Steak it is... I'm in!

Sigh... that was unfortunately my honeymoon-- had a slice of normal chocolate cake (we had 5 different cakes, and we cut into a flourless dark chocolate one, but I figured a little of the normal cake would be fine, seeing as how I was okay from the roll earlier in the day and my father-in-law's homemade bread at the rehearsal dinner the night before... sigh) and spent the next day in serious pain, bad enough to entirely miss a very special dinner (my husband at least got to enjoy it in our hotel room).

On the plus side, Benadryl helps a little (a lesson from the chef's wife, who has celiac disease), and they made me honey lemon ginger tea to help settle my stomach. But I learned my lesson.

As an aside, I stopped seeing my GI doc after he said food has nothing to do with my IBS. Ya.

This is more of a question - please don't take this as a criticism. BUT... I want to start Paleo. At least, I think I do. Thing is, I read an awful lot of posts around the internet like the ones above. I worry that if I "adjust" to a paleo diet, then a slip will cause me to have all kinds of problems that I don't experience now - like I will develop sensitivities instead of get stronger. Does that make sense?

Any thoughts on this?

It's not that anybody is developing sensitivites. The sensitivity is already there. But your body builds up defenses when you're having the offending food often. Perhaps you'll develop a thick coat of mucus in your intestines to prevent absorption of the food that makes you sick (yummay!), which also prevents proper absorption of nutrients from the rest of what you eat, or perhaps your symptoms will manifest in an increase in seasonal allergy symptoms since your body is so busy working overtime on fighting off the food you're eating. When these things happen, it's a sign that you should have been avoiding those foods all along, not that suddenly you're sensitive to it when you used to be ok with it.

This is more of a question - please don't take this as a criticism. BUT... I want to start Paleo. At least, I think I do. Thing is, I read an awful lot of posts around the internet like the ones above. I worry that if I "adjust" to a paleo diet, then a slip will cause me to have all kinds of problems that I don't experience now - like I will develop sensitivities instead of get stronger. Does that make sense?

Any thoughts on this?

Primal/Paleo is a Lifestyle, once you adapt into it you will be fine.

This is more of a question - please don't take this as a criticism. BUT... I want to start Paleo. At least, I think I do. Thing is, I read an awful lot of posts around the internet like the ones above. I worry that if I "adjust" to a paleo diet, then a slip will cause me to have all kinds of problems that I don't experience now - like I will develop sensitivities instead of get stronger. Does that make sense?

Any thoughts on this?

You don't develop sensitivities; in fact your body is already adapting to a SAD diet and you don't realize it because it's normal to you, and everyone else who eats that way. One of the things I noticed after a couple months was an *absence* of various things: no sore knees and hips, acne and other skin issues cleared up, chest & sinus congestion gone (didn't even realize that was an issue it was so normal), energy a constant, and even now over a year later, other things I accepted as normal (I'm in my late 50s so like most of my peers expected to feel certain symptoms attributed to aging--after all I'm a grandma) are gone: can see better at night, gums are no longer inflamed (have also changed my dental routine to be more natural), headaches are rare (had one after drinking too much celebratory refreshment :-) ), haven't had a cold in 15 months). This is all over and above the weight loss, and belly bloat disappearing.

Everyone I know who eats a SAD diet EXPECTS to get a belly, and be tired achey when they get older. Well, um, no. As it turns out, that is not normal. It's also not normal if one's body is responding with inflammation, skin issues, or an over stimulated immune system that presents with everything from hair loss to arthritis to chronic fatigue, gut issues, or any one of a variety of autoimmune reactions.

If a person has a cocaine addiction, goes through withdrawal and a few months later experiences a terrible reaction when deciding to have 'just a bit' ... is the solution to go back to using cocaine all the time again? Was the problem the cocaine or the no-cocaine?

This is what happens to me when I go off paleo:

Grains: heartburn, bloating, gas, constipation, abdominal cramps & pain
Dairy: Diarroeah, skin flare ups, asthma symptoms increase
Sugar: Headaches, migranes

I had none of these symptoms before cutting these things out of my diet (or if I did i did'nt notice them, they were 'normal' for me). When I'm paleo I have a flat stomach and feel great, 'clean'.