----- Original Message -----
From: "Barbara Sheppard"

> The statement 'others are not the cause of  your personal
> failures to go/stay paleo' is very harsh, in my opinion.

As I stated up front, I did not at all mean it to be harsh.  But lest my
point was lost or missed, I'll re-phrase it with an "I" message:  I am the
only one responsible for what enters my mouth.

> There _are_ significant emotional/psychological issues associated with
> being 'the odd one out'

My experience is that unless I specifically make a big deal out of it or
call attention to what I do or don't eat, nobody ever takes a first, much
less a second, look at my plate.  I never think of it as "poor me" or feel
odd about it.

>, and I feel that this aspect of a person's choice to eat paleo needs just
as much support as >the actual food choices that are made.

Well, yeah, support is nice, for sure, but inner-direction (as opposed to
other-direction) is a lot more 24/7 reliable, don't you think?   We're
probably just very different, but knowledge gives me most of the support I
need.   Heck, outside of this list I'm the only paleo person I know.


> I find that there is a constant tug-of-war between my desire to eat
> according to my body's needs (as I perceive them) and my desire to fit in
> socially with those around me. This leads to compromises, which I am
> sometimes willing to make for the sake of harmonious family and social
> relationships.

Harmonious to whom--others or the inner you?   Sounds like you've created a
no-win (damned if you eat, damned if you don't) emotional state for yourself
for how you perceive yourself and how you think others perceive you.  But,
horrors, if your family/friends really do give you hell about what you
eat/don't eat, then you're surrounded by a pack of control freaks.


> It's not easy to get the balance right. Shared meals are very much a part
> of what holds a family together.

Yes, we eat together every evening.  Most of us, anyway.

>There is a limit to the extent to which
> every meal can be either individualised ...........Suggesting that it's
simply a matter of 'I eat >what I want and
> they can eat what they want' is missing an important part of the equation,
> in my opinion.

I'm not a short order cook.  I cook/serve paleo.  They eat, don't complain,
and oftentimes compliment.  There's always non-paleo food in the house such
as bread and snack kind of stuff, but also things like rice, noodles,
oatmeal, ice cream, etc.  And some shriveled, sprouted potatoes I noticed
this morning.  :-)  I do almost all the cooking, but once is a great while
husband may fix a non-paleo something to go along with what I've prepared.
And on occasion he cooks a whole meal, but he's good to fix what I can/do
eat.  They eat out (mostly lunches) during the week and order whatever they
want.

> it's mostly worth the extra effort that's required.
> But it's certainly not 'a piece of cake' ...

Again, we're probably just very different people, but much of the paleo
appeal to me is its simplicity.

Best regards,
Theola