Yeah, I just had a slice of my daughter's cranberry bread. That's gotta be my 15% for the week.

'Cause I'm weak.

I would not beat yourself up to much about it.

I subscribe to the "exeception - not the rule" theory when it comes to my lifestyle.

I have done a 30 day strict Paleo and didn't "cheat" at all...and it was HARD...

For me it is all about planning but also letting yourself go with the flow - life is to short to feel bad about something - get over it an move on....

By exception not the rule I mean i don't plan on going off course but I may find myself in a situation where damn skippy I want that piece of pie...I may have a piece of pie 2-3 x's a year vs 2-3 x's a month - exception not the rule.

It's about making choice that minimize impact...for me I don't have over all issue with things like gluten so eating things like bread doesn't effect me too much - but I don't actively eat it - the other month my coworkers and I went out to an italian place that has REALLY good bread with olive oil dipping sauce so I had a piece (and ordered a grilled chicken bruschetta sandwich without the bun)

Right now we have a box of crackers my sister left at our house...and I have been eating them with some gouda cheese as a snack. I am very aware to only have a serving vs going all willy nilly.

I have a cookie exchange to go to this weekend - I am to a point where the lure of cookies doesn't hold much appeal to me. I made some sugar cookies with my daughters the other week. I had a bite of one and was satistfied - a year ago I would have eaten 2 or 3. - so eating Primal/Paleo has changed how i look at food and shaped the decisions I make on a daily basis - it's not going to be absolute or perfect. I fully expect to try a cookie or two while at the exchange but I will be highly selective in what I choose to eat.

I've read to try and keep it at 80/20 if you fall off the bandwagon often. That way you know you can satisfy craving sometimes, but you strive to eat healthy most of the time.

I have to say that the thing I love most about this change in lifestyle is I'm realizing all the bad habits I have always had. I always called myself an addict or emotional eater, but at the end of the day, I created those habits and I can un-create them. It sucks making the healthier choice because your brain has a way of making you feel terrible when you don't cave in, but after a while this awesome thing happens were you feel empowered and that you can tackle anything!!

For example, we had a pot luck at work yesterday. There were so many appetizers that included potato chips, pasta salad, bruschetta (drools) and tons and tons of different types of deserts. Instead of thinking "ugh! I can't have ANY of this!" I honed straight into what I could have. Instead of dipping tortillas chips in guac, I got a ton of veggies to dip.

The best part of all of this was that I felt great after lunch. I always put together the pot luck and every year and after eating (seemingly) everything, I would want to fall asleep at my desk all afternoon and be crabby as hell.




Just remind yourself constantly on what good and how kind you are being to your body. Remind yourself how great you feel! I always have to remind myself how I'll feel after eating a really heavy dairy/carb meal (tired, bloated, crabby) and that's a quick enough reminder for me to get back into gear.


Good luck!!

I was doing so well today and then I started sucking again I had a totally non-paleo snack and I can relate with your original post again now. I know there is no perfection though, but where's the line?

Going to go reread this thread

I am right there with you. I was doing so well for a while and then I don't know what happened. It's like I totally lost my motivation/discipline/willpower. It's not the foods I am eating but the snacks that have been bad like tortilla chips and my weakness, chocolate. I am most unhappy that I have gained a few pounds since Thanksgiving. I hate that once I slip it's a downward spiral. The hardest for me is night time snacking. This morning I told my husband not to allow me to snack after 7pm. I had a piece of chocolate after dinner tonight but that's it. The pantry is closed. I need to get back on track. I swore I was going to be strict until Christmas because I plan on cheating then but I just can't seem to keep it together. All this to say that you're not alone. It sucks to fall down but the important thing is that we get back up. It's a lifelong process. We can't beat ourselves up over and over again. It also helps to have this group to support each other.

I don't think of non-paleo foods as cheating. For me, eating primal/paleo is a lifestyle change, not a diet I'm on till the weight comes off. So when I eat something that isn't the healthiest choice, its a decision I made for whatever reason and I enjoy it. I don't pig out on it or let that one "off road trip" ruin the rest of my days food choices. My next meal is a normal meal. Normal for me is paleo. I don't offroad daily or even weekly. For me, that would change it from a treat to reg part of my lifestyle and that's when my old habits would creep in and take over. When I find that poor food choices are happening too often for my liking, I immediately start a whole7 or whole14...eat really, really clean for a few days to get me back on track before I'm totally off roading.

I don't think of non-paleo foods as cheating. For me, eating primal/paleo is a lifestyle change, not a diet I'm on till the weight comes off. So when I eat something that isn't the healthiest choice, its a decision I made for whatever reason and I enjoy it. I don't pig out on it or let that one "off road trip" ruin the rest of my days food choices. My next meal is a normal meal. Normal for me is paleo. I don't offroad daily or even weekly. For me, that would change it from a treat to reg part of my lifestyle and that's when my old habits would creep in and take over. When I find that poor food choices are happening too often for my liking, I immediately start a whole7 or whole14...eat really, really clean for a few days to get me back on track before I'm totally off roading.

Thanks for posting this, it helped me to read it as I seem to be having a daily struggle lately.