I know I am only 10 days in, but I thought it might be a good idea to have a mini-review of how things are going so far. Overall, the diet is reasonably easy to stick to, once you get a good understanding of what is allowed and what isn’t. Dairy and grains are the easy things to avoid, as its obvious what they are, and they food products they are contained in. What can be difficult is the “Hidden” non-Paleoness of some items. I mentioned Black Pudding, which contains wheat. A lot of condiments, such as soy sauce and vinegar also often contain yeast. Tinned produce is difficult because of the added salt and preservatives, which aren’t paleo.
Another issue with food selection is that there are various definitions regarding what is actually paleo. Strict paleo omits sweet potato, peanut butter, peanuts, and also limit eggs and fatty cuts of meat – and then you get varying degrees of strictness after that. Some paleo-ites also practice restriction on fruit due to the fructose. Interestingly, the strictest form of paleo that I have come across is the Loren Cordain variety, and he places next to no restriction on fruits. I guess the main message is to use paleo as your main framework, and then work around that on the grey-areas, such as fruit, eggs, peanut butter and sweet potato.
In terms of energy levels, I haven’t felt at all tired. In fact, I am probably consuming more food than normal, but as it isn’t of the refined variety the calorie density is much less, so I can get away with it. In terms of food selection, I genuinely enjoy eating meats and fresh fruit and vegetables, and don’t really like potatoes, grain or dairy products, so I haven’t found it that hard to stick to. The hardest thing to give up has been my evening hot chocolate!