I'm not a purist in that my physician still allows me to have high fat dairy (I also eat low carb to try to stabilize my blood sugar).

Hubby made soup for me yesterday: a copy of the Olive Garden's Zuppu Toscana Soup. He used my homemade chicken stock as a base, and he swapped out the potatoes with cauliflower. It has bacon, sausage, onions, garlic, cauliflower, and kale in it. Heavy cream does go into it as well, and he did use a bit of heavy cream. Without the cream I'm sure it would still be amazing!

I've got French onion soup started in the slow cooker. It is my first paleo attempt at it. The smell of the almost perfectly caramelized onions is making me salivate.

The mindset matters no matter what flavour of Paleo one is (stupid name but it's the one we have so....). I see so many people coming into this lifestyle with a chip on their shoulder I don't understand how they will even get through the first week.

Seeing the positive and finding a sustainable path for oneself is what matters.

Unfortunately, for me to succeed I also have to do a very strict form of this lifestyle. I'm so sensitive to carbs that I shouldn't even eat plants, but I certainly don't represent the majority. However, switching to a positive: what's so terrible about beef, bison, elk, lamb, goat, moose, muskox, duck, goose, eggs, butter, ghee, seafood of every kind, full fat dairy (in moderation, I do best without it), etc etc. I can eat the most delicious foods on the planet.

Here's my inspiration: I used to be a little thinner than I am now (about 10 lbs) and I was doing the FDA approved conventional wisdom diet of about 1300 - 1500 calories a day to stay there. I was miserable. . . cranky, no energy, not sleeping well, and had a hard time focusing. Then a friend challenged me to do a Whole30. OMG. Energy. Focus. I gained weight, believe it or not, but not body volume due to a change in body composition. When I have one of those (admittedly rare) days when I feel like I could eat a whole pizza, I think back to how miserable I was on a standard US diet, and it helps me to refocus. Good luck!

I just went on an emotional binge eating session over the weekend where I ate all the foods I used to love. Now I'm nauseous, bloated and an itchy mess. It is reminding me of why I started eating this way. Of course, my hubby says it ruined me, ha ha. He says I'm just out of training, which is why I'm having reactions.

Akimajuktuq wrote: »

So you should eat more crap so that you can tolerate it better? lol Many people talk about their increasing sensitivity to foods after going Paleo (or any similar elimination diet) and I argue that the foods were always hurting us but the thing that has changed is our AWARENESS. I was sick for my entire life but it was mostly "normal". How many people do you know that don't have some level of depression, sore joints, sinus issues, digestive upset, GERD, etc?

I'm definitely more sensitive to foods now. I can tell by how I feel within a half hour of eating when I've eaten something I shouldn't have.

I made a gorgeous french onion and mushroom soup this last weekend. As it turns out, I can't eat onions. Bloating, headache, and gas ensued. How it's even remotely possible that I could react to onions confounds me. I've been eating them for all of my life!

I'm coming to the realization that these things that affect me now have been affecting me my whole life. I just didn't know what it felt like to not suffer before now.

Akimajuktuq wrote: »

^not more sensitive but more AWARE of the negative effect of particular foods. Yup, when sick is normal it takes a lot for the body to finally get our attention because we learn to ignore all the "normal" stuff like indegestion, achy joints, depression etc. When we finally feel well it takes far less to get our attention. When someone says they are "more sensitive" after adopting a healthy diet I take it as a negative, and inaccurate imo. "More awareness" keeps it a positive.

There's also the fact that the body can only handle so many "red flag" inputs. Enough pain in one area will dull or shut off the pain in another. So, if you're feeding yourself crap that's actively destroying your intestines, it's going to back-burner the sirens from the things that "just" cause some bloating or other more minor issues.

Also, we're trained that certain things just cause certain reactions (and it's assumed those reactions are benign). Who doesn't know the song about beans, the musical fruit? When other things are causing it, but we're eating so many things that do, there's no way to pinpoint exactly what's causing the reaction.

However, when you stop eating those things, then you eat something that causes any reaction, you notice it more, because it's the only thing fighting for your attention and there's nothing else competing.

I love a big bunch of kale, steamed them sautéed in coconut oil with garlic and red pepper flakes and some apple cider vinegar. Top with fried eggs for breakfast.

I also love a roast sweet potato mashed with coconut oil and salt and topped with fried eggs. Also for breakfast.

Or leftover winter squash topped with fried egg.....

I love eggs..

I love mashed cauliflower with garlic, coconut milk, and chives. Also...bacon!