I have been back from Tucson for over a week. It took me several days to get completely back on track with a strict Paleo diet. Seems like once I am off-plan for a few days, I inevitably have to face withdrawal all over again.
This time was especially hard because we celebrated Father's Day at P.F. Changs (gluten-free, of course!). After that sugar and cornstarch-loaded meal, my body put up quite a fight at the idea of going 100% back to Paleo. So, I gave myself some wiggle room for a few days, to include a few "cheats." None of them were huge - a Flavia mocha at the office one day. A trip to Golden Spoon the next. I allowed myself 2 or 3 days of breathing room before cutting myself off. At that point, a major battle ensued and I forced myself to just deal with it. I chewed some sugar free gum and got some extra sleep.
And now? Well, I'm back on track. It's amazing how much easier it is to be compliant with a good diet once you are several days into it. The cravings subside to something much more reasonable. It's those first few clean days days that make it so hard. For me, the lesson doesn't amount to never having cheat days. For me, the take-away is this: Be very, very selective about how often and how intensely I go off track. I personally want to rack up several weeks in a row before I go off plan. It's more of a once-a-month thing for me as opposed to once-a-week. I just can't seem to come up with a better way to do it. What's your strategy?
Sounds like you have a pretty good grasp on maintaining a balance on allowing cheat days to accommodate social events and/or just to maintain your sanity ;). Unfortunatly for me the cheat days have become too many and I am dreading the withdrawal phase. I just need to do it! It's easy to blame my husband just as easy as it was to give him credit for my previous success. It helps when you are both on track.
ReplyDeleteI loved being in the stage where the idea of eating non paleo food wasnt appealing to me. How long would you say it takes to get there? Maybe I should schedule this downtime over a long weekend ;) love this blog. Congrats!
I don't think I've ever actually gotten to the point where eating non Paleo isn't appealing to me. Right now, I could go for a big ol' quesadilla! But then I would be bloated and in a good deal of pain for 2-4 days, so that stops me. In that way, having a food intolerance is a blessing.
ReplyDeleteKeep me posted on how you do getting back on track. I know it's always tough! But the rewards are so good...