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From:    darcyblue <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: paleo struggle

"I joined this list a few months back with every intention of
transitioning to a more Paleo diet/lifestyle...I've found it down near next
to impossible....I have done fairy well in avoiding pastas and breads, but
tortillas,
rice and potatoes seem to come into play every week in some form or
another."

Hi Darcy--

A clear theme in many "diet" books is that if we totally deny ourselves a
food that we want ... that it winds up an emotional spring in us that will
eventually uncoil-- and depending how tightly it was coiled, it can lead to
binge eating/emotional eating.  Even Ray Audette, who admonishes his readers
to be paleo pure, admits to eating a rich dish of Hagen Daz from time to
time.  In his book, Cordain offers that you can have 1-3 meals a week that
are non-paleo and still consider yourself an adherent to the caveman diet.
I agree.  My day-to-day, meal-to-meal eating is mostly paleo (I described my
diet in an earlier post); but a couple of times a week, I will indulge in a
nonpaleo food (e.g., a piece of birthday cake at a birthday party; e.g., a
slice of Italian bread dipped in olive oil at a good Italian restaurant).
So, here's my 2-cents:  Move yourself toward paleo meals a bit more every
week, but plan on 2 or 3 meals in which you have your beans and rice and
tortillas ... and then don't beat yourself up about it.  A good way to
convince yourself of the benefits of a caveman diet is to good find out your
key body numbers now (blood pressure; blood lipid profile-- cholesterol,
LDL, HDL, total/HDL ratio; trigylcerides) and then get the same numbers
again this summer.  It can be a real motivator-- because they will almost
assuredly improve.  You're likely to notice other changes too-- better skin,
weight loss, better sleep.  Good luck with your new diet ... and, again,
don't beat yourself up about your Spanish meals (eventually, you may find
that one small cheese & bean tortilla a week is all you really need to slake
that urge for this kind of food).

Gregg

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