----- Original Message -----
From: "Kat Co" <[log in to unmask]>
>  ... did a month of a paleo diet very successfully,
> without much trouble, and then for some reason I don't remember, quit
> following it and have had my usual horrible food habits ever since.
> <snip>
> Has anyone seen a Paleo diet work successfully longterm for a person who
> "eats" away emotional turmoil?
> Minet

Before Paleo I ate for many reasons: emotions, compulsive thinking, physical
cravings, because I was thirsty, because I was fat, because I was tired,
because I felt insecure, because I needed a balanced diet and didn't have
one, etc., etc. Today, three and 1/2 years later and after losing 145
pounds, I eat primarily for nourishment and secondarily for social reasons.
I ONLY eat when I am physically hungry even when there is social pressure to
eat. When I want to eat for emotional reasons I don't eat until I have taken
care of the emotion. The paleo diet helped me deal with the physical reasons
(physical cravings and nutrition) and helped me lose weight. But paleo
eating was not enough for me to quit eating for emotional/mental reasons. I
once went off on a non-paleo binge and gained 50 lbs. I deal with the mental
issues in a 12-step support group. I believe that without a base of paleo
eating I would be sitting in my 12-step meeting feeling somewhat better
emotionally but still obese. On the other hand, I also believe that if I
just had the paleo diet without the 12-step support I would still be fat and
eating compulsively (probably I wouldn't even be Paleo long-term). I don't
believe that paleo eating can cure me of all my mental/emotional problems
with food. When I want to eat for reasons that are emotional or compulsive
it can be traced back to the fact that I find some person or situation in my
life unacceptable to me. If I change what I can change and accept what I
can't change about my life situation then I can be free of the mental and
emotional desire for food. If I eat the paleo way, drink water when I'm
thirsty, and sleep when I'm tired I can be free of the physical problems
with food.

This is an overview of my experience. I have left much of the detail out.
Maybe I should write a book. <GRIN>
Michael