Minet de L'isle wrote:

> I fell off the paleo wagon about 10 months ago, and despite reading posts
> here almost daily, have not been able to get back on. "Too difficult," I
> thought, "in this modern world. Hard to find things to eat when out. Husband
> and stepkids don't want to eat this way, and too tempting to find their
> snacks about. Easier and faster to eat prepared foods."

As far as family goes, my wife and kids don't want to eat
paleo either. I do a lot of the cooking however, so I can
subtlely influence the food they eat. So they get more
veggies and meat and fat than they might otherwise, and less
sweets and starches and the like. I don't make a big deal
out of it, but just make sure to offer plenty of good paleo
choices along with the regular food. This morning, my
daughter ate chocolate breakfast cereal :-( Oh well, can't
win every fight.

For myself, I find it easier to stock up on the foods I
should be eating. When I am surrounded by them, it is easier
to avoid the ones I shouldn't. I cook up a big panful of
sliced pork, and keep it in the fridge, easy snacks. With
different spices it does not get too boring. When I want
sweets, I have half a dozen different kinds of dried fruits
around the house to snack on. Nuts same. I probably overeat
them, but hey, so what?

The point is to make it convenient to eat paleo. Actually,
paleo cooking is so fast and easy it is usually more
convenient than regular food. A rare steak takes about one
minute on the grill, total prep time, two minutes from
fridge to mouth.

I also don't sweat the borderline cases. If I overindulge a
few days, or eat something like pizza, completely non-paleo,
then I try to cut way back for a few days, to as close to
zero carbs, pure meat with greens diet. A few days of that
and I feel back on track. Just don't sweat it. Take it easy,
it is just food. Enjoy non-paleo foods occasionally if you
want to.
>

 I think some of you will relate to the paleo-mental health
> connection, but some may not. I realize that paleo can't cure everything,
> but it seems like a good place to start over.


There is a fair amount of research on this. Make sure to get
plenty of a good variety of fats. Seems to help a lot of
people. I have taken to slathering my rare steaks with
(non-paleo) butter. I KNOW it improves my mood!  ;--)  Some
people claim various nutricional supplements help with
mental health. Check out the Atkins diet books for some info
on this. He has lots of specific ideas.