Facing Reality

Two steps forward, one step back.  That is how my return to paleo has been going.  I can’t seem to get traction to stay going in the right direction!  I have a few good days, but then fall prey to a bowl of oatmeal or a slice of pizza.

Last week was, I think, a turning point for me.  On Thursday I had oatmeal for breakfast then guacamole and tortilla chips for lunch.  I rationalized both of those things like this: 

Well, the oatmeal is only 2/3 oats and the rest is coconut so it won’t be that bad.

and

The chips aren’t completely corn… and all the other ingredients are sprouted!  And the corn is non-GMO and they are organic, so it should be okay.

Yeah.  No.

That afternoon I felt absolutely horrible!  My back was hurting, and it felt like my feet were falling asleep.  I figured I had some nasty inflammation around my SI joint and that was the cause.  I grabbed an ice pack and went to lay down.  As I lay there in the quiet, I actually had time to pay attention to my body.  I realized that all of my appendages were buzzing with tingly nerve pain.  The ice pack had no effect whatsoever because it wasn’t simple inflammation that I was dealing with.  I think my body was responding (very negatively!) to the food I had eaten earlier in the day.

I was awakened to a stark reality.  This “diet change” isn’t optional.  It isn’t 80/20.  It isn’t only eat Paleo when I feel like it and just deal with the fallout.  If I don’t make this change, I am staring down the barrel of some serious health problems.

Does that make it easier to resist temptation?  A little.  But mostly it gives me a WHY.  I need to eat a Paleo type diet because I want to feel good.  I don’t want to be in bed with disabling pain.  I may end up there some day, but darn it, I’m not going down without a fight!