing Is Personal

Here’s the hard truth: there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

Some people need 30 days, others 60–90 days, or even longer. Your body needs time to “rest and digest”, allowing inflammation to calm so you can accurately gauge reactions.
If after 60–90 days you still see little improvement, it’s definitely time to dig deeper, troubleshoot your approach, and work with a medical professional to uncover any underlying issues that may not yet have been addressed.

Perspective: Healing takes time — your body didn’t get here overnight. But your body is remarkable and capable of repairing itself when given the right tools.

Check All Pillars

If you feel you should be ready but aren’t improving, step back and assess other factors: stress, sleep, movement, and environmental exposures. For more, see Troubleshooting the AIP.

Important: If you’ve followed the full protocol (including lifestyle changes) for 90+ days and still see no improvement, please, seek guidance from a professional to explore the possibility of underlying causes that may be holding you back.
Find a practitioner near you – click here.

Be Patient

Some may want to rush into reintroductions, but remember … slow and steady wins the AIP Race!

Resist the urge to start too soon, and resist the urge to “wing it” when it comes to reintroductions. You’ve put in 30–90 days (or maybe even more) on the elimination stage — don’t waste that effort by throwing in the towel or deciding for yourself how best to reintroduce foods.

The elimination stage was meant to give your body the space it needs to rest and reset. If you’ve been patient and are feeling quite well, reintroductions will likely be an easier process. Starting with a “clean slate” allows your body to clearly signal when a food isn’t agreeing with you — helping you recognize the cues your body is sending.

That said, be sure to follow a systematic reintroduction plan, including keeping a food and symptom journal (more about that in the resources below).

So, how do you get started? Here are the guides and resources I recommend for best results.

Keep Moving Forward!

What ever you do, keep moving forward – there are no rewards for longest amount of time spent in the AIP elimination stage!

Some people in the AIP Recipe Collection Facebook Group proudly announce they’ve been strict elimination for 759 days … and I just can’t. No. No. No.

I mean, I get it — there are a lot of folks out there who feel too darn good after having eliminated the top inflammatory offenders from their lives, and they don’t want to go back to feeling horrible again. But this is exactly where food fear creeps in, and it’s why you sometimes hear people saying, “the AIP is a dangerous, restrictive diet that just keeps people sick.”

Let’s be clear: elimination diets and the reintroduction process are still considered the gold standard for assessing food allergies and sensitivities — even more reliable than largely inaccurate food sensitivity or allergy testing (you can read more about that here if you’re curious).

Reintroductions are just practical! They help improve your quality of life and open up your ability to socialize more freely.

If you remember, back at the beginning when we started talking about the AIP, what we’d eat, and what we’d avoid, we specifically said there were some very nutritious foods that would be eliminated — TEMPORARILY!

Limiting or restricting food groups long-term can cause dysbiosis in the gut and nutritional deficiencies, so we need to get those foods back into our diets as soon as possible if they’re not problematic for your individual case.

Summary of the AIP Elimination Phase:

It isn’t meant to be forever
Needs to be approached with intention, because long-term restriction can create food fear, nutritional gaps, and gut imbalance
Helps heal your body, but the real fun, and food freedom, starts with reintroductions!

All of this said, I hope you see how important it is that you MUST put on your big people pants and take on reintroductions. You’ve already proven that you can do hard things by making it this far — reintroductions are just the next step … and you’ve got this!

Don’t be a case that perpetuates the myths and misconceptions about this protocol – keep moving!

Reintroduction Guides & Resources:

Reintroductions can be tricky, but like I said, you can do hard things. It’s always tempting to try to compare your reactions with someone else’s, but the bottom line is that this too is VERY individual. You will need to keep good track as you go along so you can recognize signs and symptoms of reactions and celebrate all the wins along the way.

My go-to suggestion for all things AIP from transition through elimination, reintroductions and maintenance is Mickey Trescott’s Autoimmune Protocol books. The New Autoimmune Protocol (2026) covers the latest in research and is the first I’d suggest. Browse the options in my AIP Amazon Storefronts here: USA / Canada /UK

As of June 2021, the first cookbook dedicated to AIP reintroductions was released, and it’s spectacular! It’s great for all stages of the AIP and a great motivator. It discusses the process of reintros and provides delicious recipes to keep you progressing – check out my review here – The Autoimmune Protocol Reintroduction Cookbook – Kate Jay of Healing Family Eats (NOTE: One caveat to this recommendation is that the AIP was updated in 2024, so this book does NOT include information about the “modified” elimination state – it is based on “core” AIP elimination as your assumed starting point.)